Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-28

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 or Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the experience I had at a cinema last Sunday.

While movie, I have noticed few issues but the major were fluctuation in the volume and unnecessary background noise and the quality of the movie, which should be cleared.

Background noise was the main issue, which was not allow me to focus on the movie and sometimes it went completely off volume and dialogs did not match with the scene. Along with this, movie was quite blur and fluctuate in between, which interrupted my focus and I loose the interest.

It would be highly beneficial if you could investigate the problems and arrange necessary measurements so that next time it will provide great experience. I would like to request you to provide me refund or a free movie voucher for next visit.

I look forward to have prompt response at my request and the issues.

Kind regards,

Harjit Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response is completely off-topic. The task required a letter to a boss requesting a reduction in working hours for part-time study. Instead, the student wrote a letter of complaint to a cinema manager regarding a poor movie experience. Because the student failed to address any of the bullet points or the core purpose of the prompt, the task achievement is severely compromised. While the letter format is followed, the content does not fulfill the requirements of the task at all.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which provides a basic structure. However, the logical progression is hindered by the fact that the content is irrelevant to the prompt. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Along with this' and 'It would be highly beneficial', but they are used to connect ideas that do not belong to the requested task. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall coherence is undermined by the failure to address the actual writing task.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is limited and contains several errors in word choice and collocation. For example, 'fluctuation in the volume' is unnatural, and 'movie was quite blur' should be 'blurry'. The phrase 'loose the interest' is a grammatical error (should be 'lost interest'). While the student manages to convey the message of a complaint clearly, the range of vocabulary is narrow and lacks the precision required for higher band scores. There is a reliance on basic, repetitive language throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'While movie, I have noticed few issues' (missing subject/verb), 'which was not allow me' (incorrect verb form), and 'I look forward to have prompt response' (should be 'to having a prompt response'). The sentence structures are mostly simple or contain errors when attempting complex constructions. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of grammatical slips is high, which occasionally makes the meaning slightly difficult to follow.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.