Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24

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 Usha,

Hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter for reducing my working hours, so that, I can focus on other activities which will aid me for my immigration purpose as well as it would help our company in such a way to enhance the productivity of employees.

One of the compelling reason to reduce the hours is due to my French Classes. As I am going to apot for the upcoming TEF exam in next 5 months, I need appropriate time to study. Addditionally, I will have test of each topic twice a week.

I would request for changing my shift to evening timings. That is from my current schedule of 8:00am to 4:00pm, transferring to evening shift from 3:00pm to 9:00pm.Hence, i could spare my valuable time in preparation.

Moreover, I really believe that an e,ployee woith addidtional lanuage will help in attracting more clients with various language as one could help in the translation process. And so, I think that if I will pass the TEF exam it will be a great asset to our company in the aspect of growth and productivity.

Hence, I will be waiting for your approval. I ready to hear from you about any other suggestions to this.

Thank you,

Yours Faithfully,

Mesha Patel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and detailing the benefits to the employer. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal request to a manager. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how the French classes specifically benefit the company is a bit repetitive and could have been more clearly linked to the company's specific business context. Despite this, the purpose of the letter is clear and the requirements are met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each serving a clear purpose. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Hence', and 'Additionally' helps to guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the awkward phrasing in the opening paragraph ('I am writing this letter for reducing my working hours'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different points requested in the prompt, which aids readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their message clearly. There are some attempts at more sophisticated vocabulary, such as 'compelling reason' and 'asset', which is positive. However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'apot' (apply), 'e,ployee', 'woith', 'addidtional', and 'lanuage'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable, though they do not prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. A wider range of precise vocabulary would be needed for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'I am writing this letter for reducing' (should be 'to reduce'), 'I will have test' (should be 'I will have a test'), and 'I ready to hear' (should be 'I am ready to hear'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage and spacing. These errors occur frequently, though they rarely impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for basic grammatical slips.

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

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