Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-19

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 7.5)

Dear Mrs Smith,

I would like to inform you about my desire to extend my tenancy period in your apartment to one year, as opposed to our initial agreement of staying for six months. This means that I would like to pay the rent and any other utility bill for the second half of the year.

Initially, I thought that I would be done with my master's programme by July. However, I just realised that I am expected to also complete a 12-week industrial training in any relevant organisation within the UK, so I wouldn't be able to travel back to Nigeria until I am done with the training. For this reason, I have decided to stay in London until December, so I can spend the holidays here and experience how christmas is being celebrated in this country.

I would also like to call your attention to a leakage in the kitchen tap. I have actually been managing this problem because I thought that I had just few more weeks to stay in the apartment, so I didn't want to bother you. Since I'll be retaining the flat for the next six months, I would appreciate it if the plumber could come to check the problem and possibly fix it for me.

Thank you for help and I look forward to a favourable response.

Yours sincerely,

Mariam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The letter covers all three requested points clearly: you ask to extend the tenancy to one year, explain that your master’s programme and a 12-week placement keep you in the UK, and report a leaking kitchen tap while requesting a repair. The reasons are developed with relevant detail, including your plan to remain in London until December. The tone is appropriately polite and the request is easy to understand. To make the response even more complete, clarify the exact dates of the extension, since “one year” and “until December” may not identify the same end date depending on when the agreement began. Overall, the task is addressed fully, with only this small point of precision to improve.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: the extension request comes first, the change in circumstances follows, and the maintenance issue is raised before the closing. Paragraphing supports this progression, and links such as “Initially,” “However,” and “For this reason” help show how the ideas relate. The letter is easy to follow throughout. Some connections could be made more economical: the first paragraph repeats the extension idea in “extend my tenancy period” and “staying for six months,” while the final paragraph uses several sentences to explain why the leak was not reported earlier. Streamlining these points and linking the repair request more directly to the extension would make cohesion feel more effortless.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal letter, including “initial agreement,” “industrial training,” “relevant organisation,” and “call your attention to.” These choices communicate the situation precisely, and the tone remains courteous. There are a few less natural collocations or word choices: “tenancy period” could be more idiomatically expressed as “tenancy,” and “a leakage in the kitchen tap” is better phrased as “a leak from the kitchen tap.” “Retaining the flat” is also less natural here than “continuing to rent the flat.” The lowercase “christmas” is a spelling/capitalisation slip. Greater consistency in natural collocations and careful proofreading would strengthen an otherwise effective vocabulary range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter shows a useful mix of sentence forms, including complex explanations with “as opposed to,” “because,” and “so,” and most sentences are clear and well controlled. The conditional phrasing in “I would appreciate it if the plumber could come” is particularly appropriate for a polite request. A few grammatical details need attention: “I thought that I had just few more weeks” requires the article “a” before “few,” and “Thank you for help” needs a determiner, as in “Thank you for your help.” The long sentence beginning “However, I just realised…” is understandable but could be divided to make its structure easier to manage. These are limited errors, but proofreading articles and sentence boundaries would improve accuracy.

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