Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-14

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 5.0)

Dear mary,

I hope you are doing great, Iam writing this letter to inform you to reduce my working hours for my study. I really like to work our company as a part time employee, every collegues are helpful and supportive. One of favourite place in day today life. I will work 3 days in every week, monday, Saturday, sunday and Friday. thus my class will be starts on next week monday. Health care Assistant programme is my selected course. This course is very useful in our company also because I will get clear idea about health care and try to take more responsibilities and duties. After my course to reduce other employee stress and tension. please check attached documents for your daily

regards

Abc

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 your ideas. For instance, the explanation of how your studies benefit the employer is quite brief and lacks detail. To improve, you should expand on how the 'Health care Assistant programme' specifically adds value to your current role. Additionally, the tone is somewhat informal for a letter to a boss, and the structure lacks a formal closing. Meeting the word count is essential to fully develop your points and achieve a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is organized into a single block of text, which makes it difficult to follow. You should use clear paragraphing to separate your introduction, the details of your request, the benefits to the company, and your closing. While there is a basic logical flow, the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes inaccurate, such as the use of 'thus' to connect your work schedule to the start date of your class. Improving your use of linking words like 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition' would help create a smoother progression of ideas throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on simple phrases like 'doing great' and 'very useful'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'inform you to reduce' instead of 'request a reduction in' and 'daily' at the end, which is unclear. To improve, try to incorporate more professional and specific vocabulary related to workplace requests and professional development. Expanding your range of synonyms and using more precise terminology will significantly enhance your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('my class will be starts'), incorrect article usage ('in our company'), and punctuation errors (comma splices in the first paragraph). Your sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, such as ensuring correct verb tenses and proper subject-verb agreement. Additionally, work on using a wider variety of sentence structures, including subordinate clauses, to demonstrate better control over your grammar.

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

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