Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-23

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 Boss,

i want you to inform that as i got admission in pharmacy school . my classes are generally scheduled from 9-4 monday to friday . Also, i need to give time for my assessment , assignments. As previously , i was working full time but now i won’t be able to work full time . i can only work evening shifts 5-9 and then my happy to work on weekends . This study will really help me in future on my workplace too because i am studying pharmacy and i will be having more educated on drugs interactions , side effects , usage and everything . our pharmacy also needs pharmacy technician who can help pharmacist in long term . So, once i will be graduated it would really benefit us . I am hoping to get your response on my letter soon .

Thankyou

Yours truly

Priya Goyal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the reason for the request, the preferred hours, and the benefits to the employer. However, the development of these ideas is quite basic. For instance, the explanation of how the study benefits the employer is somewhat repetitive and lacks professional depth. The tone is also inconsistent; starting with 'Dear Boss' is overly informal for a formal request letter. To improve, you should expand on the professional value of your studies and adopt a more formal, polite tone throughout the letter to better suit the context of a workplace request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is generally easy to follow, but the lack of paragraphing makes the text feel like a single block of information. Using clear paragraphs for each bullet point would significantly improve the structure. While there are some cohesive devices used, such as 'Also' and 'So', the transitions between sentences are often abrupt. The flow of ideas is logical, but the overall organisation is hindered by the absence of a formal structure, which is expected in a letter format.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is functional but limited. You rely on simple phrasing, such as 'give time for my assessment' and 'everything'. There are also some awkward collocations and grammatical errors in word choice, such as 'I will be having more educated on drugs', which should be 'I will be more knowledgeable about drug interactions'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise professional terminology and avoid repetitive, informal phrasing. Expanding your range of vocabulary to include more formal expressions would enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('i want you to inform'), missing articles, and incorrect tense usage ('i will be graduated'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with spaces placed incorrectly before commas and periods. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence structures limits the score. You should focus on proofreading for basic errors, such as capitalising 'I' and ensuring correct verb forms, to improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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