Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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 Joseph,

I hope you are doing well I am writing this letter because I want to change my working hours in the clinic.

I have applied for post-graduation diploma in health sciences and luckily secured my admission this year. I am very happy and hopeful regarding this achievement because it will enhance my knowledge and expertise in this field. Furthermore, I would be able to treat patients in more effective way. However, I am facing difficulty in managing my schedule. I would appreciate it, if you could reduce my working hours.

My class timings are 4pm to 8pm, so if you can somehow manage to leave me till 3pm. It will be a great favour to me. I believe this higher study will be beneficial for you as well.I am hoping to use my specialized skills for the development of this clinical setup.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three points and maintains a clear, polite purpose. You explain that you have gained admission to a postgraduate diploma and want to study part time, specify that classes run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and connect your studies to improved patient care and the clinic’s development. These relevant details support the request well. The benefit to your employer, however, is expressed somewhat generally in “use my specialized skills for the development of this clinical setup”; a specific example of how your new knowledge could improve services would make this point more fully developed. Also make the requested schedule explicit—for example, state the exact hours you are asking to work, rather than only asking to leave by 3 p.m.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible order: you introduce your request, explain your studies, give the proposed timing, and close politely. Paragraphing helps separate the explanation from the practical request, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “However” show the relationship between ideas. This gives the letter a coherent overall arrangement. Some connections are less smooth, though: “so if you can somehow manage to leave me till 3pm” follows the class-time detail abruptly, and “as well” runs directly into the next sentence without a space. The opening also combines a greeting and the purpose without clear punctuation. Use clearer sentence boundaries and make the transition from your class schedule to your requested working hours more direct.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal workplace letter, including “secured my admission,” “enhance my knowledge and expertise,” and “specialized skills.” These phrases communicate your educational plans and intended contribution clearly. There are also some imprecise or less natural choices: “post-graduation diploma” would be more idiomatically expressed as “postgraduate diploma,” while “clinical setup” is vague for a workplace context. “Somehow manage” sounds informal and does not convey the request as professionally as the rest of the letter. Aim for precise, natural collocations and a consistently formal register, especially when describing the schedule and the benefits your studies could bring to the clinic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple and complex forms, such as “I have applied … and luckily secured my admission” and “because it will enhance my knowledge.” Most meaning remains clear, but some grammatical and punctuation errors are present. The opening needs a full stop after “well” before “I am writing,” and the conditional request is incomplete: “so if you can somehow manage to leave me till 3pm” should be joined to a main clause, such as “I would be grateful if you could arrange for me to finish by 3 p.m.” The comma in “I would appreciate it, if” is unnecessary, and “in more effective way” needs an article (“in a more effective way”). More accurate sentence boundaries and complete conditional structures would improve control.

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