Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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 Madame,

I am the student from last month, who informed about the available flats, I am writing to complain about a problem.

My neighbour, who rented a flat next to me, has been playing video games since he arrived two weeks ago, he keeps the video games at the loudest, and always at night, and this really bothers me due the reason that sometimes I come exhausted from my shift at hospital, so I extremely need some rest, and I have to do some of my studies at night, but his noise affects on my concentration, then I can't do well.

I hope that you take the right decision to do, I suggest that you talk to him about his behavior, and emphasize that the things that he does are wrong, in addition to that, they affect on his health and on his neighbours, you can also try to make him play this games in particular places that are made for players.

I hope to hearing from you soon,

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: the problem began when the neighbour arrived two weeks ago, the noise disrupts your rest and concentration, and you ask the agency to speak to him. The details about returning exhausted from a hospital shift and studying at night make the effects relevant and personal. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others. For example, “take the right decision” does not clearly specify the action you expect, and the suggestion about designated places for players is not explained or clearly practical. Make the request more precise—for instance, ask the agency to remind the neighbour of quiet hours and follow up if the noise continues. The opening also gives background about a previous enquiry that is not needed for this complaint.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable progression from introducing the complaint, to describing its effects, and then requesting action. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and links such as “in addition to that” show an attempt to connect related points. However, several sentences are overloaded with multiple ideas joined by commas and “and,” especially the long paragraph about the noise and its effects. This makes the sequence harder to follow. Some connections are also unclear: “then I can't do well” does not specify what you cannot do well, and “the things that he does” is vague. Use shorter sentences, clearer references, and a more direct sequence of request and follow-up action.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its impact, including “exhausted,” “concentration,” and “neighbours.” There are also attempts to use more formal language, such as “I am writing to complain” and “I hope to hearing from you soon.” However, some choices are unnatural or imprecise, which limits the clarity and control of the vocabulary. For example, “keeps the video games at the loudest” does not naturally describe the volume, while “the right decision to do” is unclear. “Available flats” also seems unrelated to the current complaint. Choose precise collocations and maintain a formal tone throughout; this will make your meaning more natural without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“My neighbour, who rented a flat next to me”) and a conditional idea (“sometimes I come exhausted…”). However, some complex sentences are not controlled successfully, and punctuation errors make them difficult to read. The opening sentence joins two independent ideas with commas, and the long sentence about the neighbour’s gaming also contains several clauses joined without clear boundaries. There are errors in grammatical patterns, such as “affects on my concentration” and “I hope to hearing from you.” Review verb patterns and sentence boundaries, and divide long sentences into shorter units. More accurate control of these structures would make the letter easier to understand.

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

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