Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-25

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 Sir,

I am writing this letter to ask you whether it is possible to reduce my working hours, Because i would like study part time.

I have recently decided to take a part time course in accounts management. And i believe that this course will help me to improve my knowledge and develop new skills that would be useful for my career. However classes are being held at morning from 8 am to 1pm, so it would be difficult for me to work in full time.

So i would like to work from 3 pm to 10 pm, from monday to saturday. Additionly i feel that this timing would allow me to attend my classes in morning and giving me enough time to complete my work.

I believe that this course will be helpful for the company. and i could use these skills in my current job, I hope you will consider my request.

Yours sincerely

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The candidate successfully covers all bullet points required by the task prompt. The letter clearly explains the motivation behind the request to reduce hours, which is to study part-time in accounts management. It explicitly states the desired working hours, proposing a shift from 3 pm to 10 pm, Monday to Saturday. Furthermore, it describes the potential benefits to the employer, noting that the new skills acquired during the course can be directly applied to the current job. The tone is appropriately polite and formal for a workplace request, and the purpose of the letter is evident throughout. However, the development of ideas could be slightly more extended to fully satisfy higher band criteria, placing this response comfortably at a Band 6.5 or 7.0 for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter exhibits a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical structure typical of a formal request. Each paragraph addresses a specific part of the prompt, ensuring the message flows sequentially from the introduction to the justification, proposed hours, employer benefits, and sign-off. However, paragraphing is occasionally compromised by very short, fragmented sentences, such as starting a new line with 'And i believe' or 'So i would like'. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as beginning sentences with 'And' or 'So'. Referencing is generally clear, but the structural management of cohesive ties prevents the letter from reaching a higher band, resulting in a solid score of 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating workplace and study concepts such as 'reduce my working hours', 'accounts management', and 'develop new skills'. There are, however, noticeable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'held at morning' instead of 'held in the morning' or 'work in full time' instead of 'work full-time'. Spelling is generally acceptable, though capitalization errors occur, such as 'monday' and 'saturday'. The vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, demonstrating the characteristics of a Band 6 response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses like 'that would be useful for my career'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent punctuation and capitalization errors, such as the lowercase 'i' used independently multiple times ('Because i would like', 'And i believe'), incorrect comma placement, and sentence fragments (e.g., starting a sentence with 'Because'). Preposition and article usage also show inaccuracies, such as 'at morning' and 'in morning'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the response from achieving a higher score, making a Band 5.5 appropriate.

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

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