Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Mr. Alex,

I am writing to request you to decrease my office hours because I have enrolled in a part time course at McGill University.

I have recently enrolled in Business and Marketing Finance course offered by McGill University. This course requires me to be present from Monday to Friday in the evening and the class timings are from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Due to this, I will not be able to work from 4:00 pm.

I request you to allow me to work from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm instead of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. I assure you that my daily tasks and communication within the team will not affected at all because I would be joining one hour earlier to finish off all my pending tasks.

Although, this is a part time course, this course has substantial learnings such as social media marketing, personal finance etc. As we are a Financial Technology company, these skills will surely help us in increasing sales and achieving targets.

Looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Williams

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, the reason for reducing working hours is clearly explained, stating that the writer has enrolled in a part-time course at McGill University. Second, the desired working hours are clearly specified as 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Finally, the benefits to the employer are well articulated, noting how the skills learned in social media marketing and personal finance will help the financial technology company increase sales and achieve targets. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a boss, and all parts of the task are fully covered, meeting the criteria for a strong performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter follows a clear, logical progression from stating the request to providing the details, proposing the new hours, explaining the company benefits, and signing off politely. Paragraphing is used effectively, with distinct paragraphs dedicated to the introduction, the class schedule, the proposed work hours, and the mutual benefits. Cohesive devices such as 'Due to this' and 'Although' are used appropriately, though there is a minor mechanical slip with comma usage around 'Although'. Overall, the message flows smoothly and the organisation is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for a workplace request, incorporating terms such as 'enrolled', 'timings', 'pending tasks', and 'substantial learnings'. While some phrasing is slightly repetitive or colloquial—such as 'decrease my office hours' rather than 'reduce my working hours' and 'Looking forward to hear' instead of 'Looking forward to hearing'—the lexical choices are precise enough to convey the intended meaning without any impediment to communication. The attempt to use less common vocabulary like 'substantial learnings' shows a good effort to elevate the register.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer uses a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and concessive clauses such as 'Although, this is a part time course, this course has substantial learnings...' and 'I assure you that my daily tasks... will not affected at all'. There are a few noticeable grammatical errors, such as the missing auxiliary verb in 'will not affected at all' (should be 'will not be affected') and an unnecessary comma after 'Although'. Despite these minor slips, the majority of sentences are clear, and the control of grammar and punctuation is generally sound throughout the response.

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