Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-08

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 boss hope you doing well ,I am writing this letter to you because I want to reduce my working hours from fourty hours per week to 25 hours per week due to starting an part time study to gain my skills more so I can get more success in life.i am enjoying working full time but it is not possible to continue while studying.i have my classes on Monday to Wednesday from 9 am to 4 pm and I will get home around 5 pm so not possible to come to work on Monday to Wednesday .I can work Thursday and Friday on 8am to 4pm and Thursday on 8am to 5pm. I also want to tell you my study is related to trucking industry so it will benefit you as well because I will learn basic truck repair while studying so we can reduce service calls whenever our truck stop on road.please schedule my work hours accordingly.

Thanks

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You explained the reason for the request, specified the desired hours, and described the benefit to your employer. However, the development of these points is somewhat basic. For instance, the explanation of how your studies benefit the employer is clear but could be expanded with more professional detail. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a boss, although it leans slightly towards informal. To improve, ensure that your ideas are fully developed and that the tone remains consistently professional throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is generally coherent, and the message is easy to follow. However, the lack of paragraphing is a significant weakness. A formal letter should be structured into distinct paragraphs for the introduction, the body (covering the requirements), and the conclusion. Furthermore, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited; you rely heavily on simple conjunctions like 'and' or 'because'. To achieve a higher band, you should use a wider range of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition') to connect your ideas more fluidly and organize your text into clear paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning, such as 'reduce my working hours' and 'trucking industry'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'gain my skills more' (which should be 'enhance my skills') and 'whenever our truck stop on road' (which should be 'whenever our trucks break down on the road'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. Focus on learning common collocations and using more precise verbs to describe your professional intentions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

Your writing contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar, such as missing capital letters at the start of sentences ('i am enjoying', 'please schedule'), missing articles ('an part time study'), and inconsistent verb tenses. Additionally, the run-on sentences make the text feel slightly disjointed. To improve, pay closer attention to basic sentence punctuation and subject-verb agreement. Practicing the use of complex sentences with correct relative clauses or conditional structures would also help improve your score.

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.