Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear John,

Hope this meets you well, I am writing to request for reduced working hours so I can study part time.

With reference to our previous discussion, where I informed you of my intention to begin a part time course at the community college, this is to bring to your knowledge that I have been admitted and enrolled for the program.

The program will commence next month, due to the structure of the timetable I will need to reduce my work time. This will enable me have a balanced work and school schedule without any of them lagging. I would like to be placed on a permanent night shift, which will give me time for classes and study during the day.

Having me placed on night duty, will be of great benefit to the business as you have been trying to get a replacement for that role and I will be a good fit as I already have experience on how to manage day to day business.

I await a prompt and favourable response from you.

Best Regards,

Izere Aigbavboa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the prompt, satisfying the requirements for task achievement. The writer clearly explains the reason for reducing working hours, which is to undertake a part-time study program at the community college. Additionally, the specific hours requested—a permanent night shift—are clearly stated, and how this would benefit the employer is logically outlined by offering to cover a hard-to-fill shift while bringing existing business management experience. All bullet points are well-addressed and extended. To move towards higher bands, the ideas could be developed with even greater depth and nuance, perhaps by mentioning specific modules or exact start dates to make the proposal fully comprehensive and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression from beginning to end. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving smoothly from the opening statement of purpose to background details, scheduling requests, business benefits, and a professional sign-off. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'With reference to our previous discussion' and 'Having me placed on night duty'. However, paragraphing could be slightly more refined, and some transitional links feel a bit mechanical. To reach higher bands, the writer could employ more sophisticated referencing and seamless flow between sentences, avoiding minor mechanical transitions and ensuring every sentence builds naturally on the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a semi-formal workplace letter, successfully attempting less common items such as 'community college', 'timetable', and 'replacement'. There are occasional lapses in word choice and phrasing, such as writing 'request for reduced working hours' (which works better without the preposition 'for') or 'enable me have' (missing 'to'). Spelling and word choices generally do not impede communication, showing solid control. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate more precise lexical collocation and demonstrate a wider range of sophisticated, less common vocabulary with fewer minor slips in word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a workable mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct multi-clause sentences such as 'With reference to our previous discussion, where I informed you of my intention...'. There are some grammatical errors, such as a comma splice in the opening sentence ('Hope this meets you well, I am writing...') and missing prepositions or infinitive markers like 'enable me have' instead of 'enable me to have'. Punctuation is mostly functional but occasionally lets slip minor run-on structures. To push into higher bands, the writer must produce a greater frequency of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over punctuation and syntactic links.

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.