Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-07

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 6.0)

Dear Connor

Hope you are doing well. As you know, based on our project needs I'm working 40 hours in a week and helping the team to work over time in emergencies and deadlines. I would like to bring your attention that now I'm willing to work 20 hours per week because I'm planning to do my part time Ph.D study in artificial intelligence. This course demands the students to must attend at least 20 hours in a week to maintain the mandate credits.

My performance was tremendous in all my previous projects and If I have a chance I would work more than 20 hours in a week based on my study schedule and I will inform my availability to you prior one week. Now I can work from Monday to Friday 4 hour a day and reaming hour will help me to study my program.

Once I complete my program, this would benefit the company by getting the Artificial intelligence related projects and I can promise you that I would take over the projects and lead all the team and guide them regarding the project questions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. However, the development of ideas could be more professional. For instance, the explanation of the Ph.D. requirements is a bit repetitive, and the promise to 'lead all the team' sounds slightly overconfident or informal. To improve, ensure that the benefits to the company are framed more realistically and professionally, focusing on how your new skills will add value to current operations rather than making broad promises about taking over team leadership.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your request. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Once I complete my program' and 'As you know', to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between your current work performance and your future availability is a bit abrupt. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the internal cohesion within the second paragraph could be smoother to better connect your study schedule with your work availability.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'emergencies', 'deadlines', and 'artificial intelligence'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'bring your attention that' (should be 'bring to your attention that') and 'reaming hour' (likely a typo for 'remaining hours'). Additionally, 'mandate credits' is an incorrect collocation; 'mandatory credits' would be more accurate. To improve, focus on using more precise professional terminology and proofreading for common spelling errors. Expanding your range of formal business expressions would also help elevate the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'I'm working 40 hours in a week' (should be 'per week'), 'the students to must attend' (should be 'students must attend'), and 'prior one week' (should be 'one week in advance'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to preposition usage, verb patterns, and article placement. Reviewing basic sentence construction will help you produce more error-free sentences.

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

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