Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Boss,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing this email requesting you to reduce my weekly working hours as I am planning to enroll in part time study.

As you aware, our company is struggling from the past three months to find a reliable forklift driver for our warehouse. I was always keen on becoming a Forklift driver as this skill fascinates me.

After doing extensive research on internet, I have finalized an institute that offers this training. The complete duration of this course is one month.

However, the main hurdle that I am facing is timings of the training classes . This institute conducts weekends classes only i.e Saturday and Sunday from 9 am till 7 pm. Therefore, I need your help in omitting my weekends working hours so that I can enroll in this program and focus on studying. My current schedule is Monday-Saturday morning 9 am- 7 pm.

Post completion of this training, I will be ready to take up the role of warehouse driver which will help our company in saving at least $4000 per month which we are shelling out for paying contract forklift drivers.

Kind request to reduce my working hours which will help me to concentrate on study. Please let me know if you need further details from me.

Best regards,

Abhishek

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained your motivation for reducing hours, specified the exact schedule you need to change, and provided a persuasive business case for how your employer would benefit from your new skills. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening and closing are slightly more professional; for example, 'Dear Boss' is a bit informal, and 'Kind request to reduce' is a sentence fragment. Overall, the ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the request to the justification and finally the benefits. You use some cohesive devices like 'However' and 'Therefore' to link your thoughts. To improve, ensure that your paragraph transitions are smoother and avoid repetitive sentence structures. For instance, the final paragraph is a bit abrupt and could be better integrated into the conclusion of your argument. The use of paragraphing is sufficient, and the overall flow is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'extensive research', 'finalized an institute', and 'shelling out' show an attempt to use more varied language. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'struggling from the past three months' (should be 'for') and 'omitting my weekends working hours' (should be 'reducing' or 'taking time off'). While these do not impede communication, refining these collocations would elevate your score. You have a good grasp of professional terminology relevant to the context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'As you aware' (missing 'are'), 'timings of the training classes' (should be 'the timing'), and 'concentrate on study' (should be 'my studies'). There are also some punctuation and article errors throughout the text. Despite these, you maintain control over your writing, and the errors are not frequent enough to cause confusion. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles in formal writing.

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

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