Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-11

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)

This in reference to inform you about reducing my hours, as I am going to pick a part-time course to study.

As to maintain the balance between my course and work, I would like to press down my hours. Pursuing the healthcare adminstration course this summer has been a dream for me. Working full-time will not give me a chance to focus on my assigments or test. To excel my exam and get good grades, it is the best option to decline my hours over here. Takin this part-time study will help me towards my future goal.

The timings I could work are always the evening and weekend. My school is on every Mondays and Thursday, but they mentioned about attending the practical on every Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So evenings and weekends ar the perfect balance with my school schedule.

Attending this part-time school will be beneficial for your organization as I will learn more about the scheduling software and OHIP billing knowledge. Learning about new software will help the organization to introduce new system in place.

I am excited to join this program and work along with the new updates.

Thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for the request (a healthcare administration course), specify the desired working hours (evenings and weekends), and provide a logical benefit to the employer (software and billing knowledge). The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a boss. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening and closing are more conventional; for instance, 'This is in reference to' is a bit abrupt. Additionally, ensure your arguments are fully developed; while you mention the benefits, providing a slightly more specific example of how your new skills would save the company time or money would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the request to the schedule and finally the benefits. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'As to maintain' and 'So', to link your ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes a bit mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'As to maintain the balance'. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that transitions between sentences flow more naturally to avoid a slightly choppy feel.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'healthcare administration', 'billing knowledge', and 'organization'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice or incorrect collocations. For example, 'press down my hours' is not standard English; 'reduce' or 'cut' would be more appropriate. Similarly, 'decline my hours' is incorrect in this context. 'Excel my exam' is also a misuse of the verb 'excel'. Focusing on learning common collocations in a professional context will help you move into a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'This in reference to inform you' (missing 'is'), 'Takin this part-time study' (spelling error), and 'My school is on every Mondays' (incorrect preposition/pluralization). Additionally, 'they mentioned about attending' is slightly awkward. While these errors do not prevent the meaning from being understood, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for small omissions like missing articles or auxiliary verbs.

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

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