Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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/madam

I am writing to you this letter to requesting for reduce my working hour for study which i want start from next month.

I want tell you that i am taking a short term course . i am working full time in your IT comapny but i relised from 2 year i still stable in same postion from last couple of year i have to improved my skill by learn advance code so i am going to start a advance course.

i would like to say if can reduce my weekly hours,I was doing work 8 hours in 6 days but now what change me schedual from next month i can do only 3 day work on weekend.

I want tell you that your company can get benefits from this course because i am going learn new advance code which are most requered in IT market. its save time as well as money so i will use this new technology in our company.

i look forward to your answer, I hope you will understand my situation i will be appriciat if you will give me flexible hours.

Thnak you

your sincerely

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points from the prompt: it explains why you want to reduce your working hours (to take a short-term course to learn advanced coding), specifies which hours you would like to work (3 days on the weekend), and describes how your studies would benefit the employer (saving time and money by bringing new technology skills to the company). However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, and the tone is overly informal and direct for a professional workplace letter. For example, expressions like 'I want tell you' and 'Thnak you' lack the appropriate formal register required for a letter to a boss. Despite these stylistic limitations, all requirements of the task are addressed, earning a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter demonstrates a basic logical progression, attempting to separate ideas into distinct paragraphs. However, paragraphing is poorly executed with inconsistent line breaks and punctuation, which disrupts the natural flow. Cohesive devices are either missing or used incorrectly, such as 'i am writing to you this letter to requesting for reduce' and 'now what change me schedual'. Furthermore, referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow the transition between thoughts. While the overall arrangement allows the reader to understand the general purpose of the letter, the mechanical and faulty use of cohesive elements prevents the response from achieving a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple words like 'work', 'hours', 'course', and 'company'. There are also numerous word-choice and spelling errors that reveal a limited lexical range, such as 'requesting for reduce', 'comapny', 'relised', 'postion', 'requered', 'appriciat', and 'Thnak you'. Although the intended meaning is generally conveyed regarding your IT background and desire to learn advanced coding, the frequent lexical inaccuracies and lack of sophisticated phrasing restrict the vocabulary score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense confusion ('i was doing work 8 hours in 6 days'), missing prepositions, and incorrect verb forms ('i am going learn new advance code'). Punctuation and capitalization are also problematic, with lower-case 'i' used consistently instead of 'I'. These persistent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a lack of control over basic sentence patterns, placing the grammar at a Band 5.0.

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

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