Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-26

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 5.0)

Dear sir I am writing a request to reducing working hours because of personal reasons .i am working to 10to 12 hours daily .but I want study sometimes and I health needs .as well as i playing with my children’s and sometime enjoy my family so I request to fall working time . Weekend like Saturday and Sunday I would like to pass out for travelling and parties with my cousins . I am start a new study for other purpose . So I want more time to study .study is better beneficial for carrier I want to job in higher level company so i want to more education .practice is most important part in our education .more and more practice make a perfect person . Other activities are vital to every person so I want to reduce my working hours .then I spend more time for study and family .yours faithfully

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points, but the development is uneven. While you explain the desire to study and mention the need for time with family, the explanation of how your studies would benefit the employer is weak and lacks professional focus. You mention wanting to work at a 'higher level company,' which is not a benefit to your current employer. The tone is also inconsistent; mentioning 'parties with my cousins' is inappropriate for a formal letter to a boss. To improve, ensure your arguments are professional and directly link your studies to the company's success, such as gaining skills that will help you perform your current role more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow. There is no clear introduction, body, or conclusion. Cohesive devices are largely absent or misused; for example, the use of 'so' and 'but' is repetitive and does not effectively link ideas. The progression of ideas is disjointed, jumping from work hours to family parties to career goals without logical transitions. To improve, you must use paragraphs to separate your ideas and employ a wider range of linking words such as 'furthermore,' 'consequently,' or 'in addition' to create a smoother flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and often repetitive. You rely on basic words like 'study,' 'work,' and 'time' throughout the text. There are also errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'fall working time' (likely meaning 'reduce') and 'carrier' (which should be 'career'). Some phrases are informal or unclear, such as 'pass out for travelling.' To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise professional vocabulary related to employment and education, and ensure that your word choices are appropriate for a formal business context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('I am start'), article usage, and sentence structure. Many sentences are fragmented or run-on, and the lack of proper punctuation (capitalization and periods) makes the text difficult to read. The range of structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentences. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, ensure you use capital letters for the start of sentences and the pronoun 'I,' and practice using more complex sentence structures like relative clauses or conditional sentences.

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

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