Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-17

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 Dr Michael,

I hope you are doing great. I am writing to ask you to reduce my duty hours since I am preparing for a speciality exam called MRCP(medicine).

I want you to decrease my shifts so that I can concentrate on my studies. Last month, I applied in MRCP exam, which is very essential for my career and professional growth. For this reason, I have talked to Dr John and Dr Ayesha, and they are willing to provide me a cover during my absence. Therefore, you do not need to hire a new doctor.

I want you to adjust my working hours since I am working from 9 to 5 PM, so I want to do my job from 9 to 2 PM for two months in order to study. However, I want to pursue my career in your hospital, and my speciality in medicine would help your hospital in many ways. As I am learning new bed-side skills and procedures.

I hope you will accept my request .

Yours faithfully,

Dr Zubair.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three requested points: you explain that you are preparing for the MRCP exam, request a 9 a.m.–2 p.m. schedule for two months, and describe potential benefits to the hospital, including new bedside skills and procedures. The offer of cover from colleagues also supports your request. These relevant details meet the task well, and your purpose is clear. To make the response more fully developed, explain more specifically how your new knowledge would benefit the employer—for example, by improving patient care or allowing you to take on additional responsibilities. The benefit is currently asserted rather than clearly demonstrated, and the opening request to “reduce my duty hours” could be framed more diplomatically as a request for a temporary change.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information is arranged in a generally sensible order: you state your purpose, explain the exam and cover arrangements, give your preferred hours, and close with the expected benefit. Paragraphing helps distinguish these points, and connectors such as “For this reason” and “Therefore” make some relationships clear. However, the progression is occasionally mechanical, with repeated “I want” constructions, and the sentence beginning “As I am learning…” is left as a fragment, interrupting the flow. The link between your studies and the hospital’s benefit could also be made more explicit. Use a wider range of natural transitions and connect related ideas within complete sentences to make the letter read more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the purpose, including relevant terms such as “professional growth,” “shifts,” “cover,” and “bed-side skills.” The reader can understand your request and its context. There are, however, some inaccurate or unnatural choices and collocations: “applied in MRCP exam,” “provide me a cover,” and “speciality in medicine” do not express the intended meanings naturally. “Duty hours” is understandable but less suitable than a more conventional phrase for a work schedule. Aim for precise, idiomatic wording, especially when describing the exam, colleagues’ cover, and the skills you expect to gain. Check spelling and standard forms such as “specialty” and “bedside” for consistency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “so that I can concentrate on my studies” and “since I am working from 9 to 5 PM.” Most of the message remains clear, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. “Last month, I applied in MRCP exam” needs a more suitable verb pattern and an article, while “As I am learning new bed-side skills and procedures” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence fragment. The request sentence also combines the schedule explanation and proposed hours awkwardly. Review articles, prepositions in verb patterns, and sentence boundaries, and vary sentence structures while ensuring each sentence is complete. Punctuation and spacing around the final full stop also need attention.

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