Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-03

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 6.5)

Dear Jaivik,

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Sam Mistry and I live next door. I am writing this to express my concerns about the late night music.

I am studying at Lambton college and my exams are coming in next week. I usually study at night because I have a part-time job during the day. However, for last couple of days, my studies have been affected by your late night music and it is extremely hard for me to focus. Your loud late night music is not only affecting my studies but also disturbing my sleep. I have not been able to sleep properly due to the loud music.

Therefore, I am making a request to take some actions against it. Either you can play slow music or you can change your time and play it in the daytime.

I hope you understand my situation.

Yours sincerely,

Sam Mistry

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly explain the problem (late-night music), describe the impact on your studies and sleep, and propose specific actions for the neighbour to take. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a neighbour, maintaining a polite yet firm stance. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more detail regarding the specific times the music occurs or the nature of your upcoming examinations to further flesh out the context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a distinct aspect of the task, which aids readability. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Therefore', and 'not only... but also' to connect your ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be improved with more sophisticated linking words. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the overall structure is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and conveys your meaning clearly. You use some relevant collocations like 'part-time job' and 'express my concerns'. However, the range is somewhat limited and relies on repetitive phrasing, such as using 'late night music' three times in the second paragraph. To improve, try to use synonyms or paraphrasing to avoid repetition. For example, you could refer to it as 'the loud noise' or 'the disturbance'. The word choice is generally accurate, though it lacks the variety required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are grammatically correct and easy to understand. There are a few minor errors, such as 'exams are coming in next week' (should be 'coming up') and 'for last couple of days' (should be 'for the last couple of days'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more attention to articles and phrasal verb usage. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures would help elevate your score in this criterion.

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

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