Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-20

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing formally that i want to pursue my hire studies so i want to reduce my working hours. Currently, i am enrolled in my business administration degree. and i have classes on Monday to Wednesday.

I would like to work on Thursdays and Fridays full time because on weekends i will do my assignments and my other university work. it will benefit in your work also as i am doing my business degree and i will learn many new aspects such as risk management, team leadership , which will help me manage our departments projects more efficiently and reduce time .

As for the work , i have talked to my colleague Sara to cover my urgent work when i am not their or she can call me and ask anything that she need help .

I hope you can consider my letter and help me with the working hours.

Yours Faithfully,

Harsirat Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: the reason for the request, the proposed schedule, and the benefits to the employer. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a boss. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention that your studies will help manage projects, this could be expanded with more specific detail to make the argument more persuasive. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the structure follows the requirements of a formal request letter effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your request. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Currently' and 'As for the work' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing and punctuation errors, such as the sentence fragment 'and i have classes on Monday to Wednesday.' The use of referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the connection between your studies and the specific benefits to the employer could be more smoothly linked.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'pursue', 'enrolled', 'efficiently', and 'risk management'. However, there are several errors in word choice and spelling that detract from the professional tone, such as 'hire studies' (higher studies) and 'not their' (not there). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a wider range of precise, formal vocabulary to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including consistent failure to capitalize the pronoun 'I', missing articles, and punctuation issues (e.g., 'team leadership , which'). Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency are also problematic in places, such as 'she need help' instead of 'she needs help'. While the meaning remains clear, the frequency of these errors is noticeable and impacts the overall accuracy of the writing.

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

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