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 Heather,

I am writing this letter to request you to reduce my working hours so that I could study part time.

My name is Shraddha Jitendrabhai Kapadia. I work as a Manager at Tim Hortons. I have already done my health and safety training. But, I have not completed my food safety training yet. For the food safety training, I have to study 30 hours a week and the course lasts two weeks. After end of the course, I have to pass the exam to get certificate.

Furthermore, I would like to work only 3 days in a week for coming two weeks. As my classes are in the morning so that I can work 1pm-9pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

What is more, this part time study would not only give benefit to me but also our restaurant. To elaborate, I could actively take part in a food inspection. Also, I could be a member of the Always Fresh team too.

I am eagerly waiting for your response.

Thank you

Yours Sincerely,

Shraddha Kapadia

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all the bullet points outlined in the prompt, demonstrating a clear overall purpose. You clearly explain why you need to reduce your hours by mentioning your upcoming food safety training and the required weekly hours and course duration. You also specify the exact working hours you prefer, stating that you can work from 1pm to 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Additionally, you describe how your studies will benefit your employer, noting that you can actively take part in food inspections and join the Always Fresh team. However, some ideas show features of under-development and could be extended further. For instance, explaining the direct restaurant benefits in more depth or providing a clearer connection between the training modules and daily operations would elevate the task response to the next level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from the purpose of the letter to your specific availability and the benefits for the restaurant. You utilize appropriate formatting for a formal letter and organise your points into clear, distinct paragraphs. Cohesive devices are employed to connect your thoughts, such as 'Furthermore' and 'What is more'. However, some cohesive referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as starting multiple consecutive paragraphs with transitional phrases or listing details in a rigid manner. To achieve a higher standard, paragraph transitions could be smoother, ensuring that sentences flow effortlessly into one another without relying on overly formulaic connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is used for the task, allowing you to communicate your message clearly and effectively to your boss. You successfully attempt less common vocabulary items and industry-specific terms such as 'food safety training' and 'Always Fresh team'. However, there are some minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as saying 'give benefit to me' instead of 'benefit me', and 'After end of the course' instead of 'After the end of the course'. These minor lexical slips do not impede communication, but to reach a higher band, you should demonstrate a more natural control of collocations and a wider, more sophisticated range of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a good attempt at varied structures, such as concessive or relative clauses. You maintain fair control over verb tenses and word order for the most part. There are some noticeable errors in grammar, such as 'reduce my working hours so that I could study' (where present tense or modal 'can' would be more natural), '3 days in a week' instead of '3 days a week', and unnecessary capitalization or phrasing in 'As my classes are in the morning so that I can work'. Punctuation and articles also show occasional minor lapses. These errors rarely impede communication, but to reach the next band, you would need to produce a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences with tighter grammatical control.

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

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