Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You would like to reduce your working hours in order to study part time.

Write a letter to your boss. In your letter

• explain why you want to reduce your working hours
• say which hours you would like to work
• describe how your part-time studies would benefit your employer

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to change my availabilitiy. I am working in the customer service department from last 2 years. I want to reduce my availability because I have enrolled in English speaking class. This course is part time, basically I lecture on monday and tuesday. As you know, I am an international student and my english speaking skill is not exellent; therefore, I joined this course as part time student.

Moving a head, I have lectures on first two days of every week; as a result, I will not able to come to our store. Moreover, our store is far away from my home. Usually, it takes almost 2 hours to reach my school from our workplace.

Furthermore, this course will not only help me to , but also improve my communication skillls, which directely impacts on our customers. If I know well english, I can easily help our customers without any hurdle and gain their trust, which enhances our sells.

I will wait for your response.

Yours faithfully,

Ravi Patel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main purpose and include all three requested points: you explain that you want to study English, identify Monday and Tuesday as lecture days, and connect improved communication with better customer service. The benefit to the employer is relevant, especially your point about gaining customers’ trust and increasing sales. However, the requested working hours are not clearly stated: saying you cannot come to the store on the first two days does not specify which hours you would work on the other days. The reason involving travel time is also difficult to follow, and the sentence “help me to” is left unfinished. Make a clear request for a specific schedule and develop the employer benefit more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally understandable order: it introduces your request, explains your studies and schedule, and then describes a possible benefit to the store. Paragraph breaks help separate these points, and connectors such as “therefore,” “as a result,” and “Furthermore” show relationships between ideas. However, some links feel mechanical or do not clarify the meaning. For example, “Moving a head” introduces the schedule awkwardly, while the travel-time point is not clearly connected to your proposed working hours. The unfinished phrase “help me to” interrupts the final paragraph. Use a straightforward progression—reason, exact proposed hours, and employer benefit—and ensure each linking phrase accurately signals the relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “customer service department,” “part time,” “communication skills,” and “gain their trust.” These choices make the topic clear, and you attempt some workplace-related language such as “enhances our sales.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “availabilitiy,” “exellent,” “skillls,” “directely,” and “sells” where “sales” is intended. Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “change my availability” and “without any hurdle.” The phrase “help me to” is incomplete, leaving the intended meaning unclear. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and proofread spelling; this will make your message easier to understand and more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including a cause-and-effect structure with “therefore” and a “not only … but also” construction. These attempts help you explain your reasons and the potential benefit. However, errors occur across several sentence patterns and sometimes make the message difficult to follow. For example, “I am working … from last 2 years” needs a present-perfect form and a different time expression; “I will not able to come” is missing “be”; and “I lecture on monday and tuesday” does not clearly express your weekly timetable. The final “not only … but also” sentence is also incomplete and lacks a clear grammatical parallel. Review verb forms, articles, and complete sentence construction, then check punctuation and capitalisation.

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

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