Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-28

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/Madam,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing regarding the disturbance from neighbour who plays very loud video games late at night.

I have been living in this flat for 4 months. My neighbour has lived here for 3 months. After one month, they are playing games very loudly. It is quite difficult for me to compromise more because i also need a quiet place where i can feel unwind.

I am college student and my exams are coming next month. So i need to concentrate on my study but because of noise problem from neighbour. It often becomes difficult to focus.

I would be gratefull if you could give him a written notice to keep volunm down and restrict the playing games hours could be a fruitful for me.

I hope you will solve this problem as soon possible also looking forward for your response.

Your faithfully,

Sunpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you say the noise began after your neighbour moved in, explain that it disrupts your study before exams, and ask the agency to issue a written notice and restrict gaming hours. However, the timeline is not fully clear (“After one month, they are playing games very loudly”), and the requested action could be expressed more precisely. The letter is also 144 words, below the required 150-word minimum, so it needs a little more relevant detail. For example, clarify when the late-night noise started and specify the hours or a practical step you want the agency to take. These gaps and limited development keep the response from fully addressing the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens by stating the complaint, gives background and its effect, then makes a request and closes politely. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and links such as “So” and “but” show basic relationships between ideas. Some connections are less smooth, however. “After one month” is ambiguous, and the sentence beginning “So i need to concentrate” is followed by an incomplete clause (“but because of noise problem from neighbour”). The final sentence also joins the requested resolution and expectation of a reply without a clear connector. Use complete sentences and clearer transitions, and make the timeline explicit, to improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the complaint, including “disturbance,” “quiet place,” “concentrate,” and “written notice.” The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter. However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “compromise more,” “feel unwind,” and “restrict the playing games hours.” Spelling errors in “gratefull” and “volunm” also reduce accuracy. Choose more natural phrases such as “put up with the noise,” “relax,” and “limit the hours when games are played.” A wider set of precise expressions for the noise and its impact would make the request clearer and more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the main message is usually understandable. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “After one month, they are playing games very loudly” has an unclear time reference and tense; “but because of noise problem from neighbour” is not a complete clause; and “restrict the playing games hours could be a fruitful for me” lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also errors with articles, pronouns, and sentence punctuation, as in “I am college student” and the run-on closing sentence. Practise forming complete clauses and checking tense and sentence boundaries.

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

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