Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05

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 6.0)

Dear sir/mam,

I am writing this letter to highlight a matter of dire importance that can have significant impact in drastic growth of our team sales as well as on profit of the company. I am going back to college to complete my masters in business administration this summer and will not be able to work normal working hours temporarily during my exam weeks. so i would like to urge to reduce my working hours to 30 hours per week so i can focus on my part time studies.

our courses align highly with our tech companies which can increase the sales drastically and the tactics will be beneficial in training new employees to reach targets some easily. Hence creating a big room for growth and profit increase as well as save capital on training new staff.

I hope to have a swift and prompt response.

Thankyou

Yours sincerely

Manik Dutta

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: the reason for the request, the specific hours desired, and the benefits to the employer. However, the development of these points is somewhat superficial. For instance, the explanation of how the studies benefit the employer is vague, relying on general claims about 'tech companies' and 'tactics' without specific detail. The tone is also slightly inconsistent; phrases like 'matter of dire importance' and 'drastic growth' are overly dramatic for a professional request to a manager. To reach a higher band, ensure the tone is more measured and provide more concrete, professional justifications for the request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into a logical sequence, moving from the purpose of the letter to the specific request and finally the benefits. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the letter is presented as a single block of text. Using clear paragraph breaks between the introduction, the request, the justification, and the closing would significantly improve the readability and flow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Hence' and 'as well as', but the transitions between ideas feel somewhat mechanical. Improving the use of linking phrases to connect sentences more naturally would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and professional register required for a formal business letter. Phrases like 'dire importance' and 'drastic growth' are slightly unnatural in this context. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'urge to reduce' (which should be 'request a reduction') and 'some easily' (which is unclear). While the student attempts to use more complex vocabulary, the collocation is occasionally awkward. Expanding the range of professional terminology and focusing on more natural collocations would help improve the score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as the missing article in 'on profit of the company' and the informal 'sir/mam' (which should be 'Dear Sir or Madam'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capital letters at the start of sentences (e.g., 'so i would like') and missing commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on consistent capitalization, correct article usage, and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed accurately.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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