Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-10

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 Sir,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to discuss about my working hours as I want to work less hours in order to give more time to my studies.

Furthermore, i want to work part-time from next week or if you can give me a flexible hours that would be a great help. Moreover, I can work on weekend as my all classes are on weekdays .

Additionally, the interesting part is am studying Leisure and recreation course, Which will be quite productive for my activity aide position as I will learn new skills, as well as improve my behaviour Management and facilitation techniques .

I hope you will consider my request and I am waiting for your response.

Best Regards,

Roop

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the reason for the request, the proposed hours, and the benefits to the employer. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. For example, the explanation of how the studies benefit the employer is quite brief and lacks detail. To reach a higher band, you should expand on how your new skills in 'behaviour management' will specifically improve your daily tasks at work. Because the response is under-length, it fails to fully develop the required points, resulting in a lower score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear opening and closing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'Additionally'. However, the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, and the transition between the request for hours and the benefits of the study could be smoother. The use of cohesive devices is occasionally mechanical, and the overall structure feels a bit fragmented due to the short length of the paragraphs. Improving the flow between sentences would help achieve a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You use basic phrases like 'give more time' and 'great help'. There are also some minor issues with capitalization, such as 'i' instead of 'I' and 'Leisure and recreation course' (which should not be capitalized mid-sentence). While the meaning is clear, the range of vocabulary is limited. To improve, try to incorporate more professional and specific terminology related to your workplace and academic goals.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentences, but there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'discuss about' is incorrect (it should be 'discuss'), and 'a flexible hours' is a subject-verb agreement error. There are also punctuation issues, such as the unnecessary capitalization of 'Which' and 'Management'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to affect the overall clarity. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and standardizing your punctuation to improve your accuracy.

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

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