Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-28

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 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to request you to extend my rental agreement for up to 2 years. I had rented this apartment in building xyz, ground floor on the November of last year. Earlier I had made the contract with you to stay in this apartment for only six months, which will be ending soon next month.

Six months ago I got an internship at a dental clinic very close to your apartment. Originally I had planned to move back to my hostel after my internship was over, but surprisingly a position got vacant for a general dentist and my supervisor recommended my name to the selection panel and I got hired for the position. Therefore, I have decided to prolong my lease with you.

I would like to stay in this very aparment, as I have decorated it to my taste and it feels like home. There is just a small issue of leaky pipes in the guest washroom. I have closed the pipe from the source to prevent water wastage, but now that I will be staying for a longer period, I would really appreciate if you can get it fixed.

Looking forward to hearing a positive response from you soon.

Regards,

Novaira Waseem

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the task. The student clearly states the desired extension period ("extend my rental agreement for up to 2 years"), explains the change in plans logically through career progression (getting hired as a general dentist at the clinic), and informs the owner about a maintenance issue ("leaky pipes in the guest washroom"). The tone is consistently appropriate for a semi-formal letter to a landlord. Ideas are well developed and relevant throughout, meeting all the requirements of the task fully without any omissions. Therefore, a solid band score is warranted for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The student uses paragraphing effectively, separating the introduction, the change of plans, the apartment issue, and the closing remarks into distinct, logical blocks. Cohesive devices such as "Earlier", "Originally", "Therefore", and "now that" are employed to guide the reader smoothly through the narrative. Referencing is clear and appropriate. While the cohesion is generally quite natural and effective, minor mechanical transitions keep it just below the highest bands. Overall, the structural flow makes the letter very easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, such as "internship", "selection panel", "prolong my lease", and "water wastage". There are occasional minor lexical inaccuracies, such as saying "on the November of last year" instead of "in November of last year", and a minor spelling slip with "aparment" instead of "apartment". However, the vocabulary used is more than adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey precise meanings regarding employment changes and housing preferences without impeding communication. Less common lexical items are used with general awareness of style and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrating control over relative clauses and subordinate structures like "Originally I had planned to move back to my hostel after my internship was over, but surprisingly a position got vacant...". There are some minor grammatical slips, such as "requested you to extend" (traditionally 'requested an extension') and the aforementioned preposition error with months. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally well controlled, and the errors present do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily follow the intended meaning.

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