Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing this letter to formally request a reduction in my current working hours. I have recently enrolled in a Postgraduate diploma in Finance from Stanford University. Additionally, this request may allow to maintain a balance between academic studies and professional life.

Regarding the schedule, I would like to suggest the following arrangement : 1pm to 9pm on weekdays and full time during weekend.

However, the following course will enhance my problem solving and communication skills. Furthermore, It will contribute to long-term growth of the organization. Additionally, higher education includes advance financial modeling skills and technical knowledge like python. Therefore, I will build more advance projects and model in my ongoing role.

I am looking forward to hearing your response towards the suggested proposal. If you would like to ask any questions please feel free to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

Rupesh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task. You explained the reason for the request (postgraduate studies), proposed a specific schedule, and clearly articulated the benefits to your employer, such as improved problem-solving and technical skills. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. To improve, you could provide more specific details about how your new skills in Python or financial modeling would be applied to your current daily tasks, which would further strengthen the 'benefit' section and demonstrate a more professional level of development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'Additionally', 'Regarding', 'Furthermore', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. However, the transition in the third paragraph starting with 'However' is slightly confusing, as the content that follows does not contrast with the previous paragraph. Using a more appropriate connector like 'Moreover' or 'In addition' would improve the flow. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow, and the paragraphing is effective.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'formally request', 'ongoing role', and 'professional life' are appropriate for this context. There are some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'advance financial modeling' (should be 'advanced') and 'build more advance projects' (should be 'advanced'). While these do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precision in using adjectives and verb forms. Expanding your range to include more precise business-related collocations would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips. For example, 'this request may allow to maintain' is missing an object (should be 'allow me to maintain'). Additionally, 'It will contribute to long-term growth' should include an article ('the long-term growth'). There is also a punctuation error in the second paragraph regarding the colon usage and spacing. Despite these errors, the majority of your sentences are clear and error-free, and the grammatical mistakes do not cause confusion for the reader.

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