Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-01

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 Mr. Smith,

I am writing this letter regarding noise from your apartment.

I hope everything is going well. My name is Shraddha i am your building neighbour i live in 4th floor just below from you. I have one minor issues from last a few weeks i have been noticed that music volume from your floor is frequently lauder.I do work on sunlight as well as work from home. It is quite challanging for me to focus my work also during the chat with my co-workers it often interupted.

My request to you to please slow down volume or use alternative option like headphone. Or you can decide a timing so i will enjoy that music too. beacause i am music lover too. I will be highlly appriecient.

I hope i will hear back from you.

Your faithfull,

Shraddha.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You successfully covered all parts of the required letter by addressing Mr. Smith, describing the noise situation, explaining why it is a problem for you, and suggesting a practical solution involving headphones or timing. Your purpose in writing is quite clear throughout the message. However, certain ideas are noticeably under-developed; for example, the explanation of how it impacts your work is brief and lacks extension. Additionally, it is important to note that the response does not meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as your text contains 140 words. To reach a higher level in this criterion, you should expand further on your points with richer detail and ensure you comfortably exceed the minimum word limit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter has a coherent overall arrangement that allows the reader to follow your narrative and understand your main message easily. You used a standard layout for a semi-formal letter, beginning with an appropriate salutation and ending with a formal sign-off. However, the cohesion between some sentences feels somewhat mechanical or abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the transition between discussing your work setup and introducing your request. Paragraphing is used to separate your greeting, the main issue, your proposed solutions, and your closing remarks. To improve further, you should work on using a wider and more natural variety of cohesive devices to link your sentences and ideas smoothly, ensuring a clearer logical progression throughout the entire response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You demonstrated an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'alternative option' and 'music lover'. However, your writing contains noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally draw the reader's attention, such as 'lauder' instead of 'louder', 'challanging', 'interupted', 'highlly', 'appriecient', and 'faithfull'. You also made word form errors, such as 'i have been noticed' instead of 'I have noticed'. These inaccuracies indicate a limited lexical control appropriate for this band level. To achieve a higher score, you need to expand your vocabulary range, use less common lexical items with greater precision, and carefully check your spelling and word forms before final submission.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You used a mix of simple and complex sentence forms in your letter, attempting structures such as 'for a few weeks I have been noticed that...' and 'Or you can decide a timing so i will enjoy...'. Your writing contains frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and capitalization, such as 'i am your building neighbour i live in 4th floor' and 'please slow down volume'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are common enough to cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve your grammar score, you should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, using articles correctly with prepositions and places, ensuring consistent pronoun capitalization, and reducing recurring structural errors.

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

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