Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17

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 Sir Mueen Awais,

I am writing to ask you something if I can reduce my working hours because I want to study a part-time course starting next month.

To balance my work responsibilities and my studies, I would like to reduce my schedule to 24 hours per week. I propose working on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This schedule will allow me to attend my university classes on Mondays and Fridays while to make it ensure about, I am present during our busiest workdays.

I believe this course will bring benefits to our company. I will study digital marketing, which will help me improve our company's social media pages and attract more customers. The skills I learn will help me work more efficiently and support our team better.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Alex hail

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain the reason for wanting to reduce your working hours (to study a part-time course starting next month), state the exact hours you wish to work (24 hours per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays), and describe how your studies will benefit your employer (by learning digital marketing to improve social media and attract customers). The tone is appropriate for a letter to a boss. Ideas are adequately presented and developed throughout the letter. According to the band descriptors, this fully satisfies the requirements for a Band 7.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. You make effective use of paragraphing, with each paragraph serving a distinct function: stating the purpose, proposing the schedule, outlining the benefits, and providing a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'To balance my work responsibilities', 'This schedule', and 'I believe this course' are used appropriately to guide the reader. While referencing is generally clear, occasional slight awkwardness in transitions prevents the score from reaching the highest bands. Overall, cohesion is well managed, fitting a Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'responsibilities', 'propose', 'efficiently', and 'digital marketing'. There are some attempts at less common lexical items with appropriate awareness of context. However, there are minor awkward phrasings such as 'ask you something if I can' and the slightly unnatural collocation 'while to make it ensure about', which limit lexical precision. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. This aligns well with the criteria for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as infinitive clauses and conditional-style reasoning (e.g., 'This schedule will allow me to attend...'). There are some grammatical errors, notably the redundant phrasing 'while to make it ensure about, I am present', which demonstrates some instability when attempting more complex structures. Punctuation is mostly standard, and capitalization requires minor attention (e.g., name spelling). Because errors in grammar and punctuation are noticeable during complex constructions but rarely impede communication, this sits comfortably at Band 6.0.

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.