Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-30

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 6.0)

Dear Farah,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I hope you are doing well. As you know I rented your apartment for six-month and now only one-month is left as per agreement. I would like to stay a longer, most probably four-month more.

Initially, I was to stay in this town for six-month because of my work requirments. However, due to some reasons my company has increased my period of work here and for that I have to stay four-month more. My routine is bit tough and I spend almost ten hours a day at my office so it is difficult for me to take out time and find new apartment; in addition, I have to shift all the stuffs too. If you want we can renew the agreement; moreover, if you want any changes in rent we can talk over it.

Furthermore, there are some issues I am facing like the tap of the bathtub is leaking, some of the blubs have stopped working, and the air conditioner needs a service. If you agree to renew the agreement these are some issues that you need to fix. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Warm regards,

Zara Shaikh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student has successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, she clearly states how long she wishes to rent the apartment for ('four-month more'). Second, she explains why her plans have changed by mentioning that her company has extended her work period in the town. Third, she effectively informs the owner about maintenance problems in the apartment, specifically mentioning a leaking bathtub tap, broken bulbs, and an air conditioner that needs servicing. The tone is appropriate for a semi-formal letter to a landlord, and the purpose of the communication is immediately clear. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, making this a solid performance for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is generally clear and easy to follow, with a logical overall progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the main purpose, the reasons for changing plans, and the maintenance issues. The student makes use of several cohesive devices such as 'However', 'in addition', 'moreover', and 'Furthermore' to connect her thoughts. However, there are some minor mechanical issues with cohesion, such as repetition in the opening ('I hope this letter finds you well' followed immediately by 'I hope you are doing well') and occasional clunky transitions. Overall, the organization supports the message well, but more natural linking would elevate the cohesion score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate her message effectively. She successfully uses topic-specific terms related to renting and apartment issues, such as 'agreement', 'renew', 'tap of the bathtub', and 'air conditioner'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and missing plural forms or articles, such as writing 'six-month' instead of 'six months', 'four-month more' instead of 'four more months', and 'blubs' instead of 'bulbs'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a limited control over word forms and spelling, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional clauses ('If you want we can renew the agreement') and relative clauses. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly regarding singular/plural agreement and missing plural markers (e.g., 'all the stuffs' instead of 'all the stuff' or 'all my things', 'some reason' instead of 'some reasons'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally manageable, and the errors rarely impede overall comprehension. Because errors persist alongside a mix of simple and complex structures, this performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

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