Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-17

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You live in a small apartment building. You are frequently bothered by noise from your upstairs neighbour's apartment.

Write a letter to your neighbour. In your letter
• describe the situation.
• explain why it is a problem for you.
• suggest a solution.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear _________,

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear sir,

i am writing this email to you because we are bothered by noise from upstairs neighbour's apartment.

During mid-night, they are shouting, or parties happening past standard municipal quiet hours. We have children at home. So, we need to wake up early in the morning.

I am constantly being disrupted by playing loud music late night. sleeping at least 6 hours is generally considered insufficient and can increase long-term risks for health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and lower immune system. i could not tolerate anymore. Hence, i am informing you about the situation.

i am requesting you to tell the residents who live on the upstairs apartment. Thus, they can take care of the noise. i would suggest to implement policy throughout whole apartment that bans loud noise after 12:00 AM. Please address this issue with tenants and enforce the building rules.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the noise, explaining the impact, and suggesting a solution. However, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. The tone is somewhat inconsistent; while it is a formal request, the inclusion of medical facts about sleep deprivation feels slightly out of place for a neighbourly letter. To improve, ensure you meet the word count requirement to allow for a more natural and fully developed explanation of the situation, and maintain a consistent, polite, yet firm tone throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of the complaint. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. Phrases like 'Hence' and 'Thus' are used, but the flow between sentences is occasionally abrupt. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as when you refer to 'the residents who live on the upstairs apartment' when you are writing to the neighbour who is presumably the source of the noise. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clear pronoun references would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'bothered by noise' and 'playing loud music'. There is an attempt to use more formal language with terms like 'insufficient' and 'municipal quiet hours', but some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'lower immune system' (should be 'weakened immune system'). To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider range of vocabulary related to housing and noise complaints.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There are several grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. These include capitalization errors (e.g., 'i' instead of 'I'), missing articles ('at mid-night', 'on the upstairs apartment'), and some awkward sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. You should focus on basic proofreading to correct capitalization and article usage, and try to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures to demonstrate better grammatical control.

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

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