Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-01

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 6.5)

Dear Ali,

I hope you are doing well. Initially my plan was to utilise this aprtment for six months only. My aim was to complete my internship and get back to my home Islamabad. Fortunately, my company said, they want to hire me for two years. None of my relatives or friends live in this city. I am aware that my agreement is ending by the end of this month.

I spent two days to decide whether I should avail this opportunity or not. I talked with my parents and they suggested me to grab this golden chance and advise me to to never miss it. Now I have decided to live there for two more years. I want you to extend my agreement and let me live there. I am very comfortable here and It gives me feel like my own home. Finding new apartment will cost my time and personally I want to live there. I have spent handsome amount of time here.

Everything of this apartment is great except one. That is sewage issue. The draining system does not work well. Kindly look into this matter and consider my request too.

Looking forward to hearing positive response from you

Regards

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requirements clearly: you request a further two years, explain that your company has offered you a job after your internship, and report that the drainage system is not working properly. Your intention is clear throughout, and the personal reasons—feeling comfortable in the apartment and wanting to avoid the time involved in finding another—help support the request. To make the explanation more fully developed, clarify the change from your original plan to return to Islamabad and state more directly when you would like the extension to begin. The problem is identified, but a brief description of its effect or a specific request for repair would make this point more complete. The polite opening and closing suit the purpose of the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a sensible sequence: you explain your original plan and changed circumstances, make the extension request, then raise the apartment problem. Paragraphing helps distinguish these purposes, and links such as “Fortunately,” “Now,” and “except one” guide the reader through the message. This gives the letter a coherent overall structure. Some connections are less smooth, however: “None of my relatives or friends live in this city” is not clearly linked to the job offer, and “consider my request too” leaves the reader to infer which request you mean. Use clearer transitions and references, and combine closely related points so the progression feels more continuous and less like a series of separate statements.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal personal letter, including “internship,” “opportunity,” “extend my agreement,” and “draining system.” These choices communicate the main points, and phrases such as “golden chance” show an attempt to use more expressive language. Some wording is inaccurate or unnatural, though: “utilise this apartment” is not the usual way to describe renting a home, “avail this opportunity” is awkward in this context, and “handsome amount of time” does not express your meaning naturally. There is also a spelling error in “aprtment.” Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling; this will make your vocabulary more flexible and appropriate to the letter’s tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the explanation “my plan was to… and get back…” and the contrast introduced by “Everything… is great except one.” Most sentences remain understandable, so grammatical errors do not prevent the reader from following your request. Some errors in sentence structure, verb patterns, articles, and punctuation remain. For example, “they suggested me to grab” should use a different verb pattern, and “I spent two days to decide” needs a gerund construction. The repeated “to” in “advise me to to never miss it,” the capitalisation of “It” mid-sentence, and the comma after “said” also need attention. Proofread these patterns while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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