Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21

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)

Hello Manager,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to request to reduce my hours in order to study part time.

Recently, I got admission in university for my Masters in Digital Media and Marketing. The course is quite demanding and needs full concentration as I have to design campaigns and write the research papers as my assignments. My first course schedule is out today in the morning. I have four days classes in a week. So, eventually I can't work full time now. The good part is that I will be free on weekends which means I will be available on the peak hours of weekends till the night shift from 4pm to 12 am.

Furthermore, I would like to tell you that, My degree will be so beneficial for your business. As, I am going to learn all the tricks of B2B marketing and designing the campaings for our food chain. Moreover, the subjects that I took will guide us about all adobe softwares which can help me creating new designs for the business portfolio.

I will be very greatful if you will give me the the hours that I need and reduced my shifts from the usuall schedule that we follow before.

I hope you will understand my situation and reach out to me at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Raana Rao

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. The letter begins with an appropriate greeting and clearly explains the motivation for reducing working hours: acceptance into a demanding Master's program in Digital Media and Marketing. The candidate then specifies the desired working hours, noting availability on weekends and evening shifts from 4 pm to 12 am. Furthermore, the response outlines how part-time studies will benefit the employer, specifically by applying B2B marketing strategies, campaign design, and Adobe software skills directly to the business portfolio and food chain operations. The tone is polite and appropriate for a workplace request. Although the sign-off uses a slightly informal greeting 'Hello Manager' rather than a standard name, all core task requirements are fully addressed with relevant, extended ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Ideas are grouped into sensible paragraphs addressing the reason for the request, the schedule details, the benefits to the employer, and the closing appeal. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'The good part is that' are used to connect ideas, though some transitional phrasing feels slightly conversational. Paragraphing is employed sufficiently to separate distinct points. However, referencing and transitions could be smoother in places, such as the sudden shift into the schedule details after discussing course demands. Overall, the structural progression is clear, ensuring the reader easily follows the writer's intent.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The candidate demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary appropriate for a workplace and academic context, utilizing terms such as 'demanding', 'concentration', 'campaigns', 'portfolio', and 'convenience'. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'B2B marketing' and 'adobe softwares'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'got admission in university' (instead of 'into a university'), 'four days classes' (instead of 'classes four days a week'), and 'greatful' (spelling error). While these minor errors do not impede communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching the higher bands where precision and flexibility are more consistently demonstrated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'which means I will be available on the peak hours' and 'which can help me creating new designs'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing patterns, including 'request to reduce' (better phrased as 'request a reduction in'), 'needs full concentration as I have to design', and the double article 'give me the the hours'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, though the closing sentence contains a minor tense slip ('if you will give me... and reduced'). Despite these errors, the majority of simple sentences are clear and communication is never impeded.

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

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