Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Mr. Bacchan,

I am writing this letter to request for reducing my shifts in order to study part time.

I am planning to join a course starting next month. Hence, I would not be able to work full time for the next eight months. Although, I would be studying, I do not want to quit this job as I do not have enough savings with me.

As I will be studying in week days from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, I would be avaibale anytime after 3:00 pm in week days. Additionally, I would be happy to work any weekend shifts as needed for the business.

I am taking a business management course, it would help me further increase my skills and knowledge of business which would be beneficial for my career as well as the for the store. Furthermore, I will be helping in management task and teaching skills to the fellow workers.

I hope to get a prompt response.Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Subas Bhugai

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three requested points and maintain a clear, polite request throughout. The reason is explained through your plan to begin a course next month and your need to keep working because you lack savings; you also specify weekday availability after 3 p.m. and willingness to work weekends. The benefit to the employer is relevant, particularly your business-management knowledge and intention to support colleagues. These ideas are extended enough to make the purpose clear, although the benefit is somewhat general: “helping in management task” does not explain what practical contribution you could make. A more specific example, such as improving stock organisation or customer service, would make this part more convincing and fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: you state your request, explain your circumstances, give your preferred hours, and then describe the potential benefit to the store. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and linking expressions such as “Hence,” “Additionally,” and “Furthermore” help connect the points. The overall organisation is easy to follow. Some connections are less smooth, however: “Although, I would be studying” is an awkward transition, and the sentence beginning “I am taking a business management course” joins two independent ideas with only a comma. The closing also runs together in “response.Thank you.” Use more natural transitions and check sentence boundaries to make the cohesion less noticeable and more consistently controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the purpose and includes relevant terms such as “part time,” “business management course,” “skills and knowledge,” and “weekend shifts.” The tone is generally appropriate for a workplace letter, and your meaning remains clear despite some imprecise choices. However, several phrases are not natural collocations or are incorrectly formed: “request for reducing my shifts,” “in week days,” and “management task” could be expressed more idiomatically. There are also spelling errors in “avaibale” and “week days.” Greater accuracy with common workplace phrases and careful proofreading would improve precision and make the language sound more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause with “as” and a time clause beginning “As I will be studying.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the request is easy to understand. Some grammatical errors remain. “I am writing this letter to request for reducing” has an incorrect verb pattern; “Although, I would be studying” uses punctuation incorrectly and leaves the contrast awkwardly attached; and “I am taking a business management course, it would help…” is a comma splice. The phrase “as well as the for the store” also shows a faulty construction. Correcting these patterns and separating the final closing sentences would build on your existing range and improve accuracy.

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