Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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)

Dear sir,

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Bhupinder Kaur. I am currently working in the marketing department of your company. I am writing this letter to request you to decrease the number of hours I work everyday.

Last month, my friend told me about the coaching center near my home which has been helping people to learn editing and use of VFX in their vidoes. I took admission in the editing course. But, I found out that the coaching center opens from 9AM-11AM as office opens at 9AM. So, I want to reduce my working hours.

I am available to work everyday after 11AM. The course is very short. Its duration is 6 weeks. After that, I can accommodate anytime you want me to work.

This course will help me in different ways. As I am working as a marketing head, this will help me to learn different ways of editing thus, I can make any advertisement alluring and get more customers. Moreover, it will train me to use AI to generate commericals which is preferred by clients in the foreign countries. Hence, company will get benefits.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Bhupinder Kaur.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate addresses all bullet points in the task instructions effectively. The letter clearly explains the reason for wanting to reduce working hours, which is to attend a specialized coaching center for video editing and VFX. It also explicitly states the desired working hours, noting availability after 11 AM every day. Furthermore, the response describes how the part-time studies will benefit the employer, highlighting that the skills learned will help create alluring advertisements, generate AI commercials, and attract foreign clients. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a boss, despite opening with 'Dear sir,' instead of a specific name. All parts of the prompt are well-developed, earning a solid Band 7.0 for fully covering the requirements with clear supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear logical progression throughout, dividing information into distinct paragraphs for each part of the prompt. The introduction establishes the sender's identity and purpose, followed by the core explanation, the proposed schedule, and the business benefits. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Hence', and 'As' are used to connect ideas, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different topics, such as the scheduling details and the advantages for the company. While referencing and paragraphing are generally clear, minor mechanical cohesion keeps this criterion at a Band 6.5, leaning towards clear logical organization.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a workplace request, including terms like 'marketing department', 'coaching center', and 'advertisement'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary such as 'alluring' and 'accommodate', demonstrating flexibility. However, there are a few word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'took admission in' instead of 'enrolled in', and 'vidoes' (a spelling error). Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly without impeding communication, matching the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I am writing this letter to request you to decrease the number of hours I work everyday' and 'As I am working as a marketing head, this will help me to learn different ways of editing.' There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, for instance, 'office opens at 9AM' lacking an article, and 'foreign countries' where 'foreign countries' is overly broad or slightly unnatural in collocation. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and errors rarely impede communication. This balanced control aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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

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