Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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)

Honourable Sir,

Praising that you are well by the grace of God. I'm an obedient employee of your respected restaurant. Today I'm writing a letter about reduce my working hours. First of all, Sir, you know that I'm a student , and its my first duty. However, i work for maintaining my study expenses, paying accomodation, filling my daily needs and living my whole student life. That's why you know how much important this job for me. This is my last year in my university and its a very pressured and essential year for my academic life. That's i want some space this year for my study.

Honourable Sir, if you reduce some time in night then i will study better for my academic last year. Moreover, i will cover up this job time in day time.

So, with respect, you will grant my request as soon as possible.

Yours obedient employee,

Kabir.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points, though the development is quite limited. You explain the need to reduce hours due to your final year of university, suggest a shift change, and briefly mention that your studies will benefit the employer. However, the third point—how your studies benefit the employer—is underdeveloped; you simply state you will work during the day, which does not explain how your education adds value to the restaurant. To improve, you should elaborate on how your academic knowledge (e.g., in management or hospitality) could help the business grow or improve efficiency.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'First of all', 'Moreover', 'So'). The flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'That's i want some space this year'. While the overall message is clear, the logical progression could be smoother if you used a wider variety of linking words and ensured that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed idea.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is quite basic and occasionally unnatural. Phrases like 'Praising that you are well' and 'obedient employee' are not standard in modern professional English. You rely on simple descriptors like 'pressured' and 'essential'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more natural professional collocations and avoid overly formal or archaic phrasing that does not fit the context of a letter to a boss. Expanding your range to include more precise business-related vocabulary would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including issues with subject-verb agreement, missing articles, and sentence structure. For example, 'I'm writing a letter about reduce my working hours' should be 'about reducing', and 'its my first duty' should be 'it's'. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors and the lack of complex sentence variety limit your score. Focusing on basic accuracy, such as correct verb forms and punctuation, will significantly improve your writing.

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

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