Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-17

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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to request you to do some changes in my working hours schedule. Recently I enrolled in a PG certificate of management to enhance my skills for my growing career, it’s a part time study course for 1 year, time and day will be Thursday and Tuesday at 2 pm to 5 pm.

It will be appreciate if you would reduce my working hours till 1 pm until my course accomplished.

This course will help me to increase my knowledge in management which will help to grow our company in future. I will make sure that my study will not affect my work in office .

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the reason for the request, the specific hours required, and the benefits to the employer. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. The explanation of how the studies benefit the company is quite brief and lacks detail. To improve, you should expand on how the specific management skills gained will be applied to your current role. Because the response is 25 words short of the requirement, it cannot be awarded a score higher than 5.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the request from the justification. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited, making the flow feel somewhat mechanical. For example, the transition between the request for hours and the benefits to the employer could be smoother. To improve, use a wider variety of linking words and phrases (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition to this') to connect your ideas more fluidly throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'do some changes' and 'help to grow'. There are also some minor collocation errors, such as 'reduce my working hours till 1 pm until my course accomplished', which should be 'until my course is completed'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more professional and precise vocabulary related to workplace requests and academic development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are several grammatical errors that affect clarity. For instance, 'It will be appreciate' should be 'It would be appreciated', and 'time and day will be Thursday and Tuesday' is slightly awkward. Additionally, there are punctuation and tense issues, such as 'my study will not affect my work in office'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

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