Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Dr Hamza,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to request you a change in my working schedule at the dental clinic. Normally, I offer consultations and treatments to my patients between 12 pm to 8 pm but from now onwards, I would like to reduce my shift from 12 pm to 6 pm. It is because I have recently joined a Public Health course at the Lahore University and I need to attend these classes physically in the evenings.

This session will continue for six months and I would be giving my services at the clinic for six hours straight i.e from 12 pm to 6 pm after which I will have to attend the university.

This course in Public Health will enhance my healthcare administrative and management skills which I can execute in your hospital .This will be an effective way to make our administration department more efficient and productive.

I will be looking forward to your response.

Regards,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The candidate has successfully covered all parts of the task prompt in a formal and polite manner. First, the letter clearly explains why the reduction in hours is needed, citing the recent enrollment in a Public Health course at Lahore University and the need to attend evening classes. Second, the student precisely states the desired working hours, shifting from 12 pm to 8 pm to a new schedule of 12 pm to 6 pm. Finally, the letter effectively describes how these part-time studies will benefit the employer, highlighting improvements in healthcare administrative and management skills. The tone is appropriate for a workplace request to a superior, and all bullet points from the instructions are fully addressed with relevant, coherent ideas. The response meets the task requirements well and demonstrates a clear understanding of the prompt's communicative goals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear logical progression from the opening salutation and statement of purpose to the specific details of the schedule change, the benefits to the clinic, and the concluding remarks. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the letter (introduction/reason, schedule details, and benefits to the employer). Cohesive devices such as 'Normally', 'from now onwards', 'It is because', and 'This will be' are employed effectively to guide the reader through the text. While referencing is generally clear and easy to follow, paragraph breaks could be slightly smoother in places, but overall the structure supports the communication of ideas very well and maintains a natural flow throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The candidate demonstrates a sufficient and appropriate range of vocabulary for a workplace communication task. Terms such as 'consultations', 'treatments', 'healthcare administrative and management skills', and 'productivity' show good topic-specific lexical resource. There are occasional slight awkwardness in word choice, such as 'request you a change' instead of 'request a change from you', but this does not impede overall communication. The writer successfully uses less common expressions like 'effective way to make our administration department more efficient and productive'. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, and the register is polite and professional throughout, reflecting appropriate control over vocabulary for general correspondence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The candidate demonstrates control over relative clauses and conditional-like benefits, such as in the sentence 'This course in Public Health will enhance my healthcare administrative and management skills which I can execute in your hospital.' There are minor grammatical slips, such as 'request you a change' (double object issue) and minor punctuation spacing errors (extra spaces before commas). However, the majority of sentences are error-free and complex structures are attempted with a reasonable degree of accuracy. These minor mechanical errors do not impede the reader's understanding, reflecting a solid performance in grammatical control.

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

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