Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-16

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 to complain about the noise coming from your apartment every day.

I would like to inform you about the hight music sound coming from your apartment, which makes me ill since I hear it. Unfortunately, I was not be able to sleep for three days due to this, and that's affect negatively my life routine, especially my professional life because i come very exhausted from my work and it would be a very serious issue for my health as my well-being.

I would appreciate it if you could take off the sound of music or reduce it, especialy in knight to avoid any reclamation to the state from me in the future.

I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,

khaloua soufyane

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you identify daily music noise, explain that it has affected your sleep and work, and ask your neighbour to lower it, especially at night. These details make the complaint relevant and give the reader a clear sense of the problem. However, the explanation and proposed solution are brief and not fully developed, and the response is 17 words below the required minimum. Add a specific example of when the noise occurs and explain how it affects your routine; then suggest a practical arrangement, such as keeping music low after a particular hour. This would make the letter more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a sensible overall order: it introduces the complaint, describes its effect, and then makes a request. The paragraph breaks also help distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “Unfortunately” and “I would appreciate it if” signal the relationship between ideas. Some connections are less clear, however. The long sentence beginning “Unfortunately” combines sleep, routine, work, and health without clearly separating the points, while “that's affect negatively my life routine” makes the progression harder to follow. Use shorter sentences and clearer links between the noise, its consequences, and your request. A brief closing sentence could also complete the letter more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to a neighbour complaint, including “noise,” “professional life,” “reduce,” and “well-being,” so the main message is understandable. However, the range is limited, and several inaccurate word choices or spellings make the letter sound unnatural: “hight music sound,” “take off the sound,” “knight,” and “reclamation” do not express the intended meanings clearly. “I hear it” is also an imprecise way to describe the effect of the noise. Choose familiar, accurate collocations rather than attempting expressions that do not fit. For example, describe “loud music,” ask the neighbour to “turn it down,” and refer to “a complaint” if you need to mention contacting the authorities.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause “which makes me ill” and the polite conditional “I would appreciate it if you could…”. However, errors in verb forms and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “I was not be able to sleep” should be “I was not able to sleep,” and “that's affect negatively my life routine” needs a corrected verb structure, such as “that has negatively affected my routine.” The phrase “it would be a very serious issue for my health as my well-being” is also difficult to follow grammatically. Practise accurate past-tense forms and build complex sentences around one clear main idea.

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