Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Five months ago, you started renting an apartment on a six-month agreement. You now wish to stay in the apartment for longer than the six months you originally agreed with the owner.

Write a letter to the owner of your apartment. In your letter

• say how long you now want to rent the apartment for
• explain why your plans have changed
• tell the owner about a problem in the apartment

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Ron,

i am wrirting this letter to ask you that whether we can extend the lease period as i want to stay for than 6 months which is mentioned in the agreement.

There is reason why I staying back in the same apartment because my work is walking distance from although i was planning to shift my work but everything change as our company is not moving to other building.

If i am staying I need some changes in apartment , firtst one is replacement of toilet seat along with induction cooktop ,secondly please connect with the wifi connection company as network always slow down especially in the evening.

I hope you understand my situation and will allow me stay in the same apartment by revising the agreement.

Thanks

'yours sincerely

Ravneet kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The candidate covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions: stating the desired lease extension, explaining the change in plans regarding the workplace location, and mentioning maintenance issues concerning the toilet seat, induction cooktop, and Wi-Fi network. However, the response falls short of the minimum length requirement, containing only 134 words instead of the required 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall development of ideas and results in a penalty under Task Achievement. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to a landlord, the brevity prevents the points from being fully extended and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter exhibits a basic logical arrangement, beginning with a salutation, moving through the purpose of the letter, the reasons for changing plans, the maintenance requests, and concluding appropriately. However, paragraphing is somewhat blurred, and cohesive devices are basic or missing. For instance, sentences are often strung together with coordinating conjunctions rather than managed through flexible transitions. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'from although i was planning to shift my work'. The overall progression is discernible, but the lack of controlled paragraphing and cohesive control keeps this criterion at a band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the communicative purpose, allowing the student to convey basic requests and reasons, such as 'extend the lease period' and 'induction cooktop'. However, there is a limited range of vocabulary, and noticeable errors in word choice and spelling occur, such as 'wrirting', 'firtst', and the repetitive use of simple verbs. Less common lexical items are rarely attempted successfully. While the reader can understand the intended meaning, the restricted range and lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, as seen in conditional structures like 'If i am staying I need some changes'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the response. There are frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization (e.g., lowercase 'i'), articles, and prepositions ('staying back in the same apartment because my work is walking distance from'). Run-on sentences and missing punctuation make parts of the text difficult to parse. The proportion of error-free sentences is low, though meaning is not completely obscured.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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