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 Lori,

I am writing this letter to request you to reduce my working hours as I am choosing to do part time study.

Firstly, I have decided to study further and my course is Supply Chain Management. This is a full time course in which I have to attend school in-person starting from 11 October. As per the government rules in Canada if I am studying full time I am allowed to work only for 24 hours a week and full time on public holidays.

I would like to work on every Tuesday, thursday, and Saturday for 6 months only, than I can work full time again. I can also work over time on statutory holidays as our company is opened everyday.

However, this course will help to get promoted and I will learn advanced courses, for instance SAP ERP system. This will be beneficial for our organisation.

Thank you for considering my request.

Yours sincerly

Shagun Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you explain that you are starting a Supply Chain Management course, specify Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as preferred workdays, and describe a potential benefit through learning SAP ERP. The request is clear and relevant, and the offer to work on statutory holidays adds useful detail. However, some points are less fully developed: the reason for choosing this course is not explained, and the employer benefit is asserted rather than illustrated—for example, you could explain how SAP knowledge would improve a particular work process. Clarify whether the proposed schedule means six hours on each day and how it fits the 24-hour limit. These additions would make the purpose and practical arrangement more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible sequence: request and reason, proposed schedule, employer benefit, then a polite closing. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and linking expressions such as “Firstly” and “However” make the progression easy to follow. The organisation is coherent overall, although the connectors feel somewhat mechanical, and “However” does not clearly signal a contrast between the schedule and the course benefit. The sentence about government rules also interrupts the explanation of your personal study plans. Group related information more naturally and use clearer transitions, such as moving from the course requirements to the schedule with “To accommodate my classes, I would prefer…”. This would make the flow more flexible and the relationships between ideas clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the purpose and includes relevant terms such as “Supply Chain Management,” “statutory holidays,” and “SAP ERP system.” These choices help communicate the study plan and its possible workplace relevance. There are, however, some inaccurate or awkward expressions, including “request you to reduce my working hours,” “choosing to do part time study,” and “advanced courses.” “Work overtime on statutory holidays” is also not the most natural way to express availability. Spelling errors in “thursday” and “sincerly” affect accuracy, while “opened everyday” uses an imprecise word choice. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully; this would make the letter sound more professional and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause (“as I am choosing…”) and a conditional structure (“if I am studying full time…”). The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “request you to reduce” needs a different construction, and “This is a full time course in which I have to attend school in-person” has an awkward clause structure. In “than I can work full time again,” the comparison word should be “then”; the sentence also needs clearer punctuation. Review articles, verb patterns, and sentence boundaries, and try to express the schedule in a complete, clearly structured sentence. More consistent accuracy would strengthen the range you already attempt.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.