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 Sir,

I am writing this letter to request you to minimize my regular working hours because I get enrolled in a part-time Digital marketing course. Currently, I am working in the Marketing department of your company.

I would prefer to work from 9am to 4pm, 7 hours in a day because of my college classes schedule. My classes starts from 5pm to 10pm daily. I will be unable to stay at office untill 5pm onwards. Thus, I have to leave the office 1 hour early. I hope you will understand my circumstances.

However, the Digital marketing would be beneficial for company's growth. It will enhance my knowledge in the digiat marketing aspects that I would use to increase sales of the company. Moreover, technology has changed rapidly, as a result, employees also require to acquire some experience to use it in the advertising of the products.

Hoping to understand my concerns.

Kind regards,

simranpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three requested points: you explain that you want to study digital marketing, specify a 9 a.m.–4 p.m. schedule, and describe how the course could help the company increase sales and improve advertising. Your purpose is clear and remains consistent, and the benefit to your employer is relevant. The explanation of your study timetable is also supported by the class hours you give. To make the request more fully developed, clarify whether you are asking to reduce your current hours by one hour each day and explain briefly how your duties or workload would be managed under the new schedule. A more direct closing request would also reinforce the letter’s purpose.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear overall progression: the opening states the request, the next paragraph gives your preferred hours and explains the timetable, and the final body paragraph describes benefits to the employer. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these distinct points, and linking expressions such as “Thus” and “Moreover” show relationships between ideas. Some connections are less smooth, however. “However” introduces a benefit that does not contrast with the preceding point, so “In addition” or “The course would also…” would be more logical. The final line, “Hoping to understand my concerns,” feels detached from the request. A conventional closing sentence that asks for consideration would create a clearer ending.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a workplace request, including “request,” “beneficial,” “enhance my knowledge,” and “increase sales.” These choices communicate your main ideas, and the topic-specific terms “Digital marketing” and “advertising” are appropriate. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “minimize my regular working hours,” “get enrolled,” and “in the digiat marketing aspects.” There are also spelling errors in “dig iat” (written as “digiat”) and “untill.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for standard workplace phrasing and check spelling carefully; for example, say “reduce my working hours” and “enrol in a course.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the reason clause in “because of my college classes schedule” and the result structure “as a result.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the reader can follow your request. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “My classes starts” has subject–verb disagreement; “employees also require to acquire” uses an incorrect verb pattern; and “because of my college classes schedule” needs a possessive form. The sentence beginning “I will be unable to stay…” is also awkwardly constructed with “until 5pm onwards.” Review agreement, possessives, and verb patterns, and use a simpler construction where needed, such as “I need to leave the office by 4 p.m. to attend classes.”

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

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