Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-07

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 neighbour,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to express my concern about the excessive noise from your apartment. This situation makes hard-time to me especially at night.

I am staying at downstairs, and due to the limited space, the sound came from upstairs significantly distracted my focus. I am a student and am having my semester exams on next week, due to this noise pollution, I can not focus on my lessons.

I understand, people need to use media for leisure time, and I respect that too. However, the loud sound makes others uncomfortable. I would like to suggest that you can enjoy the music and your family matter coversation with a lower sound in the evening time.

I hope this message will clear my cancers from your side and i hope we can solve this proble in a friendly manner

You

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you describe noise from upstairs, explain that it disrupts your study before semester exams, and ask your neighbour to lower the volume. The purpose is clear and the tone is generally considerate, especially in “I respect that too.” However, the description and proposed solution are not fully developed: specify when the noise is most disruptive and suggest a practical arrangement, such as keeping music low after a particular hour. The closing also contains wording that obscures your intended message. The response is 148 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 150; add a little relevant detail to complete the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the concern, explains its effect on your studies, and then makes a request. Paragraph breaks help the reader follow these stages, and phrases such as “However” signal a change from understanding your neighbour’s needs to explaining the impact. This organisation is effective, but some links and references are less clear. For example, “This situation makes hard-time to me” does not clearly connect the noise to its effect, while “clear my cancers from your side” makes the closing difficult to interpret. Use straightforward transitions and ensure each sentence clearly refers to the noise, its consequences, or your proposed solution.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “excessive noise,” “distracted my focus,” “semester exams,” and “lower sound.” These choices make the main concern understandable, and “noise pollution” shows an attempt to use a more formal expression. However, several inaccurate or unnatural phrases reduce precision, such as “makes hard-time to me,” “family matter coversation,” and “clear my cancers.” Spelling errors in “proble” and “coversation,” along with inconsistent capitalisation of “i,” also affect the overall impression. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; precise everyday language will communicate your request more effectively than phrases whose meaning is unclear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the explanation beginning “I am a student and am having my semester exams…” and the contrast introduced by “However.” The reader can generally understand the main message, but some grammatical errors make parts of the letter awkward. For example, “I am staying at downstairs” has an incorrect preposition, and “the sound came from upstairs” shifts tense unnecessarily when describing an ongoing problem. The sentence beginning “due to the limited space” also has an unclear grammatical connection to the noise. Practise accurate sentence patterns for location, ongoing situations, and cause and effect, and use punctuation to separate longer ideas clearly.

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

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