Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-15

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

The purpose of my writing today is to inform you about the disturbance that I am facing because of my new neighbours. I would like to ask you if you could help me to reduce the problem.

I have an exam coming up next week, so I have to study late in the evening and get enough sleep during the night time. But because of the loud music at night, my sleep gets disturbed. Because of the noise, I find it difficult to concentrate on my studies. All these things are making it hard for my examinations.

I would be truly grateful if you could lower the volume of the music, especially during nighttime after 10 PM. I can understand; you wanna enjoy your free time, but if you can understand the problem that I am facing.

I am looking forward to seeing how my suggestions translate into prompt action from your side. Your kind cooperation would be greatly appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Gohil

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. The letter opens by explaining the problem regarding the new neighbours, details why this is causing difficulties with upcoming examinations and sleep deprivation, and explicitly requests the desired action to lower the volume after 10 PM. However, there is a notable contradiction in the salutation and the third paragraph: the letter begins with 'Dear Sir or Madam,' implying it is addressed to a landlord or local authority, yet the third paragraph switches to direct address ('I can understand; you wanna enjoy your free time...'). This shift in audience slightly affects the clarity of the purpose. Despite this minor structural confusion, all task requirements are covered, earning a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a clear overall arrangement with distinct paragraph breaks serving appropriate functions, such as introduction, body paragraphs detailing the issues and request, and a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices are used, although some links are slightly repetitive or mechanical, such as the repeated use of 'Because of' in the second paragraph ('Because of the loud music...', 'Because of the noise...'). Referencing is mostly clear, but the logical progression suffers briefly due to the sudden shift in tone when addressing the neighbours directly rather than the housing management or authority initially implied by the formal salutation. Paragraphing is used sufficiently.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for a general task of this nature, using appropriate phrases like 'disturbance', 'concentrate on my studies', and 'truly grateful'. However, there are instances of informal or inappropriate phrasing, most notably 'you wanna enjoy your free time', which clashes with the formal tone expected in letters of complaint or request, especially given the formal 'Dear Sir or Madam' and 'Yours faithfully' framework. Other phrases like 'The purpose of my writing today is to inform you' are somewhat formulaic but accurate. Spelling and word choice errors do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a reasonable command of grammar. For example, the student successfully constructs conditional and multi-clause sentences such as 'I would be truly grateful if you could lower the volume of the music...'. There are some minor grammatical inaccuracies and awkward structures, notably the incomplete sentence fragment '...but if you can understand the problem that I am facing.' and the slightly unnatural phrasing 'making it hard for my examinations'. Punctuation is generally adequate, and the errors present rarely impede communication.

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

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