Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-16

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 Mr. Smith,

I am writing this letter to ask you to reduce my working hours from 60 hours a week to 40 hours a week. Actually, I appeared for an entrance exam for a digital marketing course and luckily, I got seat in University of Toronto. However, it's a part-time course and will end up within six months starting from next week' which is 12th August.

It would be feasible to make it work out in both the places, if you cut my schedule from 7 days a week to 5 days a week. Apart from that, I request you to include my name in the weekend shift because it won't effect my classes scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday.

As I work in marketing firm, there were some skills that I wanted to polish. Moreover, the introduction of AI in the workforce has pushed us millennials aback. To be competitive in the market, I'm pursuing this course and I assure you, this would help the company in number of ways either its implying AI modifications in the advertisements or creating content use AI tools.

I am hoping to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the reason for the request (the digital marketing course), specified the desired working hours (40 hours over 5 days), and articulated the benefits to your employer regarding AI implementation. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, providing a clear justification for your request. To reach a higher band, ensure that all details, such as the specific days of the week, are presented with absolute clarity to avoid any ambiguity for the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Apart from that', and 'Moreover' to link your ideas. However, the progression between some sentences feels slightly mechanical. For instance, the transition between the request for hours and the explanation of the course could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the request from the justification. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that referencing (e.g., 'this course') is always precise to maintain a seamless flow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'feasible', 'polish', and 'modifications'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'end up within six months' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'effect' instead of 'affect'. Additionally, 'pushed us millennials aback' is an unusual collocation that slightly hinders the intended meaning. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, incorporating more precise collocations and avoiding informal phrasing would elevate your score. Focus on using vocabulary that is consistently appropriate for a professional business context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the letter. For example, 'I appeared for an entrance exam' should be 'I took an entrance exam', and 'I got seat' is missing an article ('a seat'). The phrase 'I am hoping to hearing from you' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'I look forward to hearing from you'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage.

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

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