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 or Madam,

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint about the noise pollution exhibited by my neighbour especially at night when I hear loud video games at his apartment.

On 1st October, which is The Indepence Day in Nigeria's ,He turned on the television by pass 6pm after i returned from work.I heard a very loud sound majorly that of a football game.Unfortunately,this has caused a great inconvenience to my sleep following a hectic shift at work. I was hoping to come home to a calm and relaxing environmnent but experienced a discomfort while trying to rest.

I would gratefully suggest if you will schedule an appointment with my neighour to address my complaint regarding the noise pollution by counselling him on the inconveniences this issue has affected the leisure time for the tenants to sleep mostly at night,Furthermore reduce the volume of the speaker and television.

Thank you for your time and consideration.I look forward to hearing from you.

Your Faithfully,

Bekes Jennifer.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main situation and make a clear request for the agency to speak with your neighbour and reduce the television or speaker volume. You also explain the effect on your rest after work. However, the timing is not fully clear: “On 1st October” gives a start date, but the letter does not say whether the noise has continued since then or how often it occurs. The description focuses on one evening and a football game, while the task specifies loud video games late at night. Develop these details and make the requested action more precise—for example, ask the agency to contact the neighbour and ensure quiet is maintained at night. This would make the response more complete and specific.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: it introduces the complaint, gives an example and its effect, then requests action and closes politely. This makes the overall message understandable. However, the second paragraph combines the date, the neighbour’s activity and your reaction in a long sequence, and the final paragraph is especially difficult to follow because several requests and explanations run together. The transition “Furthermore” is attached to the preceding sentence rather than clearly linking a new point. Use shorter sentences and separate the requested actions from the explanation of their impact. Clear paragraphing around the problem, its effects and your request would make the progression smoother and reduce the effort needed to follow your meaning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some suitably formal language for a complaint, including “lodge a formal complaint,” “great inconvenience” and “look forward to hearing from you.” There is also an attempt to use more specific vocabulary, such as “counselling” and “leisure time.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise: “noise pollution exhibited by my neighbour” and “the inconveniences this issue has affected” do not express the ideas idiomatically. Spelling errors such as “Indepence,” “environmnent” and “neighour” also reduce accuracy. Aim for direct, natural phrases such as “the noise coming from my neighbour’s flat” and “the noise has disrupted my sleep.” This would improve precision while retaining an appropriate formal tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “On 1st October, which is…” and the explanation of how the noise affects your sleep. The main message remains understandable, but some sentence structures are faulty or incomplete. For example, “I would gratefully suggest if you will schedule” needs a clearer construction, such as “I would be grateful if you could arrange…”. The long final sentence also lacks clear grammatical boundaries, and capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, as in “,He” and “,Furthermore”. Check sentence boundaries, use consistent past tense when describing the incident, and form polite requests with “could” or “would.” These changes would make your meaning more controlled and easier to read.

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