Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-30

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 sir,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter regarding the frequently noise coming from upstairs every weekend . Last Sunday, I was sleeping in my apartment and suddenly I experienced very loud noise in my room. However, I woke up immediately and won't be able to sleep for the rest of night. It happens every weekend and it puts adverse affect to my mental peace. I am software developer at IT company and I am doing my work from home. Mostly, I have my hectic schedule and it is very difficult for me to sleep peacefully at night. I would suggest you to give notice regarding the noise to neighbor's apartment so that they will never bother me for the next time. If it does not work, send him legal notice. Kindly, solve this problem as soon as possible. I would be thankful to you.

Regards

Anmol Arora

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main situation by describing recurring weekend noise, explain its effect on your sleep and peace of mind, and offer a possible response. However, the solution is not fully suited to the letter’s purpose: asking the neighbour to notify another apartment and then send a legal notice is unclear, especially since the noise is described as coming from upstairs. The reason the noise affects you is also only briefly developed; your work-from-home schedule is mentioned, but its connection to the noise is not explained. Make the request direct and considerate—for example, ask the neighbour to reduce noise during quiet hours—and clarify how it affects your rest or work. This would make the response more complete and its purpose clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally understandable order: it introduces the noise, describes an incident, explains its impact, and proposes action. Time markers such as “Last Sunday” and “every weekend” help establish the pattern. However, the ideas are presented in one continuous paragraph, so the stages of the letter are not clearly separated. Some links are also awkward: “However” does not show a clear contrast between waking up and being unable to sleep, and “If it does not work” has an unclear reference. Use short paragraphs for the situation, its effects, and your request, and connect each point with precise transitions. This would give the letter clearer progression and make the proposed solution easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary to describe the issue and its impact, including “frequently,” “loud noise,” “hectic schedule,” and “mental peace.” These choices communicate the general meaning, but several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision. For example, “frequently noise” is not a natural phrase, “puts adverse affect to” is an incorrect collocation, and “give notice regarding the noise” does not clearly express the action you want. The wording “for the next time” is also awkward. Aim for natural phrases suited to a polite neighbour letter, such as “recurring noise,” “affects my sleep,” and “keep the noise down.” More precise collocations would make your message clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the reader can generally understand the main message. However, errors occur across several sentence patterns. In “I was sleeping … and suddenly I experienced,” the tense sequence is awkward; “I woke up immediately and won't be able to sleep” shifts from past to future without a clear reason. Articles and prepositions are also missing or inaccurate in phrases such as “I am software developer,” “for the rest of night,” and “affect to my mental peace.” The sentence beginning “I would suggest you to give notice” has an incorrect verb pattern. Practise consistent past-tense narration for the incident and standard patterns such as “suggest that you…” or “ask you to…”. Careful punctuation and sentence editing would improve control.

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