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 Mr. Jones,

I would like to request you to reduce my working hours in order to study part time. I want to reduce my working hours due to several reasons. One of the main reason is that it decreases the peer pressure of my study related activities. I can get an extra time to complete my assignments, and allocate the rest of the time for the preparation of my final examination. So, I kindly request you to allow me to do a work from 5 PM to 9 PM flexible time at your company. It really helpful for the completion of my academic curriculum on the timely basis. Once, i will get the university degree, then it helps to me to get some better job opportunity in multinational companies. Although it create some positive benefits to my career. If, I study part-time with my work, it really helpful to get practical as well as theoretical knowledge simultaneously without any fails. So, I kindly request you to understand my opinion regarding reducing the work hours in order to study part time. I am looking for your response.

Yours sincerely,

Shubham Savaliya

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. However, the development of these points is somewhat repetitive and lacks professional depth. For instance, the explanation regarding 'peer pressure' is unclear in a professional context, and the benefit to the employer is focused almost entirely on your personal career growth rather than how the company specifically gains from your studies. To improve, ensure your arguments are more focused on the employer's perspective and provide more logical, professional justifications for your request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a basic structure, but the flow of ideas is hindered by repetitive sentence structures and a lack of varied cohesive devices. While you use some linking words like 'Although' and 'So', they are often used incorrectly or in a way that disrupts the logical progression of the argument. For example, the transition between your study goals and the request for specific hours is abrupt. Paragraphing is also absent; a formal letter should be divided into clear paragraphs for the introduction, body, and conclusion to improve readability and logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and professional tone required for a formal letter to a boss. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'decreases the peer pressure of my study related activities' and 'on the timely basis'. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations. To reach a higher band, focus on using more formal, business-appropriate terminology and ensure that your word choices accurately reflect your intended meaning rather than using generic phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'One of the main reason'), incorrect article usage, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'it helps to me to get'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While you attempt some complex sentences, they often contain errors that affect the overall accuracy. Focusing on basic sentence structure and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb forms would significantly improve your score.

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

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