Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-12

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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing to seek your assistance to extend the period of my apartment lease that I initially agreed for six months.

My name is Parminder and I have been living in your building for five months. Initially, I signed the lease agreement for six months because at that time I recently moved to this province to finding new job opportunities. Luckily, I got a job as an electrical technician near to my apartment. Since my workplace is very close, I would like to continue my lease for one year.

Additionally, my wife will eventually come here next month, so it would be beneficial for me to extend the as soon as possible.

To be honest, I liked the apartment very much. However, there is a water leak from my kitchen ceiling that damaged the paint and plaster. I would really appreciate it if you could ask maintenance team to inspect the issue and resolve the problem at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Parminder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three required points clearly: you request a longer rental period, explain that you have secured nearby work and that your wife will join you, and report a leak damaging the kitchen ceiling. The request to continue for one year is specific, and the maintenance action you seek is clear. These relevant details extend the main ideas and maintain a consistent, appropriately polite purpose. To make the response more fully developed, clarify whether the one-year extension would begin after the original six-month agreement ends, and give a little more context about the leak, such as when it began or whether it is worsening. Overall, the task is handled effectively, with only modest scope to develop the details further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information follows a clear progression: you introduce the purpose, explain your changed circumstances, add your wife’s arrival, describe the apartment problem, and close politely. Paragraphing helps distinguish the request and background from the maintenance issue. Linking expressions such as “Initially,” “Since,” “Additionally,” and “However” make the relationships between ideas easy to follow. The organisation is effective, though the transition from your wife’s arrival to the leak could be smoother, and “Additionally” introduces a point that might fit more naturally alongside the explanation for extending the lease. For stronger cohesion, group all reasons for staying together and use a more explicit transition before raising the repair request.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a suitable range of formal vocabulary for a landlord letter, including “extend the period,” “lease agreement,” “beneficial,” “damaged,” and “inspect.” The tone is consistently courteous, and the wording communicates both the rental request and the repair issue clearly. There are occasional collocation or phrasing choices that are less natural, such as “seek your assistance to extend” and “near to my apartment”; these do not prevent understanding but reduce precision. “Resolve the problem” is also somewhat general after you have identified the leak. Aim for more idiomatic combinations and precise repair-related language, for example, asking the owner to arrange an inspection and repair of the leak and resulting ceiling damage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of simple and complex structures, and many sentences are controlled, such as “Since my workplace is very close, I would like to continue my lease for one year.” The past and present time references are generally clear, and punctuation supports readability. A few grammatical errors remain: “because at that time I recently moved” has an awkward tense relationship, while “to finding new job opportunities” uses the wrong verb form after “to.” In “extend the as soon as possible,” the object of “extend” is missing, and “ask maintenance team” needs an article or possessive determiner. Review infinitive patterns, tense consistency, and articles; correcting these would make the otherwise clear structures more consistently accurate.

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