Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02

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 Mr. Luis,

I am writing to request an extension of my lease agreement for another 8 months than as originally agreed.

To begin with, I want to extend my lease for another 8 months since my next course in the university will start in 2 months and it will complete in the month of December.

As you may know, there has been a lot of international students who migrated to Canada for further studies and the University is 10 minutes walk from the place. Also, there are parks nearby where I play football with friends so that is one of the other reasons I want to extend my stay.

Furthermore, I want to highlight that the air conditining of the room is not working for 2 weeks. Would it be possible for to send someone to fix the AC as it gets too warm in the afternoon.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Vipul Darji

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all bullet points of the task. The writer clearly states the desired extension period of eight months, explains the change in plans regarding university courses, and highlights the apartment problem concerning the non-working air conditioning. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are extended and supported, such as mentioning the proximity to the university and local amenities. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise or provide minor irrelevant details like playing football with friends, which keeps the response at this current level. To reach a higher standard, all ideas could be fully developed with greater focus and relevance to the request.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter demonstrates a clear overall progression with a logical layout, starting with a polite salutation, stating the main purpose, detailing reasons and a problem, and concluding appropriately. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and separates the distinct points effectively. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'To begin with', 'Also', and 'Furthermore', which shows a clear relationship between sentences and paragraphs. However, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel slightly mechanical, preventing the response from achieving a higher mark. More sophisticated and seamless transitions between thoughts would elevate the cohesion of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a semi-formal letter, incorporating phrases like 'extension of my lease agreement' and 'at your earliest convenience'. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some minor word choice and collocation issues appear, such as 'air conditining' (spelling error) and 'course in the university' instead of 'at university'. These errors do not impede communication, and meaning is conveyed clearly throughout. To push into higher bands, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of precise, less common lexical items and natural collocations while eliminating minor spelling inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over structures such as subordinate clauses and conditional constructions. There are several error-free sentences, and grammar and punctuation are generally well controlled. However, a few grammatical errors persist, such as the prepositional slip in 'for another 8 months than as originally agreed' and the missing pronoun in 'Would it be possible for to send someone'. These errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure the intended meaning. A higher band would require a wider variety of complex structures used with greater frequency and accuracy across the entire text.

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

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