Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-28

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 6.5)

Dear Mr. Singh,

I am writing this letter to formally request to reduce my working hours starting the upcoming fall.

Two months ago, I had applied for my MBA program at the Concordia University for which I have received the offer letter of admission and I will be joining the school in September as a part-time student, that is why I would kindly ask you to please approve my request to reduce my working hours.

I am currently working 40 hours per week and most days I stay till late evenings. But starting this upcoming fall, I will only be able to work 30 hours per week. As I would be mostly occupied on tuesday and thursday evenings for my classes that I will have to attend at the business school.

I have been working in this company as a junior analyst since past two years, and now I feel like in order to move ahead in my career and to develop managerial skills, I will have to upgrade my skills, which will help the company as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: the reason for the request, the specific hours desired, and the benefits to the employer. However, the development of the third point is somewhat weak. While you mention that developing managerial skills will help the company, you do not explicitly explain how your MBA studies will translate into immediate value or specific contributions to your current role. To reach a higher band, ensure that the benefits to the employer are more clearly articulated and linked to your specific job responsibilities.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a logical progression, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The use of cohesive devices is generally appropriate, such as 'starting the upcoming fall' and 'as a result'. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is a bit abrupt, and the final paragraph feels slightly disconnected from the rest of the letter. Improving the flow between your personal goals and the company's needs would enhance the overall coherence of the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'formally request', 'junior analyst', and 'managerial skills'. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'stay till late evenings' (which is slightly informal) and 'I had applied' (where simple past 'applied' would be more natural). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but incorporating more precise business-related collocations would elevate the professional tone of the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as the run-on sentence in the second paragraph ('...part-time student, that is why I would kindly ask...') and the fragment in the final paragraph ('...since past two years'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation errors, such as the lack of capitalization for 'tuesday' and 'thursday'. Focusing on sentence boundary control and consistent capitalization will help improve your accuracy.

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

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