Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

Dear Mr. James,

I'm writing this letter to express my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by our event last Saturday.

As we are really connected with each other as neighbours, but I found that you and your family was quite upset with me, due to the disturbance caused by the party. I'm sorry if the loud music had disrupted your peace.

The party was for my sister's engagement ceremony, so she'd decided to celebrate her moment with her loved ones, and she wanted to do it outdoor. Some of her friends were came to attend the event from different countries, which makes the event more thrilling and energetic.

Although we tried to finish the party as early as possible, but it continued till late night especially the DJ part. For the future, I'll try to arrange indoor parties for big gatherings, and will also make sure to inform you in advance to avoid any kind of inconvenience.

I truly regret about what happened and hope we can continue to maintain good relationship.

Yours sincerely,

Pawandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The response fails to address the task instructions entirely. The prompt explicitly asks for a letter to a boss requesting a reduction in working hours to study part-time. Instead, the student has written a letter of apology to a neighbor regarding a noisy party. Because the content is completely off-topic and does not address any of the bullet points (explaining the reduction, specifying hours, or describing benefits to the employer), it cannot be assessed against the task requirements. This is a significant failure to follow instructions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs with a clear opening and closing. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Although', 'For the future', and 'As we are' helps the flow of ideas. However, because the content is irrelevant to the prompt, the overall coherence is undermined by the fact that the letter does not serve its intended purpose. While the structure of a formal letter is present, the logical progression is disconnected from the task requirements.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for a general letter, with phrases like 'sincere apologies', 'inconvenience caused', and 'engagement ceremony'. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'connected with each other as neighbours' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'the DJ part' (which is informal). The range is sufficient to convey the message of an apology clearly, but it does not demonstrate the level of sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For example, 'you and your family was' should be 'were', 'Some of her friends were came' is incorrect (should be 'came'), and 'I truly regret about what happened' is a misuse of the verb 'regret' (should be 'regret what happened'). While the student attempts some complex sentence structures, the frequency of these errors is noticeable and occasionally impacts the clarity of the writing.

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

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