Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02
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 5.0)
Dear Sir,
I am writing this letter to request you to reduce my hours as I am planning to study part time my accounting course to upgrade my profile so I want to give more focus towards studies.
Currently, I am working full time and giving my all focus towards work although I have to upgrade my academic studies to get promotion. Therefore, I am planning to finish 2 years master in accounting.
As of now, I was working 9am to 5pm but from next week if you can change it to 9am to 12pm by reducing my job hours because I have classes from 2pm.
Your Faithfully,
Vishw shah
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response responds to the task only minimally and fails to meet the minimum length requirement, containing only 110 words instead of the required 150 words. While the writer touches upon the bullet points by explaining the wish to study accounting, mentioning the requested hours of 9am to 12pm, and briefly noting that it is to upgrade their profile for a promotion, these ideas remain very limited and under-developed. The purpose of the letter is stated, but the explanation lacks sufficient detail and extension. Furthermore, the sign-off contains a mechanical error in the conventional closing phrase, reflecting a minimal approach to the format of a formal correspondence.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
There is some basic organization with an appropriate opening salutation, but the response lacks clear overall progression. The letter is broken into short, choppy paragraphs, and the overall arrangement feels disjointed. Cohesive devices are very basic or missing entirely, relying on repetitive transitions like 'Therefore' and 'As of now'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the sudden shift into describing the current schedule without a smooth transitional link. While the sequence of information follows the general prompts, the lack of sophisticated cohesive management and effective paragraphing prevents the letter from flowing naturally as a coherent piece of formal writing.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, featuring basic and somewhat repetitive terms such as 'study part time', 'work full time', and 'upgrade my profile'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'giving my all focus towards work' and 'finish 2 years master in accounting', which lack correct grammatical collocations and word forms. Although the reader can generally understand the intent behind terms like 'accounting course', the limited range of vocabulary and instances of imprecise word choice cause some minor difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher lexical band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer uses a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic clauses and lengthy run-on sentences joined by conjunctions. Attempts at more complex structures are often faulty, as seen in the overly long opening sentence: 'I am writing this letter to request you to reduce my hours as I am planning to study part time my accounting course...'. There are frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and agreement, including 'giving my all focus towards', 'job hours', and the missing article in '2 years master'. Punctuation and capitalization are also flawed, particularly in the closing sign-off 'Your Faithfully, Vishw shah', which contains multiple grammatical and formatting errors that cause noticeable difficulty.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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