Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-07

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,

I am writing to extend the six-month agreement which we sign five months ago.

Firstly, I am a tenant of your apartment from five months and I would like if you could manage to extend the time of an agreement. It will be apreciated if could extend an agrement by three months.

I am student and I am studing a course which is extend for three month and I am thinking to complete the full course becuase it very impotant for my further education.

Unfortunately, I am facing some issues in the apartment. Water is a main problem in the apartment. Timing of water is till 9.00 am in the morning but sometimes water is discountinued by 8.00 am. In the addition. roof of my room is leaking which make me very uncomfortable because when I try to take sleep noise of water drops makes me awake.

It will be greatfull, if you could mange to extend my agreement period and take some important measures to solve this issues.

Yours Faithfull,

Dinesh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three required points and your purpose is clear: you request a three-month extension, explain that your course lasts longer than expected, and report both interrupted water supply and a leaking roof. The specific details about the water stopping before 8 a.m. and the dripping disturbing your sleep make the problems relevant and understandable. This fully covers the task and shows some development, while the explanation of your changed plans could be clearer—for example, state directly that the course has been extended or will take three more months. The request to the owner to take action is appropriate, but you could specify what repair or arrangement you expect for each problem to develop the letter more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce the request, explain your study plans, describe the apartment problems, and close with a further request. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these separate points, and transitions such as “Firstly” and “Unfortunately” signal changes in focus. However, some linking is mechanical, and the sequence within the problem paragraph could be smoother: “In the addition” is not a natural transition, and the water and roof issues would be clearer as separate sentences or a more carefully organised paragraph. The opening also repeats the idea of extending the agreement in the next paragraph. Use fewer formulaic connectors and make each paragraph advance one distinct part of the message.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main message, with useful task-related terms such as “tenant,” “agreement,” “course,” and “leaking.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “apreciated,” “discountinued,” “greatfull,” and “mange.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “timing of water” and “take sleep,” which may make the reader pause. Choose more conventional collocations for a formal letter, such as “water is available until 9 a.m.” and “the dripping keeps me awake.” Proofreading spelling and selecting precise phrases would make your meaning more fluent and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause with “because” and a relative clause in “a course which is extend for three month.” The main message remains understandable, but errors occur across verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “which we sign five months ago” needs a past-tense verb, while “I am a tenant … from five months” uses an incorrect time expression and tense. In “if could extend,” the subject is missing, and “roof of my room is leaking which make me” has problems with article use and agreement. Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then build longer sentences with correctly formed clauses and punctuation.

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

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