Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-18

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 boss,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirit!

I am writing this letter to lodge a request regarding reduction of my office hours so that I can committed some qualitative time towards my short course. For your knowledge, I have recently enrolled in part-time course related to payroll with an ambition to acquire sound knowledge about the field.

Recently, the schedule has been published by the college authorities and some classes have exception to attend personally in week days. Therefore, I am requesting you to adjust my working hours for Wednesday and Friday to either weekend or in other week days. I assure you that this practice will not create any obstacle on my performance.

Indeed, the course will not only be propitious to enhance my skills but also beneficial to have an valuable asset for the company. Unfortunately, the organization is running out of staff; consequently, it will be advantageous to have an backup.

I hope you will consider my application positively and approve it soon.

Yours sincerely,

Simone Brown

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for the request (a payroll course), specify the desired schedule (Wednesdays and Fridays), and explain the benefit to the employer (gaining a skilled asset). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the requirements of the task. To reach a higher band, ensure that the explanation of how the studies benefit the employer is more specific; for example, mentioning how your new payroll knowledge will specifically improve company efficiency would strengthen the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Indeed', and 'consequently' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. For instance, the transition to the final paragraph is a bit abrupt. To improve, ensure that the flow between sentences is smoother and that you use a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect your arguments more naturally throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'propitious', 'qualitative', and 'ambition'. However, there are some issues with collocation and word choice. For example, 'committed some qualitative time' is unnatural; 'dedicate time' would be better. Similarly, 'have exception to attend' is unclear, and 'have an backup' contains a grammatical error ('a' vs 'an'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the inaccuracies in collocation suggest a need for more focus on how words are typically paired in English.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'I can committed' (should be 'I can commit'), 'part-time course' (missing an article: 'a part-time course'), and 'in week days' (should be 'on weekdays'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and prepositions, which are currently the most common sources of error in your writing.

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

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