Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-31

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 8.0)

Dear Mr. Sunil,

I am writing to discuss my working hours to be reduced. I recently started my college again as a part- time student and won’t be able to work full-time because of the clash of hours. I have my classes from 8 a.m. -12 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I would really appreciate it if you could allow me to work Monday to Wednesday 5 - 10 p.m. . I believe this would allow me to study well and also won’t drain my energy trying to balance both work and study. Moreover, it will allow me to focus on attracting customers and generating a good sale at work.

Finally, as I have taken Customer relationships program as my field of education I am sure it will help me in applying my theoretical knowledge into practice at work, which will also result in improving customer experience and result in increased sales.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and discuss the necessary changes which will benefit both the company and me. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Pearl Sequeira.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for the request (part-time studies), specify the desired hours (Monday to Wednesday, 5-10 p.m.), and articulate the benefits to the employer (applying theoretical knowledge to improve customer experience). The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a manager. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. You have fully satisfied the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

The letter is well-organized with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the request, which helps the reader follow your argument easily. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'Finally' to link your points effectively. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter. The flow is smooth, and the relationship between your studies and the workplace benefits is clearly established, making the overall structure coherent and easy to navigate.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly and professionally. Phrases like 'theoretical knowledge into practice' and 'time and consideration' are well-chosen for this context. While the vocabulary is functional and accurate, it lacks some of the more sophisticated or idiomatic collocations that would push the score into the higher bands. However, there are no errors in word choice that impede communication, and the language used is consistently appropriate for a formal business request.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are a few minor grammatical slips, such as 'discuss my working hours to be reduced' (which would be more natural as 'discuss reducing my working hours') and the slightly awkward phrasing 'I recently started my college'. However, these errors are infrequent and do not interfere with the clarity of your message. Your control over punctuation and sentence construction is generally good, and the majority of your sentences are error-free.

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