Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-05

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 7.0)

Dear Mr. Patel,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to request an extension in the present rental agreement. I would be grateful if you could consider my request.

I have really enjoyed my stay in the apartment and have been an responsible tenant. I am planning to extend my stay in the apartment for next six-months from June to December. Because my company had recently signed a new assignment in the locality and I am suppose to lead that project. Additionally, my worksite is at walkable distance of 10 minutes from my current stay.

In addition, I would like you to review the garbage collection schedule, it is very inconsistent. I was told pickup is schedule on every Monday, but it is not followed as mentioned. I would greatly appreciate your assistance.

Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to hearing from you to sign the new agreement.

Yours sincerely,

Ravi

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.0
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.5
Overall7.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by stating the desired duration, explaining the change in plans due to a new work assignment, and reporting a maintenance issue regarding garbage collection. The content is entirely relevant, and the writer maintains a clear purpose throughout the letter. While all requirements are met, some ideas are slightly more developed than others; for example, the explanation of the work situation is well handled, but the mention of the garbage collection problem could have been expanded with a bit more detail to reach a higher level of elaboration. Overall, the communication of the message is clear, appropriate, and fully satisfies the demands of this task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression from the opening greeting through the body paragraphs to the polite sign-off. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the lease extension and the maintenance issue. Cohesive devices like 'Additionally' and 'In addition' are utilised to connect sentences, though there is a slight mechanical overuse of additive transitions. Referencing throughout the text remains clear, allowing the reader to follow the writer's intentions effortlessly. To move into higher bands, the writer could employ a wider variety of more subtle cohesive links and ensure smoother transitions between the personal request and the practical complaint.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended meaning with an acceptable range of everyday and semi-formal terms such as 'rental agreement' and 'inconsistent'. The writer attempts some less common expressions, though occasional word-choice and word-form errors occur, such as writing 'an responsible tenant' instead of 'a responsible tenant', and using 'at walkable distance' instead of 'within walking distance'. Spelling and word choices generally do not impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp all details easily. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision in word choice and collocations, while minimizing minor slip-ups related to article usage and prepositional phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a reasonable command of sentence structure. There are several error-free sentences, alongside a few persistent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as 'Because my company had recently signed a new assignment' acting as a sentence fragment, and 'I am suppose to lead' instead of 'I am supposed to'. Tense consistency is occasionally disrupted, as seen with 'pickup is schedule' instead of 'scheduled'. However, these grammatical lapses rarely impede communication and the overall structure remains comprehensible. Greater control over complex clause structures and careful proofreading for verb forms would elevate the grammatical performance further.

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

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