Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Madam,

I am writing this letter to request you to reduce my working hours because I am a part-time student. Thus, I need time to concentrate on my studies to bright my future.

My name is Ramandeep Kaur, having work ID [redacted phone]. Moreover, I this is my last semester in University of Regina. I have three very difficult courses that i need to study a lot to get good grades. Also, attendence is compulsory in each course. if i could study in better way and concentration. hence, pleease, reduce my working hours so that i can be able to give time to my studies.

Furthermore, i have all the classes in the morning time until 2:30pm. After classes, I am able to work. this will be helpful for me and on weekend I am unable to do work because i have some assignments too.

additionally, my part-time studies would be significant for you because you can be able to give hours to other people. Also, I would not complain again to you regarding my decreasing working hours.

i look forward to hearing from you.

yours faithfully,

Ramandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt effectively. You explained why you want to reduce hours to study part-time, specified the hours you would like to work (after 2:30 pm), and described how your studies would benefit your employer by allowing them to give hours to other people. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed, and the tone is sometimes overly informal or demanding (e.g., 'I would not complain again to you'). Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing this within the Band 6 descriptors where all parts are addressed, though some aspects lack full development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a standard letter structure with a salutation and sign-off. However, paragraphing is somewhat erratic and sentences are occasionally fragmented, such as 'Also, attendence is compulsory in each course. if i could study in better way and concentration. hence, pleease, reduce my working hours'. Cohesive devices are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately, and referencing can be unclear. Progression between ideas is disrupted by punctuation errors and disjointed clauses. This aligns well with the Band 5 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your basic message about working hours and studies. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'significant', but these attempts often lead to inaccuracies or unnatural collocations like 'bright my future' instead of 'brighten my future'. There are also frequent spelling and capitalization errors throughout the text (e.g., 'attendence', 'university', 'i'). Because the vocabulary is limited and mechanical errors do occur, this falls into the Band 5 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, sentence boundaries (such as sentence fragments starting with 'Also' or 'if'), and subject-verb agreement or word form (e.g., 'i am able to give time', 'i have all the classes in the morning time'). While communication is not entirely impeded and your meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors places your writing firmly at Band 5.

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

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