Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-24

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am writing to request a reduction in my working hours

I have been working as a painter in your company since 2024. I am a temporary resident in this country and want to be a permanent resident for that; I need to learn the French language. I enrolled in online classes for Wednesday's and Thursday's.

According to my online classes, I am available to work from Thursday to Tuesday and I am also willing to work on weekends to compensate my hours reduction.

Once I achieve my dream of to be A permanent resident. I can move to a different province where French is higly used by people and we can open up a new business there. Which is profitable for both of us.

I would be grateful if you could consider my request for reducing my hours. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your positive response at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Shubham

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining the reason for the reduction, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter. However, the development of the third point regarding the benefit to the employer is slightly weak; suggesting that you will move to a different province to open a new business might be perceived as a negative for your current employer rather than a benefit. To improve, focus on how your new language skills will help you perform your current job more effectively or contribute to the company's growth in the short term.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the different requirements of the task. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes hindered by punctuation errors, such as the sentence fragment 'Which is profitable for both of us.' Additionally, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited. Using more varied linking words (e.g., 'consequently,' 'furthermore,' 'in addition to this') would help improve the logical progression of your ideas and make the text feel more cohesive.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'temporary resident' and 'compensate.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'French is highly used' (better: 'widely spoken') and 'dream of to be' (should be 'dream of becoming'). There are also minor spelling errors like 'higly.' To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your word forms are grammatically correct in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'Wednesday's and Thursday's' (incorrect use of apostrophes for plurals), 'compensate my hours reduction' (should be 'compensate for'), and 'dream of to be A permanent resident' (incorrect infinitive structure and capitalization). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with sentence fragments. Increasing your control over basic sentence construction and proofreading for small errors will significantly improve your score.

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