Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-23

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 5.5)

Dear Landlord,

I am writing this letter regarding prolonged noise issue from upper floor tenants. From long time I am getting noise of loud music after 10:00 pm at night from upstairs. I can totally understand and ready to cooperate with them as I am musician too but the issue is it is happening at night and they keep on playing it until early morning which disturbs sleep or me and my family. Most important thing is that I am preparing for my upcoming UPSC exam.

I would be really happy if you can give formal notice to make sure no loud sound after 10:00 pm as there are many working professionals leaving in whole building or if is not possible I am ready to shift to A building top floor so that i can get permanent solution.

I hope that you will take this matter into prompt and serious consideration.

Yours sinceirely

Deep Ukani

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the noise, explaining the impact on your studies and sleep, and suggesting a solution. However, there is a significant issue with the recipient. The prompt asks you to write to your 'neighbour', but you addressed the letter to the 'Landlord'. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the task instructions, which negatively impacts the task achievement score. While the ideas are relevant, the tone and content are directed at the wrong person, making the letter less effective as a direct communication to the source of the noise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into three distinct paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'but' and 'if', but the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'Most important thing is that...'. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the problem to the impact and finally to the proposed solution. To improve, you should use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences is smoother to avoid a slightly disjointed feel.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on simple phrases like 'getting noise' and 'playing it'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'prolonged noise issue' (should be 'the prolonged noise issue') and 'leaving in whole building' (should be 'living in the building'). To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary related to the context, such as 'persistent disturbance' or 'inconsiderate behavior'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ('from upper floor tenants', 'in whole building'), incorrect verb forms ('I am musician too'), and punctuation issues. Some sentences are grammatically incomplete or awkward, such as 'I am ready to cooperate with them as I am musician too'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.

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

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