Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-01

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 Boss,

I am writing this letter to inform you that I am planning to study part time for my higher education so please decrease my working hours.

I am doing my job with full dedication and taking it as a first priorty and after doing my 9 am to 5 pm job, I don't get much time to study and because of that I want to reduce my working hours so I can concentrate more on my educational plans.

I would like to work from 9 am to 2 Pm, total 5 hours of work. So, after reaching home I can totally focus on my study schedule.

As you know, I am preparing for my financial instructor exam and if I clear my exam with good score. I will get a license for my financial instructor position by which I can work more efficiently on our company projects like company budget, company's monetary structure, client's cashflow and adjustments.

I hope to hear back from you soon.

Your faithfully,

Amrinder Singh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the communicative task. The writer clearly explains the reason for reducing working hours, which is to pursue part-time higher education to prepare for an exam, as stated in phrases like 'concentrate more on my educational plans.' Furthermore, the desired hours are specified precisely as 'from 9 am to 2 Pm, total 5 hours of work,' and the benefits to the employer are outlined by explaining how gaining the license will help 'work more efficiently on our company projects like company budget.' The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a boss, maintaining a clear purpose throughout. To achieve a higher band, the ideas could be developed with even greater depth and broader supporting detail regarding the long-term professional advantages for the organisation, avoiding minor generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear overall arrangement with an appropriate formal greeting and sign-off, although the salutation 'Dear Boss' is a bit informal and could be improved to 'Dear Manager' or a specific name. Information is logically sequenced into distinct paragraphs, each addressing a different aspect of the prompt, such as the reason for the request, the preferred hours, and the benefits to the company. Cohesive devices are used adequately, though some connections feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on conjunctions like 'and' to link clauses together. Paragraphing is handled sufficiently, but ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would elevate the overall flow of the correspondence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended message with relevant terms such as 'dedication,' 'financial instructor,' and 'monetary structure.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'priorty' instead of 'priority' and the informal opening 'Dear Boss.' The writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to business and finance, but greater precision and lexical variety are needed to score higher. Enhancing collocation usage and employing a wider selection of academic or professional phrasing would significantly strengthen this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as conditional and reason clauses, as seen in 'if I clear my exam with good score. I will get a license...' However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including a run-on sentence structure in the second paragraph and a sentence fragment in the fourth paragraph. Control over tense and article usage is mostly maintained, but minor slips occasionally occur. To reach the next level, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of error-free complex sentences and ensure accurate punctuation, particularly avoiding sentence fragments and comma splices.

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

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