Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-29

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 neighbours

I live downstairs in a basement .i wanted to request you about the problem i face every night because of the noise .As i am a student and a worker too, so i hardly get a chance to get a good sleep every time . its really hard to study during the night time .Currently , my exams are pursuing soon so i need to prepare for that.

secondly, its really difficult for me to sleep especially after 9 pm and i am feeling restless whole day at job and college.

Moving forward ,I am requesting you to please co-operate with me to resolve this issue so that i can focus on my studies and get a tight sleep. along with this if really listen to music , high volume before 7 pm is good ,so we both dont have any issue

thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main points by describing recurring noise, explaining its effect on your sleep and studies, and asking your neighbour to keep music at a lower volume or play it before 7 pm. The details about being a student and worker, and having exams soon, make the impact relevant. However, the request is not fully clear: “if really listen to music” does not specify what volume or behaviour you want, and the situation itself could be described more precisely. The letter also contains 146 words, so it falls four words short of the required minimum. Develop the proposed solution into a clear, polite request, such as asking for quiet after a particular time.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The ideas follow a generally understandable order: you introduce the noise, explain its effect, and then suggest a way to resolve it. Paragraph breaks help separate the problem from the request. However, the progression is sometimes weakened by mechanical or unclear linking, such as “secondly” and “Moving forward,” and the second paragraph repeats the difficulty sleeping rather than adding a distinct point. The transition into the music suggestion is also hard to follow. Use a clearer paragraph structure and link each point directly—for example, describe the noise first, explain its consequences next, and make one specific request in the final paragraph. A conventional closing would also make the letter feel more complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the central issue, including “noise,” “good sleep,” “study,” “exams,” and “resolve this issue.” Some phrases show an attempt to express the situation more precisely, such as “feeling restless whole day.” However, several word choices and collocations are unnatural or unclear, particularly “exams are pursuing soon,” “get a tight sleep,” and “co-operate with me.” These choices make parts of the request less precise, even though the overall meaning can be understood. Aim for natural phrases commonly used in polite letters, such as “my exams are coming up,” “get a good night’s sleep,” and “work with me to resolve this problem.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including an explanation beginning “As I am a student and a worker too.” The main message is usually understandable, but errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include the sentence fragment “As I am a student and a worker too, so…,” inconsistent capitalisation after full stops (“.i”), and missing or misplaced punctuation around clauses. There are also problems with sentence construction in “if really listen to music, high volume before 7 pm is good.” Practise forming complete sentences with one clear main clause, and check capital letters, commas, and full stops. For example: “As I study and work, I need a quiet environment to sleep and prepare for my exams.”

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

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