Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-03

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 Manager,

I am going to write down the letter about reducing my working hour because I want to do a short course. Usually i am working here from Monday to Friday my shift starts at 8' o clock in the morning ends at 4 Pm. My classes will on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 am in the morning to the 3 pm afternoon. Due to this reason i could not make it to the work these day two days and I need off for these days for two months. The study program I choose to develop my computer skills in the field of artificial intelligence. As in my daily work life lot of things I face challenges while doing my job I want to improve my weak part that is why I choose this study course. As it improve my capability to do my daily tasks efficiently and also provide a great benefit to the company.

Thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed 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. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention the course is in artificial intelligence, you could have provided more specific details on how this knowledge would be applied to your current role to make the argument more persuasive. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the structure could be improved by using distinct paragraphs for each point to enhance clarity and professional presentation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a logical sequence, moving from the request to the details and finally the benefits. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between sentences often relies on simple structures like 'Due to this reason' or 'As', which makes the flow feel a bit repetitive. There is a lack of paragraphing, which is essential for a formal letter to separate the introduction, the body points, and the closing. Improving the use of linking words and organizing the text into clear paragraphs would significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your needs clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'artificial intelligence' and 'efficiently'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'I am going to write down the letter' and 'I need off for these days'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and a wider variety of professional vocabulary. For example, instead of 'I need off', a more formal expression like 'I am requesting leave' would be more appropriate for a letter to a manager.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'My classes will on Tuesday'), incorrect preposition usage, and punctuation errors (e.g., '8' o clock'). Additionally, there are tense inconsistencies, such as 'Usually i am working' instead of 'Usually I work'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for small errors like capitalization and verb forms will help improve your accuracy.

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