Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-14

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 6.5)

Dear Mr. James,

I am writing to request to release me from working on weekends and evenings in the weekdays.

I am planning to pursue a part time Masters' degree program in coming fall term. Hence, I need my Saturdays and Sundays off and also evening in the weekdays as I have lectures scheduled on the weekend and group work during the night hours on weekdays.

I can continue working on weekdays as usual. However, I will not be able work late. The university is very strict on their submission deadline and quality of assignments. Therefore, I need my evenings to work on them. Further, I can take one shift on the Saturday morning. But I will not able to work on Sunday and Saturday afternoon shift as I have scheduled lectures during this timeframe.

Moreover, the masters' program provides solid foundation to marketing and customer engagement. Once I completed the program, I can excel these skills at work. Additionally, the said program will help me to attract potential customers to our company.

Yours sincerely,

Yumi.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all bullet points outlined in the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for reducing your working hours by stating that you plan to pursue a part-time Masters degree. You also specify which hours you would like to work, indicating that you can continue on weekdays but need evenings and certain weekend periods free due to lectures and group work. Finally, you describe how the studies would benefit your employer by explaining that the program provides a solid foundation in marketing and customer engagement, which will help attract potential customers and allow you to excel these skills at work. The tone is appropriately polite and formal for a workplace request. Ideas are relevant and fully developed, meeting all requirements for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear overarching progression. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose: introducing the request, explaining the scheduling constraints, detailing specific work shifts, and highlighting employer benefits. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Hence', 'However', 'Further', and 'Moreover' are utilized to connect sentences and clauses effectively, though referencing and transitional links could occasionally be smoother to achieve a higher band. Overall, the arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 7 rating.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task with some attempts at less common items, such as 'pursue a part time Masters degree program', 'customer engagement', and 'potential customers'. There are some minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, for example, writing 'release me from working' instead of 'reduce my working hours' and saying 'I can excel these skills at work' rather than 'apply' or 'enhance' these skills. Additionally, 'evening in the weekdays' contains a preposition slip. Despite these occasional lexical errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey your meaning clearly, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or conditional-like framing such as 'However, I will not be able work late' and 'Once I completed the program...'. There are several grammatical errors and omissions, such as omitting the infinitive particle ('be able work late' instead of 'be able to work late'), an article omission ('evening in the weekdays'), a preposition error ('on the Saturday morning' instead of 'on Saturday mornings'), and a tense inconsistency ('Once I completed the program' instead of 'Once I complete'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the overall grammar reflects a solid Band 6 level of control.

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

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