Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-14

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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope you're doing well, I am writing to you in regard to request reducing my working hours in order to study part time. As you know I was planning to join finance course from a very long time so now I got the opportunity to finally fulfill my wish by joining this course.

Apparently, this course will be 4 days a week and duration will be 3 hours excluding travel time due to which I know this will affect my work schedule as well so I think reducing my working hours will be more beneficial for me and for the company as well.

Furthermore, I would like to request working for 3 days which will be Monday to Wednesday for 8 hours and this will be only for 2 months. My course will add value and skills to my work which will benefit the company because I will learn about finances, strategies for marketing, how to connect with consumers effectively, and much more.

Looking forward for your response.

Yours Sincerely,

Gursis

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you explain that you want to take a finance course, specify Monday to Wednesday for eight hours a day, and describe potential benefits such as stronger financial knowledge and marketing skills. The request is clear and the letter is appropriately directed to your boss. The employer benefit is relevant, but it is presented mainly as a list of topics rather than showing how these skills would improve your work or help the company. The proposed schedule could also be clearer about whether these are your only working days and how it fits around the four-day course. Developing those details and making the benefit more specific would make the response more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: it opens with the request and reason, then explains the course and proposed schedule, and closes politely. Paragraphing helps distinguish the main stages, while phrases such as “Furthermore” and “because” show relationships between ideas. Some connections are less clear or feel mechanical, however. For example, the second paragraph combines the course timetable, its effect on work, and the case for reducing hours in one long sentence. The transition from the schedule to the employer benefits is also abrupt. Separate these points more clearly and use linking expressions that show the precise relationship between them; this would make the progression smoother and the references easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the purpose, including relevant terms such as “finance course,” “work schedule,” “strategies for marketing,” and “connect with consumers effectively.” These make the subject and intended benefits understandable. There are also some awkward or imprecise choices: “in regard to request” is not a natural way to introduce the request, “fulfill my wish” sounds overly personal for a workplace letter, and “add value and skills to my work” is unclear. “Looking forward for your response” also uses an unsuitable collocation. Choose more conventional professional expressions and describe the practical value of the course more precisely. This would improve naturalness and control without changing the meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a reason clause with “because” and a relative clause beginning “which.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in otherwise ambitious sentences. For example, “I hope you're doing well, I am writing…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma, and “in regard to request reducing” is missing grammatical elements. In “this course will be 4 days a week and duration will be 3 hours,” the article and sentence structure need attention. The closing phrase “Looking forward for your response” also has a preposition error. Use shorter sentences where needed, check articles and verb patterns, and punctuate sentence boundaries carefully to improve accuracy.

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.