Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Manager,

I hope this letter finds you well, i like to request you to reduce my working hours as i am starting my bachelors degree from the next month. And my class timing will be 8 Am to 1 Pm from monday till saturday. if you will adjust my working hours in evening time after 2 pm i will be very gratful to you. and my degree will also help the organization in future i can get a better opportunity with in the company because there is requirment for a good position you must have a valid bachelors degree so i can also get a chance to prove myself under your leadership.

its a humble request kindly consider my request and provide me a flexibilty to complete my degree its my responsibilty to manage study and work at the same time i will make sure not to dissapoint you.

Thankyou for cooperation

Warm Regards,

kumail hussain

XYZ officer

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You successfully cover all three required bullet points in the prompt, which is characteristic of the level achieved. You explain why you want to reduce your hours by mentioning that you are starting a bachelor's degree next month. You also specify the hours you would like to work, requesting evening shifts after 2 PM, and you describe how your studies will benefit your employer by pointing out that obtaining a degree will qualify you for a better position within the company. However, some of these ideas remain slightly under-developed rather than fully extended. For instance, the explanation of how the company benefits is a bit brief and could be further elaborated by mentioning specific skills you hope to bring back to your current role. To reach a higher level, you should ensure that every bullet point is explored in greater depth with more comprehensive supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your letter has a recognizable overall arrangement, and the reader can follow your general purpose easily enough. You attempt to organize your thoughts into paragraphs, though the formatting and paragraph breaks are somewhat unconventional for a formal letter. Furthermore, the cohesion within and between sentences is often mechanical or faulty due to the lack of appropriate conjunctions and transitional phrases. For example, sentences are frequently strung together using lowercase conjunctions like 'and' or run-on structures without proper punctuation or connectors. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, making the flow somewhat choppy. To achieve a higher standard, you need to use cohesive devices more accurately and naturally, and ensure that your text is clearly divided into logical paragraphs with distinct introductions, body points, and conclusions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message effectively despite some noticeable limitations. You attempt some less common expressions related to employment and education, such as 'bachelors degree' and 'organization', but there are instances of imprecise word choice and spelling or capitalization errors, such as writing 'Am' instead of 'AM', 'monday' instead of 'Monday', and 'gratful' instead of 'grateful'. Additionally, phrases like 'provide me a flexibilty' contain minor word-form slips. Fortunately, these vocabulary errors and spelling slips do not impede communication. To reach a higher tier, you should expand your range of less common lexical items, ensure greater precision in word choice and collocations, and pay closer attention to standard spelling and capitalization rules.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple sentence forms along with some attempts at more complex structures, such as conditional clauses introduced by 'if'. However, your control of grammatical accuracy and punctuation is limited at this stage. There are frequent errors in sentence boundaries, resulting in run-on sentences where independent clauses are linked incorrectly with commas or lowercase conjunctions, as seen in 'i like to request you to reduce my working hours as i am starting...' Furthermore, capitalization rules for the personal pronoun 'I' are frequently ignored, and there are punctuation omissions at the ends of sentences. These frequent errors in grammar, capitalization, and punctuation require the reader to occasionally exert effort to parse your meaning. To progress further, you need to increase your range of error-free complex structures and exercise tighter control over punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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

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