Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-03

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 6.0)

Dear Mr Max,

My name is Ram, I am working as a cashier in your company( employee No: 5257). I am writing this letter to request you to minimize my shift hours from next month, November 1st, 2026.

Firstly, I registered a 6 Months Micro soft Office and automation part-time course in Western Community College Surrey. It is an inclass course so, I want to attend the class personally and my class time is 10 am to 3 pm. As a result I cannot start my shift from the morning. I would like to start evening shifts.

Currently my working hours are monday to friday from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, I would like to start everyday from 4.30 pm, like evening shifts. This shift will work well for me because after my class, I can start to work.

Last month, I saw a career advertisement in our company website, while the qualification mentioned it was 2 year cashier experience and 6 months MS office course. Moreover, after this course help me to easy my cashier job as well as improve my speed also. So I decided to register this course and I got admision. If you can help me to reduce my hours, it will be a great help for me.

I hope you will consider my request and take necessary actions upon my request.

Yours faithfully,

Ram.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by explaining why you want to reduce working hours to attend a college course, stating the specific evening hours you would like to work, and describing how the computer skills gained will benefit your employer in your cashier role. The position is clear throughout, and the main ideas are extended and supported effectively, such as mentioning the specific course, college, and your employee number. However, some ideas show a slight tendency to over-generalise or lean on repetitive explanations regarding your scheduling needs. To reach higher bands, you could further extend the explanation of how the automated office skills will directly improve your daily productivity at work with more detailed professional benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from stating the request to explaining the reasons, proposing new hours, and outlining employer benefits. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, and standard formal letter conventions such as the salutation and sign-off are correctly applied. Nevertheless, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or slightly faulty, particularly with linking phrases like 'Firstly' followed by an abrupt transition, and referencing that occasionally lacks smooth connective tissue between sentences. To achieve a higher level of cohesion, you could use a greater variety of cohesive devices more flexibly to guide the reader through your arguments without relying on basic transitional words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary range is adequate for the task, successfully conveying your message about reducing work hours for educational purposes. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'minimize my shift hours', 'automation part-time course', and 'admision', demonstrating an effort to use task-relevant terminology. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that prevent a higher score, including 'Micro soft', 'inclass', and 'admision', alongside slightly unnatural phrasing like 'help me to easy my cashier job'. These errors do not impede communication, but to move up, you need to use a wider range of precise lexical items with greater control over spelling, word forms, and formal collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a workable mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If you can help me...') and subordinate clauses ('As a result I cannot start...'). You demonstrate good control over basic tense usage when describing your current schedule and future plans. However, there are some errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics throughout the letter, including comma splices ('As a result I cannot start...', 'Currently my working hours are...'), missing prepositions, and inconsistent capitalization ('Micro soft'). These errors rarely impede communication, placing your control of syntax and punctuation firmly in this category. To improve further, you should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine your punctuation control around connecting clauses.

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.