Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-20

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. John,

How is it going ? I hope you are doing well !

I am writing this letter to share my concern regarding the noise coming out from your house since last week.

I strongly believe that in your absence Adam and Jack are playing video games while there is a loud music playing in the background. Not only it creates an environment in our building largely unpleasant but also my work from home routine is significantly disrupted.

Lastly, if you can advise the kids that how much important it is to be self disciplined and become great community member by setting different examples for them.

I hope you will understand my concern.

Thank you

Anshul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the central situation—noise from the upstairs apartment—and explain that it makes the building unpleasant and disrupts your work-from-home routine. You also suggest speaking to the children, so the main task points are present. However, the response is under the required 150 words, and the ideas are only briefly stated. The description is speculative (“I strongly believe” the children are playing games and music), and the proposed solution is indirect: asking the neighbour to advise the children does not clearly request a practical change, such as lowering the volume or keeping noise down at certain times. Develop the impact and make a specific, polite request to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a recognisable order: it raises the concern, explains its effect, and offers a possible response. This gives the reader a basic sense of progression, and the closing is appropriate. However, the ideas are compressed into one main paragraph, so the situation, impact, and request are not clearly separated. “Lastly” suggests a sequence that has not been established, while “Not only … but also” is awkwardly connected to the preceding sentence. Use separate paragraphs for the noise, its consequences, and your request, and connect them with straightforward transitions. This would make the organisation clearer and reduce the impression of a list of points.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “concern,” “disrupted,” “unpleasant,” and “self disciplined.” These choices communicate the issue and its effect, and the meaning is generally clear. Some phrasing is less natural or precise: “noise coming out from your house” and “an environment in our building largely unpleasant” do not sound idiomatic, while “great community member” is vague in this context. Choose more natural collocations such as “noise coming from your apartment,” “disturbs the other residents,” and “considerate neighbour.” Also check the form and spacing of “self-disciplined.” More precise, neighbourly wording would make the letter sound both clearer and more appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast structure “Not only … but also,” and the main message remains understandable. However, some grammatical errors affect accuracy. In “Not only it creates,” the auxiliary should precede the subject (“Not only does it create”); “there is a loud music” uses an unnecessary article; and “advise the kids that how much important it is” has an incorrect clause structure. The question mark and exclamation mark are also separated from the preceding words by spaces. Aim for controlled sentence patterns, for example, “Could you please ask the children to keep the music down?” This would improve accuracy while retaining some structural variety.

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

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