Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-31

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 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I hope this message find you well. i am writing this to information about change in schedule at work. recently i have decide to take part time course.

To begin with I would like to mention about work hours i am doing right now. I am starting my part-time school from next month. Because my school had provied me timetable which is not suits the current working time i am doing. So, i would like to decrease my working hours.

Furthermore, currently i am working on weekdays and taking holidays on weekdays. But from now my availability is weekends, if you can change that i would be appericate.

However, I am taken personal support worker which could benfit for th firm. If I get the certificate and i can gave training to the other employee from my lerning.

I hope you understand and reslove the chnage as soon as possible.

warm regards

Swerta Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt: the reason for the request, the preferred hours, and the benefit to the employer. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. For instance, the explanation of how the studies would benefit the firm is vague, stating only that you could 'give training' without explaining the relevance of the 'personal support worker' course to your current role. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the tone is somewhat informal and lacks the professional polish expected in a formal request to a boss. To improve, ensure that each point is expanded with more specific detail and professional language.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'However'. However, the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing and grammatical errors, such as the transition between the second and third paragraphs. The use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the connection between the study and the request is not fully integrated. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There are several instances of word-choice errors, such as 'information' instead of 'inform you', 'provied' (spelling), and 'reslove the chnage' (spelling/collocation). You rely on simple, repetitive language throughout the letter. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to use more professional collocations and precise terminology related to workplace requests, such as 'propose a revised schedule' or 'professional development'. Additionally, attention to spelling is necessary, as errors like 'appericate' and 'benfit' detract from the professional tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of your writing. Examples include 'I hope this message find you well' (subject-verb agreement), 'i have decide' (tense error), and 'which is not suits' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capital letters for the pronoun 'I' and improper sentence fragments. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors limits the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and consistent sentence construction will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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