Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-24

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 Anja,

I hope you have been well.

I am writing to you a letter to request to reduce my working hours due to student visa conditions and I am back to school now after 3 weeks of school term break.

With less working hours, I would be able to prioritize studying more and focusing on hope to have a smooth preparation for school examinations which is coming up in 6 weeks time.

During every school holidays, I am able to work longer hours due to full working rights. I would be available to work everyday.

However, should you need me to cover any shifts incase any our staff member falls sick. Please let me know in advance.

Your understanding and support is greatly appreciated on this matter.

Should you need further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Thank you and have a good day

Kind regards

Daren

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt effectively. You explain why you want to reduce your working hours due to student visa conditions and upcoming exams, state which hours you would like to work by offering to cover shifts and work every day during holidays, and describe how your studies would benefit the employer through your availability and potential assistance. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a boss. However, the development of the third bullet point regarding how your studies specifically benefit your employer is somewhat limited and implicit rather than fully expanded. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, placing this performance at Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0 based on standard descriptor alignments for under-developed ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear purpose established in the opening paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, such as your reasons, proposed hours, and willingness to help with shifts. However, some cohesive devices and referencing are occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, as seen in the transition 'However, should you need me to cover any shifts incase any our staff member falls sick. Please let me know in advance.' Here, the fragmenting of the sentence structure disrupts the natural flow of cohesion. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise. Despite these minor cohesive slips, the letter is generally easy to follow and progresses logically from the greeting to the sign-off, fulfilling the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a semi-formal workplace request, utilizing terms such as 'prioritize,' 'clarification,' and 'appreicated.' There are some attempts at less common lexical items, but also noticeable word choice errors and tautology, such as writing 'I am writing to you a letter to request to reduce' and repeating the word 'school' three times in quick succession ('school term break,' 'school examinations,' 'school holidays'). Furthermore, there are minor grammatical/lexical slips like 'incase' instead of 'in case' and 'any our staff member' instead of 'any of our staff members'. These errors do not impede communication, allowing the response to comfortably secure a Band 6.0 for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar with structures like conditional forms ('should you need me to cover...') and participial phrases. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. For instance, 'I am writing to you a letter to request to reduce' contains awkward phrasing and redundancy, and 'incase any our staff member falls sick. Please let me know in advance' is punctuated as a sentence fragment followed by a command starting with a capital letter. Additionally, 'which is coming up' should ideally be plural ('which are coming up') to match 'examinations'. These errors occur with some frequency but rarely impede overall communication, reflecting the characteristics of Band 6.0.

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