Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-13

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 Sir,

I am currently working in your company as a finance manager, and I am writing to ask you to lessen my job hours because I want to study in my spare time which is not possible with my current working schedule.

The main reason for my writing is that I had taken admission for a master's degree at virtual university last year, where classes are held online. I am keen to learn and want to exceed in my field,so this admission was mainly because of it.Meanwhile I applied in your organisation and got a job. Although my studies were ongoing, I joined. But now due to my busy work schedule, my studies are significantly affected. I would be grateful if you could change my work timetable, as I usually study at night, so 9 to 6 pm will be the most suitable time for me.This would allow me to pursue my education as well as perform my job duties with full dedication.

I assume that this might be beneficial for our enterprise, because my higher education would definitely increase my knowledge of finance, and in return, it will directly affect our company's finance management which can leads to better company's progress.

I would greatly appreciate if you could take a look on my request. Please respond me at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Aqsa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain a polite, appropriate purpose throughout. The reason for the request is clear: your online master’s studies are being affected by your current schedule. You also propose working from 9 to 6 and explain that further study could strengthen your finance knowledge and benefit the company’s financial management. This covers the task well, with some elements showing the fuller development associated with a stronger response. However, the requested hours are not entirely clear: “9 to 6 pm” could describe a full-day schedule rather than reduced hours, and you do not specify which days or how this differs from your current timetable. The employer benefit is relevant but would be more convincing with a specific example of how your new knowledge could be applied.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce the request, explain your circumstances and preferred schedule, describe a possible benefit to the company, and close politely. Paragraphing helps distinguish these purposes, and links such as “Although,” “Meanwhile,” and “because” show an attempt to connect ideas. At times, however, the progression within the long second paragraph is crowded, and the sequence from admission to joining the company to the effect on your studies could be more concise. Some connections are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “because” and “as.” Separate the explanation of your studies from the proposed timetable, and use clearer references to make the relationship between each point easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal workplace request, including “working schedule,” “pursue my education,” “dedication,” and “finance management.” These choices communicate your main ideas, and the tone is generally suitable. There are some inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations, such as “exceed in my field,” “taken admission,” and “take a look on my request.” “Company’s progress” is also vague, while “lessen my job hours” is less natural than a standard workplace expression. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and fluency. Aim to learn common collocations for education and workplace requests, and choose specific language when describing how your studies could help the employer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “where classes are held online” and a concessive structure beginning “Although my studies were ongoing.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “it will directly affect our company's finance management which can leads” has an agreement error and needs clearer clause punctuation; “I would greatly appreciate if” is missing “it”; and “Please respond me” uses an incorrect verb pattern. There are also punctuation and spacing problems, such as the missing space after “field,” and the sentence beginning “I am keen to learn” runs into the next idea. Review verb agreement, verb patterns, and sentence boundaries while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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

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