Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-24
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, Hope you are doing well. I am writing this to inform you that noise of playing music from your house affecting my studies. Firstly , My final exams are not so far . Mostly I study late night after my job . But late night music sounds from your flat distract me from my studies . Due to this , I cannot focus or pay attention to my studies , I used to study in peaceful and quiet environment . But sounds of music from your apartment keeps on distracting me . To sum up , I will be grateful if you could change your tine to play music for some days , till my exams . I study mostly at night , So kindly avoid playing music at night . I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely , Sam
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student covers all bullet points required by the task prompt: explaining the problem of late-night music, why it causes difficulties with upcoming exams, and requesting specific action to change the music-playing times. However, the response falls short of the minimum word count requirement, containing only 143 words against the required 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to neighbours, the points are presented rather briefly. For instance, stating 'Mostly I study late night after my job' touches on the difficulty, but lacks full extension. Due to the failure to meet the minimum length constraint and the resulting limited development, this response fits the Band 5.5 criteria.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter exhibits a basic logical organization with a clear salutation and sign-off. The student attempts to structure the body into thematic paragraphs covering the problem, the impact, and the requested action. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with several very short paragraphs and disjointed sentences, such as 'To sum up , I will be grateful...' followed immediately by 'I study mostly at night...'. Cohesive devices are used simply and repetitively, such as 'Firstly' and 'Due to this', and punctuation around commas is frequently erratic with spaces before the punctuation marks. While the overall intent is clear, the mechanical cohesion and choppy paragraph structure place this clearly at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses a limited vocabulary range that is minimally adequate for the task. Basic phrases such as 'Hope you are doing well', 'final exams', and 'peaceful and quiet environment' communicate the core message successfully. However, there are notable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'noise of playing music' instead of 'playing loud music', and 'change your tine' instead of 'change your time' or 'lower the volume'. Attempts at less common vocabulary are minimal, and repetition of words like 'studies', 'music', and 'night' restricts the lexical score. Because the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic message despite noticeable errors, this merits a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors, such as missing auxiliary verbs ('from your house affecting my studies' instead of 'affects' or 'is affecting') and tense or preposition slips ('My final exams are not so far'). Punctuation is also problematic, characterised by persistent spacing errors before commas (e.g., 'Firstly ,', 'Due to this ,'). While some sentences are straightforward and clear, the frequency of basic grammatical and punctuation inaccuracies means that error-free sentences are in the minority. This performance aligns with Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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