Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-09

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 Mr. Wilson,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing to formally request a reduction in my contractual working hours because currently I have enrolled in a part time study that will help me in my professional career.

Moving further, I would like to work from 8 AM till 3 PM instead of 6 PM. This will significantly help me to concentrate on my studies and my job as well. However, I have enrolled in the payroll and accounting course, it's a part time program which can help me to update myself with the current accounting and payroll software.

Furthermore, the knowledge from this course can also be applied at our workplace that can help our clients in numerous ways. To illustrate, company payrolls will consume less time with the technology taught to the students in the particular course which will eventually make all the customers happy with our service. Therefore, I would be grateful if you can accept my request regarding the reduction in working hours.

I look forward to your response,

Yours sincerely,

Alexa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the reason for the request (part-time study), specified the desired working hours (8 AM to 3 PM), and articulated the benefits to the employer (improved payroll efficiency). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a supervisor. The ideas are relevant and logically developed, meeting the requirements of the task effectively. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more detail regarding how the specific skills learned in the course will be integrated into your current daily tasks to further strengthen the business case.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moving further', 'Furthermore', and 'To illustrate' to guide the reader through your arguments. While the progression of ideas is clear, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the letter is easy to follow, demonstrating a good level of control over the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contractual working hours', 'professional career', and 'payroll and accounting'. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'update myself with', which is slightly unnatural; 'familiarize myself with' or 'enhance my proficiency in' would be more precise. You also use 'consume less time' correctly in context. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, though it lacks the more sophisticated, idiomatic, or precise collocations that would characterize a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I would be grateful if you can accept my request'. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'currently I have enrolled in a part time study' (should be 'a part-time course' or 'part-time studies') and 'the technology taught to the students in the particular course' (which is slightly wordy). Punctuation is generally accurate, and your errors do not impede communication. To improve, focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the use of articles and prepositions to achieve greater accuracy in complex sentences.

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

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