Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-08

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 6.0)

Dear Mike,

I hope that you are having a great day! I am writing to request to reduce my working hours to have some time studying part time.

I would like to reduce my working hours, so I can have an extra time studying part time as I need it to improve my career. Having an extra hour for my studies instead of working at the office full time, will also help me to rest effectively.

I wish to work at 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. And with this schedule, this will allow me to attend to my part-time studies.

I can say that my part-time studies will benefit your company, whereas this study will help increase my computer knowledge. Because of this, we will be able to assist lot of our clients more effectively.

Thank you and I hope to receive your prompt regarding with this request.

Kind regards,

Angelo Sta. Ana

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you explain that studying will support your career, specify a proposed schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and connect your computer studies with helping clients. The purpose of the letter is clear and appropriate for writing to a manager. The benefit to the employer is relevant, but it is only briefly stated; explain what computer skills you expect to gain and how these could improve your work. The reason for reducing hours could also be more specific, since “improve my career” does not fully explain why this course is important now. Developing these points and making the request more persuasive would strengthen an otherwise complete response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening request, paragraphs explaining your reason and preferred hours, a paragraph on the employer’s benefit, and a polite closing. This makes the main points easy to locate. Some links between ideas are mechanical or unclear, however. For example, “And with this schedule, this will allow me” repeats the same reference, while “whereas” does not express the intended relationship between studying and benefiting the company. The short sentences beginning “Because of this” and “I wish to work” could be connected more smoothly to the surrounding ideas. Use clearer referencing and a wider range of natural transitions to make the progression more fluent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the purpose and key details, with relevant expressions such as “reduce my working hours,” “part-time studies,” and “computer knowledge.” However, several word choices and collocations sound unnatural or imprecise, including “have an extra time,” “receive your prompt,” and “assist lot of our clients.” These choices make the letter less polished, even though the intended meaning is generally understandable. Aim for more natural workplace language and precise phrasing, particularly when making a formal request and describing the practical value of your studies. The range is adequate for this task, but more accurate collocations would improve clarity and tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including the explanation beginning “I would like to reduce…” and the sentence describing how your studies could help clients. The message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation choices are noticeable. In “I am writing to request to reduce,” the verb pattern is awkward; use “request a reduction in my working hours” or “request that my hours be reduced.” The sentence “I wish to work at 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM” needs “from” before the starting time, and “And with this schedule…” is an incomplete, awkwardly linked sentence. Review sentence boundaries and verb patterns to make your varied structures more controlled.

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

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