Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-04

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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to request that I will not be able to work more full time for the next couple of months. Due to my ongoing studies.

I had started a new banking course named IFIC which is reladed to my current job. From the last few month I was planning to upgrade my skills and trying to learn more about my feild.

However, it will help me to increase my pay. As well as, knowledge about the morgage.

So, I request you to me as less hours as you can. However, being a full time employee with getting enough benefits like sick leave, paid vacation, dental plan and many more. I would like to demote myself to a part time employee. So, I can focus on studies. I would like to update my avaibility, which would be 9am to 1pm everyday other than wekend.

Once the studies are done, I will come up with greater oppurtunitiers with a great knowledge.

Thank you

Rushi Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully covering the reasons for reducing working hours, the specific schedule requested, and the benefits to the employer. However, some bullet points are more fully developed than others. For example, while the explanation for taking the course is clear, the description of how the studies will benefit the employer relies on brief statements like 'I will come up with greater oppurtunitiers with a great knowledge' rather than fully expanded professional benefits. The overall tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a boss, fulfilling the communicative purpose of the task adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure from the opening statement to the final sign-off. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and paragraphing is fragmented, with several very short, single-sentence paragraphs that disrupt the natural flow of ideas. Referencing and logical connectors are occasionally awkward, such as starting a sentence with 'As well as' or disjointed transitions like 'So, I request you... However, being a full time employee...'. Clearer paragraph transitions and more accurate use of cohesive devices would improve the overall progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the main message regarding work hours and studying. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to the workplace and finance, such as 'demote myself' and 'morgage', but these show some inaccuracy in word choice and spelling ('reladed', 'feild', 'morgage', 'avaibility', 'oppurtunitiers'). These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they highlight limitations in lexical control and precision that prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at subordination with clauses like 'which is reladed to my current job' and 'Once the studies are done'. However, there are notable grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and verb phrase control ('request that I will not be able to work more full time', 'I had started', 'From the last few month I was planning'), fragment sentences ('Due to my ongoing studies.'), and prepositional issues. While these errors are noticeable and require some effort from the reader to untangle, they rarely completely impede communication.

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

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