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 Miss Ripmanjeet Kaur,

This letter is regarding to reduce my working hours to studying partime in the college for few months

as i have applied for a busniess administration program,i will not be able to work for 40 hours.It will be hard for me to manage my course and handlying work and transit .i will have some many assignments and tests inorder to complete the course .i feel so tired if im doing full time work and maintaining my college

i am requesting you to schedule me on Monday and weekends from 6.30am to 10.15pm,because im having colleges on rest of the days.i can work on stat holidays as well

This reducing of hours help me to concentrate in my studies and submit assignment before the deadlines. so i can pass the course without any backlogs.i hope you understand my situtation and reduce the working hours.

Yours Faithfully,

xxxxxx

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention that your studies will benefit the employer, this point is not fully expanded upon; you focus more on your own need to pass the course rather than how the company gains from your new skills. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are more thoroughly developed and focused on the professional context of the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your request. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and sometimes inaccurate. For example, the transition 'This reducing of hours help me' is grammatically awkward and lacks a smooth connection to the previous paragraph. Additionally, the punctuation is inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods, which disrupts the flow of the text. Improving your use of linking words and ensuring consistent paragraph structure will help your ideas progress more logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is quite repetitive and contains several spelling errors, such as 'busniess', 'partime', 'handlying', and 'situtation'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. You rely on basic vocabulary to convey your message. To improve, try to incorporate more precise professional terminology related to workplace requests and academic study. For example, instead of saying 'I feel so tired', you could use 'I am concerned about maintaining my performance levels'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and some complex sentence attempts, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have frequent errors in verb tense and subject-verb agreement, such as 'This letter is regarding to reduce' and 'This reducing of hours help me'. Additionally, there are issues with sentence fragments and run-on sentences. The lack of proper capitalisation and spacing after punctuation marks also affects the overall quality of the writing. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common grammatical slips would significantly improve your score.

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

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