Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-04

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 Bella . I really wanna to tell about reducing a working hours. Actually I wanna reduce my working hours just because study it's a very formidable for me to balance both of thing. I would like to change my working hours 6pm to 9pm it's a commendable i hope you understand what I mean you know the part time studies benefits for employes both thing are entitle i managed too. Alot of this too hard to handle specialy for me has a student understanding the situation handle study and work.This time is comfortable for me . Otherwise what do you think about it. Can you reduce working hours for me ? If you read it please tell me early thanks you have a great day. Thank

Your faithfully

Bella khane.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points, but the development of ideas is insufficient. You mention wanting to reduce hours and suggest a time frame, but the explanation of how your studies would benefit the employer is vague and lacks professional detail. Furthermore, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which significantly impacts the development of your ideas. To improve, you should expand on the specific skills you are learning and how they can be applied to your current role to add value to the company. The tone is also overly informal for a letter to a boss.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks clear paragraphing, which makes the flow of information difficult to follow. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link your sentences logically. For example, the transition between explaining your study situation and proposing the new hours is abrupt. You rely on simple, repetitive sentence structures rather than using linking words like 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition' to guide the reader. To improve, organize your letter into distinct paragraphs: one for the request, one for the hours, and one for the benefits, using clear transition signals between them.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is limited and often used incorrectly, which hinders clarity. Phrases like 'formidable for me to balance both of thing' and 'both thing are entitle' are unclear and do not convey the intended meaning. You use informal language ('wanna') which is inappropriate for a formal business letter. There is also a lack of variety in your word choice, and some words are used in contexts where they do not fit, such as 'commendable' to describe your working hours. You need to focus on using more precise, formal vocabulary suitable for a workplace request.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that impede communication. Issues include incorrect verb forms ('wanna to tell'), subject-verb agreement errors ('benefits for employes'), and punctuation mistakes, such as the misuse of periods and capitalization. The sentence structures are mostly simple and contain errors that make the meaning difficult to grasp, such as 'Alot of this too hard to handle specialy for me has a student'. You need to focus on basic sentence construction, correct verb tense usage, and proper punctuation to ensure your writing is grammatically sound.

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

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