Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-15

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 7.0)

Dear Varun,

I hope you are doing well! I am writing this in regards to seek your approval for reducing my working hours due to the part-time course I enrolled.

As you are aware, I am always a career oriented person and keen to learn new skills. Similarly, I enrolled into a short-term Diploma in project management course at University of Toronto. Therefore, I would certainly request your kind support to minimise my working hours so that I can cater little time to attend the classes.

Since my classes will start at 8 AM and likely to end at 11 AM, I can sign in from 12 PM to 9 PM, if necessary I would also like to do overtime if there are more volumes and to meet the SLA targets without expecting the extra pay.

Finally, I would also like to mention that perusing this course will largely benefit company to complete the work faster due to the advance technique and AI skills this course enable.

I hope to receive favourable response from you.

Yours sincerely,

Anjali Reddy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for the request (enrolling in a project management course), specify the desired working hours (12 PM to 9 PM), and articulate how the employer will benefit from your new skills. The tone is appropriate for a professional request to a manager. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands both your needs and the value you bring to the company. To reach a higher band, ensure that all parts are developed with equal depth; for instance, the explanation of the benefits could be slightly more detailed regarding specific project management applications.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which aids readability. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Since', and 'Finally' to link ideas. However, the transition between the request for hours and the offer of overtime is slightly abrupt. To improve, ensure that sentences flow more naturally into one another. The use of paragraphing is sufficient, though the letter could benefit from a clearer separation between the request for hours and the explanation of benefits to enhance the overall structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary suitable for a professional context, such as 'career oriented', 'minimise', and 'favourable response'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'in regards to seek' (should be 'in regard to seeking') and 'perusing this course' (should be 'pursuing'). Additionally, 'cater little time' is not a standard idiomatic expression. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and professionally. Expanding your use of more precise business terminology would help elevate your score further.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'course I enrolled' (should be 'course I have enrolled in'), 'classes will start... and likely to end' (missing 'are'), and 'benefit company' (missing 'the'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. You show an attempt at complex structures, such as conditional clauses ('if necessary I would also like to...'), which is positive. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will help you achieve a higher level of accuracy.

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

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