Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-01

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/Madam,

I am writing to make a complaint about noisy neighbours living next door who have been moved here recently.

First of all, all the members living in that flat are youngsters. Not only that but they also play loud music at midnight. I often hear them screaming and shouting.

Because of all these, I am not be able to concentrate on my studies. I have my examinations within a week, and I loose my focus everytime. I could not even sleep properly since a last few days.

I would appreciate it if you could talk with them personally instead of giving them the notice or the warning. That might change the situation and I can prepare myself for the examination. I hope it works.

I appreciate your valuable time and efforts. I look forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Rutvi Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by explaining the problem regarding noisy neighbours, detailing how it causes difficulties with sleep and upcoming exams, and stating the requested action of a personal talk rather than a formal notice. However, the requirement of writing at least 150 words has not been met, as the student's response contains 145 words, leaving the length requirement unfulfilled. Furthermore, some ideas are slightly under-developed, particularly the explanation of who the neighbours are and the specific impacts on studies, which places the task response at this level. To reach a higher band, the student must ensure the word count exceeds the 150-word minimum and fully develop every bullet point with deeper elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, standard structure including an appropriate salutation, body paragraphs, and a sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different points, such as the problem, its effects, and the desired action. Cohesive devices are generally present, as seen with transitional phrases like "First of all" and referencing pronouns. However, referencing is occasionally repetitive or slightly mechanical, such as the frequent repetition of sentence openings. To achieve a higher band, the student could employ a wider and more sophisticated variety of cohesive devices to manage the progression of ideas more fluidly without relying on basic transitional markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended message about the noise complaint and approaching exams. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as "concentrate" and "appreciate", but there are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as writing "loose my focus" instead of "lose my focus" and "since a last few days" instead of "for the last few days". These lexical and spelling inaccuracies do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the range and precision of the response. To progress further, the student should expand their range of less common lexical items and refine their control over word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic structures and attempting more intricate patterns, such as conditional clauses in "That might change the situation and I can prepare myself". There are some grammatical errors, such as the tense and auxiliary mistake in "I am not be able to concentrate" and preposition usage in "look forward to hear from you". Nonetheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede overall communication. To move up to a higher band, the student needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with a higher frequency of entirely error-free sentences.

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

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