Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-17

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 5.5)

Dear Ramn,

I hope you and you're family doing well. Actually, I'm writing this letter to express my my disappoinment due to your living style.

As you know, me and my husband living down on the first floor apartment. We both work full- time during day and usually when come back from work and try to sleep, you guys start cleaning.The vaccum voice bother us and we find difficulty to sleep, which is result to wake up late in the next morning. This inconvience hard for us.

I have a good relation with you for a while, so I don't want to complain against you. However, I would suggest you a appropriate solution which is that you can change you cleaning schedule to day time. Therefore, we can enjoy our evenings well and also get better sleep to rejuvenate ourself.

I

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the three requested points: you describe noise from cleaning and a vacuum, explain that it disrupts your sleep before work, and suggest changing the cleaning schedule. The reason for writing is clear, and the polite reference to your good relationship helps establish an appropriate tone. However, the explanation and proposed solution are brief, and the letter ends abruptly with “I,” leaving the closing incomplete. The response also contains 141 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 150. Develop the impact with a specific detail and make the request more precise—for example, suggest agreed quiet hours or ask whether cleaning could happen earlier in the evening.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally clear progression: an opening, a description of the disturbance and its effect, and a proposed solution. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, while “As you know,” “However,” and “Therefore” guide the reader through the message. Some connections are less smooth, though: “Actually” does not clearly introduce the purpose, and “Therefore” makes the final result sound more certain than the suggestion warrants. The final standalone “I” also interrupts the ending and leaves the letter without a complete sign-off. Use a direct opening, link the problem and request more naturally, and finish with a complete closing sentence and sign-off.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the situation, including “cleaning schedule,” “difficulty to sleep,” and “rejuvenate,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There is some attempt to express the inconvenience and maintain a considerate tone. However, several spelling errors and awkward or imprecise choices reduce naturalness, such as “disappoinment,” “vaccum voice,” and “inconvience hard for us.” “Living style” also sounds like a criticism of the neighbour’s lifestyle rather than a specific concern about noise. Choose precise, polite phrases such as “the noise from the vacuum,” “disrupts our sleep,” and “this has been difficult for us.” Check spelling carefully and avoid repeating “my” in the opening.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a sentence explaining the effect of the noise and one introducing a proposed solution. However, errors in basic sentence structure and verb forms are frequent enough to make parts of the letter awkward. For example, “you and you're family doing well” needs a complete verb phrase, and “me and my husband living” is missing an auxiliary. In “when come back from work,” the subject is omitted, while “you can change you cleaning schedule” has an incorrect possessive form. There are also article and agreement problems in “a appropriate solution” and “rejuvenate ourself.” Practise complete clauses, subject–verb agreement, and possessive forms, then proofread each sentence.

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

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