Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-20

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 negihbours

i hope you are settling well, i am living next door to you. i am a student doing my masters and in coming weeks i do have my final exam. they worthy 70% of weightage for my master credits.

i do know you are not aware of my situation and i can understand you are doing new house celebration. becuase of loud music it is difficult for me to concentrate on my studies.

i do work have part time job and balancing everything is difficult for me. i do come back after 9pm and my study schedule is 9-12pm.

i hope you understand the situation you can play music before 9pm i would not mind.

i look forward to hearing from you.

kind regards

raj

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate has attempted all three bullet points required in the task instructions: explaining the problem of the loud music, stating why it is causing difficulties with upcoming master's examinations, and requesting a specific action regarding the timing of the music. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 127 words. Because of this under-length penalty, the development of ideas remains slightly limited and brief. While the tone is appropriately polite for a letter to a neighbour, the lack of sufficient length prevents a higher score in Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear communicative purpose, moving logically from a polite greeting and the statement of the problem to personal difficulties and a proposed solution. However, paragraphing is not handled conventionally or sufficiently, as the text is broken into multiple very short, disjointed blocks rather than standard structured paragraphs for a formal or semi-formal letter. Cohesive devices are minimal, relying mostly on repetition and basic connectors like 'because of' and 'and'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of flexible cohesive devices and poor paragraph structure limit this section to a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic communicative task, featuring some relevant terms such as 'master's', 'part-time job', and 'concentrate'. However, the range is limited and repetitive. There are multiple lexical and spelling errors, such as 'negihbours' instead of neighbours, 'they worthy 70% of weightage' instead of 'they are worth 70% of the weight', and 'new house celebration' instead of a housewarming party. These errors and the restricted vocabulary range prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence forms, such as conditional or concessive clauses ('i do know you are not aware... and i can understand'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in punctuation and capitalization (e.g., lowercase 'i'), incorrect verb tenses and forms ('do have my final exam', 'do work have part time job'), and missing articles. These numerous errors occasionally cause minor strain for the reader, though the core message remains understandable.

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

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