Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

New neighbours have recently moved into the house/flat next door to where you live. You have examinations soon, but your neighbours play music late at night which is affecting your studies and sleep.

• explain what the problem is
• why it is causing you difficulties
• what action you would like them to take

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear sir or madam,

I am writing this letter to inform you about the my final exam which will be begin next week.

I work part time in a restaurant in daytime so i do most of my preparations for exam at night. From last few days i am have problem on focusing because of the loud music. This exam means to me a lot to get a better job moreover i am not that good on study so i have to be more focused in it. Also as an international student if i got fail or not get good grade i will be in problem. I am really sorry i have to write this letter to you but could you please low the volume after 11pm however you can play full volume untill 11pm. I will be really thankful to you.

Thank you so much for your understanding.

Yours faithfully

Rohit saud

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: it explains the problem (loud music), the impact (difficulty studying for exams), and suggests a solution (lowering volume after 11pm). However, the tone is inconsistent. The prompt asks for a letter to a neighbour, but the student uses the formal salutation 'Dear sir or madam' and 'Yours faithfully', which is appropriate for a formal complaint to a landlord or authority, but less natural for a direct request to a new neighbour. The ideas are relevant but could be developed with more natural phrasing to better convey the urgency of the situation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a basic logical progression, moving from the introduction of the problem to the impact and finally the request. However, the paragraphing is non-existent, as the entire body is written as a single block of text. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'moreover' and 'however', but they are sometimes used incorrectly or in a way that feels mechanical. The flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the middle section where the student discusses their academic struggles. Improved paragraphing would significantly enhance the readability and structure of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'I am have problem on focusing' and 'I got fail or not get good grade'. These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly less clear, though the reader can still understand the intent. The student relies on basic vocabulary and struggles with collocations. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on using more natural expressions for making requests and describing academic pressures, such as 'concentrating' instead of 'focusing' and 'failing my exams' instead of 'got fail'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement ('I am have problem'), tense usage ('will be begin'), and article usage ('the my final exam'). There is a limited range of sentence structures, with most sentences being simple or containing errors when attempting complexity. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of lowercase 'i' and missing commas. While the errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader and indicate a lack of control over basic grammatical rules.

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

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