Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-30

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 7.0)

Dear Mr. Smith,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to request you to reduce my working hours because I am going to enroll in a skill enhancement program.

It is a part-time study program offered by oxford university. In this course, I am going to learn different aspects which are necessary for development in both personal and professional life.

This course have 3 classes, one is inpersonal and other two are online. The offline class is on friday from 2pm to 6pm and I does not have a schedule for online classes now, but I am sure, they are on weekend. Therefore, I just want to take a half day off on every friday until i have finished my program.

Being a team-leader of sales department, this skill enhancement program from such renowned institute will help me to handle my team and clients better. This would surely help me to meet my sale targets which directly benefits the company. I see this program as a viable step for my career progression.

Thank you for taking my request into consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Will Jones

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the reason for the request (skill enhancement), specified the desired hours (Friday half-day), and articulated the benefits to your employer (improved team management and sales targets). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands your position and the value of the proposed arrangement. To reach a higher band, ensure that all details, such as the specific university name, are capitalized correctly to maintain a professional standard.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a formal closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which aids readability. You use cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Being a team-leader', and 'This would surely' to connect your ideas. However, the transition between the description of the classes and the request for time off could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'skill enhancement program', 'viable step', and 'career progression'. There are some minor issues with capitalization (e.g., 'oxford university', 'friday') and a few awkward phrasings, such as 'inpersonal' instead of 'in-person'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication and precision required for the higher bands. Focusing on more precise collocations and ensuring proper noun capitalization will help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('This course have', 'I does not have') and minor punctuation slips. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to third-person singular verb forms and ensure consistency in your tense usage. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will also help elevate your performance.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.