Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-05

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 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter regarding, shortening of my working hours, in view of studying part time.

I am planning to continue my further education, in Boston University, so I would require time to focus on my studies and travelling.

There are two batches of class, first batch starts at 9am to 12.30pm, another batch from 1.30pm to 4.30pm, I am preferring the later batch. As the customers are a lot in morning it would be difficult for you to manage alone, I would be working from 8am to 12pm during rush hours. After that I would need time to get ready and it's a 30 minutes journey on a bicycle from my place.

I am doing my master's in business finance skills and marketing, I can learn more regarding the business and marketing and would be a great help in increasing the sales of the shop, knowing the competitors, handling the market accordingly, furthermore managing the finance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the task successfully, which places your response at this level. You clearly explained why you want to reduce your hours by mentioning your intention to study a master's program at Boston University and the need for travel time. You also outlined the exact hours you would like to work, offering to cover the morning rush hour from 8am to 12pm to help out. Furthermore, you described how your studies would benefit your employer by explaining that your new skills in business finance and marketing will help increase sales, understand competitors, and manage finances. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed, such as the exact details of your course content, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Your tone is appropriately formal and polite for a workplace request.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your letter demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical purpose presented right from the beginning. You have attempted to group related ideas into paragraphs, such as separating your scheduling proposal from your academic benefits. Cohesive devices are used, though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or abrupt, as seen in the transition between your travel time and your academic benefits. To reach the next level, you need to ensure smoother progression between sentences and more skillful paragraphing, as some sentences feel fragmented and could be linked more naturally to create a seamless flow of ideas throughout the entire letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You have used an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, successfully attempting less common phrases such as 'rush hours' and 'business finance skills'. However, there are some word choice and phrasing inaccuracies that hold your score back, such as 'shortening of my working hours, in view of studying' and referring to classes as 'batches' rather than sessions or groups. Additionally, you used the phrase 'the later batch' when you meant 'the latter batch'. While these minor lexical errors do not impede communication, you would need a more precise and flexible range of style and collocation to achieve a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You have demonstrated a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout your letter, utilizing structures like conditional ideas and relative clauses. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as unnecessary commas separating closely connected parts of a sentence (e.g., 'regarding, shortening of my working hours, in view of studying') and missing prepositions or article inconsistencies. Despite these errors, your meaning remains clear because the mistakes rarely impede communication. To improve your grammar score, you should focus on polishing your punctuation habits and ensuring greater precision in your complex sentence structures, aiming for a higher proportion of error-free sentences.

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

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