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 Mr. Smith,

I am writing this email to submit a request to reduce my office hours. Currently, I am working five days a week which will be overlapping with my study hours.

To briefly review the situation, I am planning to enroll in a one year mangement program to enhance my skills, such as leadership, communication and cooperation. So, unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the office on Monday's and Friday's for next one year. I do understand, it is really challenging and difficult task to offer me a part time hours but I will make sure that I am available on phone to help my team whenever they need.

In fact, these skills will definately benefical to your company in long period as you have more qualified and trained associate. Additionally, it can help in growing my career and grab promotion opportunities within a company.

I will be really thankful if you adjust my working schedule. Looking forward to hear a response from your end.

Yours sincerely

Sukh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The student clearly explains the desire to reduce working hours due to enrolling in a management program, specifies the exact schedule changes by stating 'I will not be able to attend the office on Monday's and Friday's,' and describes how this benefits the employer by providing a more qualified and trained associate. The tone is appropriately formal and polite for a workplace request letter. The purpose of the letter is well-defined and sustained throughout, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5 or 7.0. However, some ideas, such as the benefits to the employer, remain slightly brief and could be further extended for a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement with an appropriate formal opening and closing. Paragraphing is utilised effectively to separate different points, such as the reason for the request, the proposed schedule, the benefits, and the concluding remarks. Cohesive devices are generally present, though some transitions like 'So, unfortunately' or 'In fact' are slightly conversational or mechanical. Referencing is mostly clear, allowing the reader to follow the progression of ideas from the explanation of studies to the impact on work availability. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a workplace context, using terms such as 'enroll,' 'enhance my skills,' and 'promotion opportunities.' There are, however, some lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'mangement' instead of management, 'Monday's' with an unnecessary apostrophe, and 'definately benefical' instead of definitely beneficial. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary use is functional but contains noticeable slips in spelling and word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I am writing this email to submit a request...' and 'I do understand, it is really challenging...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including comma splices ('I do understand, it is really challenging') and prepositional errors ('grab promotion opportunities within a company' instead of within the company). The errors occasionally cause minor disruption to the flow, but communication remains clear throughout, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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