Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 Jaz,

I am writing this letter to address the significant changes I want in my working hours due to i am planning to start my master degree in early childhood education. As you know, I work 40 hours every weeks, while i enjoy working as well, however i now want to focus o my further studies which according to my perspective is really important for my higher career level so i decided to pursue a part time degree, i would like to get 30 atleast hours in one week so that i can focus on both.

Moreover, this will assist in your business as well because you own the day care if i finished my education in higher remarks than i can work for futher as a teacher in yourdaycare which seems really impresive tome because i has alreay experience.

Hope you will understand my request and approve it.

I will wait to hear from you back.

Best Regards,

Rithi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: the reason for the request, the preferred hours, and the benefits to the employer. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. The explanation of the benefits to the employer is somewhat vague and lacks professional depth, focusing more on the student's personal gain than a clear value proposition for the business. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to a boss, the lack of detail in the arguments prevents it from reaching a higher band. The response is functional and addresses the task requirements adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate. For example, the transition 'while i enjoy working as well, however i now want to...' contains redundant conjunctions. Additionally, the flow between sentences is sometimes choppy, and the punctuation is inconsistent, which disrupts the logical progression of ideas. While the overall arrangement is coherent enough to be understood, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the frequent run-on sentences limit the effectiveness of the cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'higher remarks' instead of 'better grades' or 'higher qualifications', and 'impresive tome' (a spelling error). The range of vocabulary is limited to basic, everyday language, and there is little attempt to use more sophisticated or topic-specific terminology related to professional requests or academic study. Spelling errors, such as 'futher' and 'alreay', are present and occasionally distract the reader, though they do not fully impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the writing. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('i has alreay experience'), incorrect verb tenses, and run-on sentences caused by poor punctuation (e.g., '...higher career level so i decided to pursue a part time degree, i would like to...'). The range of structures is limited, consisting mostly of simple or poorly connected compound sentences. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the writing from achieving a higher score.

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

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