Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Dr.Mohannad,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing you to request a reduction of working hours this coming October due to the part time study I enrolled recently. I’ve been working as a laser technician and facial treatments for more than a year here at Wellness One Day Surgery Clinic.

I want to less my working hours from 48hours to 40hours a week in order for me to attend all my evening class which is the beauty therapy course. In this class I will be attending, it will help me to be more knowledgeable with different types of skin problems and enhance with my skills for the procedures like hydra-facial or other facial treatments. Though this, it can contribute good way to the clinic which I can imply to my clients and new one. It will give me more confident for treating our clients in the future. It will take for 6 months and after I graduate on this course, I can return to my regular working hours.

I hope for your kind consideration and hoping for your positive feedback.

Yours faithfully,

Jessica

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, fulfilling the core requirements of a general training letter. You clearly explain the reasons for wanting to reduce your hours to pursue part-time study, specify the exact shift reduction from forty-eight to forty hours, and describe how the beauty therapy course will benefit your employer. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. While the explanation of your current role and desired hours is clear, the description of how the studies will benefit the clinic is slightly repetitive and lacks deeper extension, which keeps the score at this level. To reach higher bands, you should expand on how the specific techniques learned in class will drive better business results or client satisfaction without repeating the same ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear purpose established from the beginning. You use an appropriate salutation and sign-off suitable for a formal workplace letter. Paragraphing is utilized to separate the introduction, the main body points, and the concluding remarks. However, the cohesion between sentences is sometimes mechanical or relies on simple connectors like 'Though this', which makes the logical progression slightly bumpy rather than smooth. Referencing could also be managed more naturally to guide the reader effortlessly through your arguments. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of sophisticated cohesive devices and ensure that transitional phrases link your ideas seamlessly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You demonstrate an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using industry-specific terms such as 'laser technician', 'facial treatments', and 'hydra-facial'. You attempt less-common vocabulary, but there are noticeable word choice and word form errors that occasionally impede natural expression, such as writing 'want to less my working hours' instead of 'reduce', or 'study I enrolled recently' instead of 'enrolled in recently'. Additionally, phrases like 'enhance with my skills' and 'give me more confident' show inaccuracies in collocation and word form. To achieve a higher band, you need to refine your control over less common lexical items and ensure correct word forms and collocations are used consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as using 'in order for me to attend all my evening class' and 'after I graduate on this course'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including preposition choices ('graduate on this course' instead of 'graduate from') and article usage ('evening class' instead of 'evening classes'). While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they occur regularly enough to characterize this level. You also made an error in the opening sentence by writing 'I am writing you to request' instead of 'I am writing to you'. To progress further, aim to produce a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and sharpen your command of prepositions and verb patterns.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.