Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-01

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,

I am writing this letter regarding reduce my working hours in order to focus on part time study.

Let me explain more, as you already know I am working here from last 4 years but I just want to learn something new that is why I decide to take a part time study in software developer course. It is short term course from May 1 to August 31. Due to which I want to reduce my working hours because I want to focus on my study. Moreover, my mostly classes will be on Monday to Wednesday so I can not work on these days.

In this course I can learn a lot of things like application design, software development, remove errors and find bugs which will help us for design applications in our company.

Hope to have a positive response from your side as soon as possible.

Your faithfully,

Jaswinder Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in 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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention the course will help with 'design applications', this could be expanded to explain how these specific skills would improve company productivity or efficiency. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are fully developed rather than just stated, providing a clearer link between your studies and the value added to your workplace.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your request. You use some basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'Due to which' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'Due to which I want to reduce...' which is not a standard way to start a sentence. Additionally, the transition between the reason for the study and the specific hours requested could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus will help improve the overall cohesion of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your request clearly. You use relevant terms like 'software developer course', 'application design', and 'working hours'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'I am working here from last 4 years' (should be 'for the last 4 years') and 'remove errors' (a more natural term would be 'debugging' or 'troubleshooting'). To improve, focus on using more precise professional terminology and ensure that your collocations—words that naturally go together—are accurate. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and verbs will also help elevate your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

Your writing shows a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the letter, such as 'regarding reduce' (should be 'regarding reducing'), 'I decide to take' (should be 'I have decided to take'), and 'my mostly classes' (should be 'most of my classes'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to impact the overall accuracy. To improve, pay closer attention to verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of gerunds after prepositions. Proofreading for these common slips will significantly improve your score.

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