Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You rent a flat from an accommodation agency. Your neighbour who rents their flat from the same agency plays very loud video games late at night.

Write a letter to the accommodation agency. In your letter

• explain when the problem began

• describe how the noise affects you

• say what you would like the agency to do

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir or Mdam,

I am writing email regarding a flat I rent from through accomodation agency. I wan to inform you that our neighnour who rents their flat from the same agency and they play very loud video games late at night and distrub us.

When I rent property from the agency,we spend a week then the neighbour started play a video games during late night. Moreover, I already inform them about this but they haven't listen to me.

This noise affects me in many ways. I have started practice and reading for my upcoming exam, but due to this noise I can not focus on my study as I am night bird. My parents can not sleep especially night time. My children wake up suddendly when they are shouting.

I am requesting you that please inform them about these issues we are suffering from the noise. We have to cooperate with neighbour and understand the situation as become neighbour. So pass this message to neighbour from youir side.

I would appreciate if you could do.

Looking forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Tim Pell

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you say the problem began about a week after renting the property, explain that it disrupts your exam preparation and your family’s sleep, and ask the agency to contact the neighbour. The purpose is clear and the formal closing suits the situation. Some details are less fully developed, however. For example, “When I rent property from the agency,we spend a week” makes the timeline difficult to understand, and the request to “pass this message” does not specify what action you expect if the noise continues. Clarify the start date and ask for a concrete step, such as speaking with the neighbour and requesting that gaming stop during quiet hours. The eight words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces the complaint, gives background, describes the effects, and ends with a request and a polite sign-off. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages. You also use basic links such as “Moreover” and “but” to connect ideas. At times, however, the progression within a paragraph is less clear: “When I rent property… we spend a week then the neighbour started…” combines the timeline and complaint in a confusing way. The repeated references to “noise” and “neighbour” also make the request paragraph feel repetitive, while “So pass this message” does not connect smoothly to the preceding sentence. Use clearer sequencing and refer back to the issue more precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main complaint, including “upcoming exam,” “focus,” and “cooperate,” and the reader can generally understand the situation. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors reduce clarity or naturalness. Examples include “Mdam,” “accomodation,” “neighnour,” “distrub,” and “suddendly.” Some phrases are also awkward, such as “I am writing email regarding a flat I rent from through accomodation agency” and “I am night bird.” Choose more natural expressions for a formal complaint, such as “I am writing to complain about noise from a neighbouring flat” and “I often study late at night.” Proofreading spelling and checking collocations would make the message more precise and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentences, for example, “I have started practice and reading for my upcoming exam, but due to this noise I can not focus…” This shows an effort to explain cause and effect. Some grammatical errors remain, though, and they occasionally make relationships between ideas unclear. In “When I rent property… we spend a week then the neighbour started play,” the tense shifts and the verb pattern after “started” need correction; “When I rented the property, the neighbour started playing…” would be clearer. Other examples include missing articles in “I am writing email” and “a video games,” and the awkward construction “I would appreciate if you could do.” Use consistent past tense for the timeline and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.