Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-15

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 am writing you this letter to inform that I want to reduce my working hours because two months ago I applied for Mechanical Engineering Course.So,last week I got addmission in Mechanical Engineering in MS University which is very famous in our area.So,my college time is 7am to 1pm that's why I am not able to work during that time because I have to go to college for attend lectures.

I would like to work 2pm to 8pm.After complete my college lectures I will come to office at 2pm even I will try my best to reach office on time.As you know that it is very difficult for people to do study and work both at the same time but I will try to give my best in both.

It is also very helpful for you because as you know that our company make panels,big machines and many more.If I become engineer,it will be great for our company.Even I can enhance my knowledge about machine.

I hope you will understand my problem and reduce my working hours as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Tina shah.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the prompt well. The student successfully explains why she wants to reduce her working hours, noting her admission to a Mechanical Engineering course at MS University. She clearly states the hours she would like to work (2pm to 8pm) and describes how her studies will benefit her employer by enhancing her knowledge about machine panels and big machines, ultimately helping the company. The tone is appropriately semi-formal for a workplace letter, and the purpose is clear throughout. All bullet points from the task instructions are addressed effectively, leading to a solid performance for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical structure appropriate for a business request. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, the specific hours, the workplace benefits, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and repetitive, particularly with the overuse of words like 'So' to connect ideas, as seen in 'So, last week I got admission...' and 'So, my college time is...'. Paragraphs are generally distinct, but referencing and transitional phrases could be more sophisticated and varied to ensure smoother logical progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including topic-specific terms such as 'Mechanical Engineering Course', 'admission', and 'colleagues' or 'office'. There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'addmission', 'attend lectures' instead of 'attending lectures', and 'After complete my college' instead of 'After completing'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they reflect a limited and developing lexical resource that falls short of higher-band flexibility and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative structures ('which is very famous in our area', 'as you know that...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors in punctuation, capitalization, and tense consistency, including run-on sentences with comma splices ('...Mechanical Engineering Course.So, last week...'), missing articles ('in Mechanical Engineering'), and incorrect verb forms ('After complete my college lectures'). These errors require some reader effort to navigate and occur with enough frequency to prevent the score from reaching Band 6.

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

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