Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-09

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 Khan,

I am writing to request an extension in the six-month agreement of the apartment that I rented five months ago.

I am planning to rent the apartment for another one month. As per the six-month agreement, my last day in the apartment would be 30th March, 2026, but now I want to stay here till 31st April, 2026. I request you to grant me a one-month extension. I will be paying the rent for this extended period.

Actually, my parents are coming from Pakistan to meet me in March, as they wanted to celebrate my 29th birthday. They have planned to stay in my apartment for one and a half months. This is the first time they are coming here in Dubai, so I wanted to take them for recreation and spend some quality time with them. I am afraid that I will not be able to do shifting of apartment in this situation.

I also wanted to tell you about an ongoing problem in the apartment. There is continuous dripping of water from the celing of my washroom which might damage the wooden floor. I would be grateful, if you can send your plumber some day who can repair the celing. I look to forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Sara

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The letter covers all three required points clearly: you request a further month, explain that your parents are visiting for your birthday, and report a leak in the washroom ceiling. The reason for staying is developed with relevant details, including their first visit to Dubai and your wish to spend time with them. You also make the practical request for a plumber and confirm that you will pay rent for the extension. These details make the purpose clear and the tone is appropriately polite. To make the request even more complete, clarify the exact revised end date: “31st April” is not a valid calendar date, so the owner may be unsure when you intend to leave. Otherwise, the task is addressed well and the ideas are well supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information follows a clear and sensible order: you introduce the extension request, explain the changed plans, and then raise the maintenance issue. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these points, and links such as “Actually” and “I also wanted to tell you” signal the shifts in topic. The letter is easy to follow from beginning to end. Some transitions are slightly formulaic, and the repeated references to the extension (“another one month,” “one-month extension,” and “extended period”) could be streamlined. A more direct link between your parents’ stay and the requested end date would also strengthen progression. Overall, cohesion is managed flexibly enough to keep the message clear, with a few opportunities for smoother phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal request, including “grant me,” “extended period,” “ongoing problem,” and “continuous dripping.” These choices communicate the situation clearly, and the tone remains courteous. There are, however, several inaccurate or unnatural choices that limit precision: “do shifting of apartment” is not idiomatic, “recreation” is an awkward fit for activities with visiting parents, and “look to forward” is incorrectly formed. “Celing” is also misspelled, and “one and a half months” could be expressed more naturally as “six weeks.” This meets the task’s vocabulary needs and shows some range, but more accurate collocations and careful proofreading would make the language more natural and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of simple and complex sentences, such as “As per the six-month agreement, my last day … would be…” and the explanation beginning “This is the first time they are coming here…”. Many sentences are controlled and easy to understand, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. A few grammatical issues remain: “I will not be able to do shifting” uses an unsuitable construction, while “I would be grateful, if…” has an unnecessary comma before the conditional clause. The phrase “I look to forward to hearing from you” also shows a faulty verb pattern. These errors do not prevent understanding, but checking verb patterns and clause punctuation would improve accuracy while preserving the range of structures you already use.

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.