Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Ms.ligia,

I am writing this letter to inform you regarding to mitigate my work hours.Moreover,I had enrolled in PSW as a Personal support worker.My batch is beginning on 15 october.This course demands me to stay available for full time atleast 5 days a week.I will continue my studies at Centennial college at progress campus in Scarborough.Consequently,I will commute 2.00 hours by bus but,it might be hard for me to manage both work and studies at same time.

To accommodate this,I would like to request adjusting my hours from 40 hours to 20 hours.Ideally,I would like to work Mondays,Tuesdays,and like to leave rest of the days open for my academic schedule.

In addition,I know there will be lot of adjustments might be required in the team that is reason,I am giving you prior notice.I am confident that it will directly benefit the company.I will learn lot of skills as,clinical skills, patient care .Eventually, it will increase the level of care that we provide the clients.

I will wait for your response.I am happy to discuss more details if needed.

Yours Sincerely,

Satwinder Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt in a generally clear manner. The student explains why they want to reduce working hours (to study PSW at Centennial College), specifies which hours they would like to work (Mondays and Tuesdays, leaving the rest of the week open), and describes how the studies will benefit the employer (increasing the level of care provided to clients through new clinical and patient care skills). However, the tone is slightly informal and abrupt in places, and some explanations, such as the commuting details, are somewhat tangential rather than fully developed for the workplace context. Overall, the bullet points are sufficiently addressed, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is arranged into logical paragraphs, each tackling a different aspect of the request, which demonstrates basic paragraphing skills. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. For example, expressions like 'Moreover,I had enrolled' and 'that is reason,I am giving' lack proper spacing after punctuation marks and rely on repetitive transitional patterns. Referencing and conjunctions are sometimes awkward, such as 'that we provide the clients' lacking a preposition. While the overall arrangement is coherent enough to follow without difficulty, the mechanical use of cohesive devices and punctuation errors place this in the Band 6 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating specific terms related to their profession and studies, such as 'Personal support worker', 'academic schedule', and 'clinical skills'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'mitigate my work hours' instead of 'reduce my working hours' or 'adjust my working hours'. Other phrasing like 'demand me to stay available' and 'learn lot of skills as, clinical skills' demonstrate limited control over natural collocations. Spelling is generally acceptable, but vocabulary limitations and awkward phrasings restrict the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses like 'it might be hard for me to manage' and 'I am confident that it will directly benefit the company'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors regarding articles, prepositions, and punctuation, such as missing spaces after commas and periods, 'batch is beginning on 15 october', 'commute 2.00 hours by bus', and 'there will be lot of adjustments might be required'. These errors sometimes cause slight hesitation for the reader, though they do not completely impede communication. This balanced profile fits the Band 5.5 descriptors well.

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

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