Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-30

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 7.0)

Dear boss,

I am writing this letter concerning reduce my working hours at the company for me to study part-time.

Recently, I felt that I want to improve my knowledge in business, as you know that I did a bachelor's in business administration, to improve my skills I planned to study masters in part-time, but the problem I have is working hours, as I'm working 8 hours a day, but I don't have more time to study, so if you reduce my working hours that will be helpful for me to learn more things.

I joined in a public university, and they shared the schedule for the classes, so my classes will be on Monday and Thursday, 11 Am-3 PM, so that time I might not be available and I need some time to study after class, so I would like to work on evening shifts that might be 6 PM - 1 AM.

Personally, I feel studying masters can help me to understand more about business and I will use it in our company and it will make our company grow.

Looking forward for your response.

Yours faithfully

Sathyaprakash Mahendiran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a boss, although the opening 'Dear boss' is slightly informal. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, though the explanation of how the studies will benefit the company is somewhat brief and could be further developed to be more persuasive. Overall, the response successfully fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a distinct focus. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between the request and the schedule could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, but some sentences are slightly repetitive in structure. Improving the variety of linking words and phrases would help the flow of the letter and elevate the coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their needs clearly. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary, such as 'bachelor's in business administration' and 'master's'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'concerning reduce' instead of 'concerning reducing' and 'I joined in a public university' instead of 'I have enrolled in a public university'. Expanding the range of vocabulary to include more professional collocations would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The letter uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I felt that I want' (tense inconsistency), 'study masters' (missing article), and 'that time I might not be available' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some run-on sentences that could be improved by using more precise conjunctions or splitting them into separate sentences. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score.

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