Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Taja,

I Hope this letter finds you well ! I am writing to you in regards of seeking your favourable permission to minimise my working hours due to my part-time studies.

I enrolled short term Project management course at university of Toronto. The course scheduled from August 15th to middle of December. Therefore, I would request you to reduce my working hours. This would render me much more time to attend my class for fours on every alternative days. I am very certain that this course helps me to foster my career growth personally and professionally.

Since the course will start at 8 AM to 12PM on alternative days from above mentioned date. I would like to work start my work at 1 PM TO 6 PM and if necessary I would also like to do overtime without the extra pay.

However, I am certainly confident that this course would enormously help my individual and company growth to streamline the process and take the appropriate decision during the complex situations.

I am looking for your favourable response.

Yours sincerely,

Anjali Reddy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for the request (part-time studies), specify the desired working hours (1 PM to 6 PM), and describe the benefits to the employer (streamlining processes and better decision-making). The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a manager. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands both your personal goals and the value added to the company. To reach a higher band, ensure that the specific dates and times are presented with more grammatical precision to avoid any ambiguity regarding your availability.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure, moving from the purpose of the letter to the specific request and finally the benefits. Paragraphing is used to separate these distinct ideas, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Since', and 'However' to link your sentences. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is consistently clear would help elevate the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'favourable permission', 'foster my career growth', and 'streamline the process'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'in regards of seeking' (should be 'with regard to seeking') and 'for fours on every alternative days' (which is unclear). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over idiomatic expressions and formal business phrasing. Expanding your range of collocations will help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'The course scheduled from' (missing 'is'), 'I would like to work start my work' (redundant verbs), and 'take the appropriate decision' (should be 'make'). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some issues with capitalization and spacing (e.g., '8 AM to 12PM'). To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed without missing auxiliary verbs or prepositions.

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

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