Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing this later because I want to extend my lease agreement. Five months ago, I had done lease agreement for 6 month.

Currently, I'm working as a full-time and I'm also doing a degree. Moreover, your house is very convenient for me and it is also nearby my workplace. bus services are also beneficial for me. Therefore, I'm planning to stay longer than six months.

Firstly, My plan was to leave here just for six months due to transport in another city for work. However, My plans are changed and I want to stay in house.

In addition, There are some minor issues in the house. Sometimes, The light in the living hall is not working properly. Furthermore, Issues like water leaking in bathroom. although, iwas managed. These are some minor issues that i am facing in this apartment.

I appreciate if you fix this problem and extend my lease agreement. I I am waiting for your response.

Your faithfully,

Keya Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, though some areas are only partially developed. You successfully state how long you want to rent the apartment for by mentioning an extension to your original agreement. You also explain why your plans have changed, noting your current work and studies, and mention maintenance problems such as the light in the living hall and water leaking in the bathroom. However, your ideas regarding the change of plans and the apartment issues are somewhat limited and repetitive, lacking deeper elaboration. To reach a higher level, you should expand on these points with more detailed explanations rather than listing them briefly, ensuring all bullet points are fully explored.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter shows some overall organization with standard formatting such as a salutation and sign-off, and you attempt to use paragraphing to separate different points. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the logical flow between sentences is occasionally disrupted. While you attempt to use cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'Therefore', and 'Furthermore', they are sometimes repetitive or mechanically applied, such as the frequent use of 'Firstly' and abrupt transitions. Referencing is also not always clear, and the grouping of ideas within paragraphs needs better structural management. To improve, you should ensure that each paragraph builds smoothly onto the next using a wider and more natural variety of transitional phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range to communicate your basic message. You attempt some less common vocabulary items such as 'extend my lease agreement' and 'full-time', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and form, such as writing 'later' instead of 'letter', 'house' instead of 'apartment', and awkward phrasing like 'due to transport in another city for work'. Spelling and word-choice errors are present, such as 'iwas managed', but they do not completely impede communication. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider range of precise vocabulary with better control over collocations and fewer word-formation errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms which are often faulty. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as tense inconsistencies ('Five months ago, I had done lease agreement'), missing articles ('bus services', 'in bathroom'), and incorrect punctuation or capitalization ('Sometimes, The light'). Additionally, sentence boundary errors and fragmented expressions like 'I appreciate if you fix this problem' demonstrate inconsistent control over grammatical patterns. To improve, you should focus on increasing your repertoire of error-free complex sentences and paying closer attention to articles, prepositions, and verb tenses.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.