Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-17

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 6.5)

Dear Benjamin,

I am writing this letter in regards to the daily disturbance I experience from your unit. My name is Roland, I live on the first floor just directly above your unit on the second floor. I find it difficult to sleep every night because of the loud stereo music playing in the background, and this has become quite burdersome for me.

I really enjoy sleeping in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere but the constant music emancipating from your room has been causing me sleepless nights. Also, It has been a challenge on my health because I have not been getting proper sleep.

This goes on to say that it should not be a problem for you because, an alternative for you is to either reduce to volume to bare minimum or totally turn the sound system off. But whatever you decide to do is your personal decision and I would urge you to respect my privacy also.

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

Kind regards,

Roland

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully covers all three bullet points from the prompt. You described the situation clearly by mentioning the daily disturbance caused by the loud stereo music. You also explained why it is a problem by stating that it causes sleepless nights and has become a challenge to your health. Finally, you suggested a solution, which is to reduce the volume or turn off the sound system. However, there is a minor contradiction in your spatial description: in the opening paragraph, you state that you live on the first floor 'just directly above your unit on the second floor,' which actually means you are below Benjamin, though the context implies you are upstairs. Despite this slight confusion, all parts of the task are well-addressed with a polite tone appropriate for a general training letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. You start with an appropriate greeting, move into the purpose of the letter and the description of the problem, follow up with the personal impact and solution, and close with a courteous sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices are generally used effectively, although phrases like 'This goes on to say that' are slightly unnatural in this context. Overall, the ideas flow logically and are easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 7 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common items such as 'atmosphere,' 'alternative,' and 'disturbance.' However, there are a few noticeable vocabulary and word choice errors. For instance, you used the word 'burdersome' (spelling error for 'burdensome') and 'emancipating' instead of 'emanating' (music emanating from a room). Additionally, 'reduce to volume' contains a small preposition error. These lexical inaccuracies prevent the piece from reaching a higher band score, but communication is never impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I find it difficult to sleep every night because of the loud stereo music playing in the background.' There are some grammatical errors and punctuation slips, such as the comma splice in 'Also, It has been a challenge on my health' and the capitalisation of 'It.' Furthermore, prepositions and article usage show occasional lapses, such as 'reduce to volume to bare minimum' instead of 'reduce the volume to a bare minimum.' The majority of sentences are understandable, placing your grammar securely in the Band 6 category.

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

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