Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-20

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 sir or madam,

I am writing this letter to request to reduce my working hours. I have been working in your organization for last two years. I am quite happy with work experience and want to continue ahead.

The reason behind reducing work hours is that I have enrolled myself in a part time course in artificial intelligence training course from University of Toronto. The duration of the course is six months.

I would appreciate if you can decrease my working hours by 2 hour for six month of period, because classes will run from 4pm to 7 pm. I can compensate by working overtime on weekends.

You will be glad to know that besides uplifting my profile, the training will also be helpful in increasing the overall revenue of the organization by applying the various approaches of the automated technology in sales, customer dealing and finances.

I will appreciate your insight into this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Amitoz Singh

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.0
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.5
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requested points and maintains a clear, polite purpose. You explain that you have enrolled in a six-month artificial-intelligence course, specify that classes run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and suggest weekend overtime as a way to compensate. You also connect the training to potential benefits for the employer, mentioning sales, customer service and finances. These ideas are relevant and supported, although the proposed schedule is not fully precise: asking to reduce hours “by 2 hour” does not clearly state your preferred daily working hours. The business benefit is also somewhat general. State the exact hours you can work and give a more specific example of how the new skills could improve a work process.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: you introduce the request, explain your studies, propose a schedule, and then describe the employer’s potential benefit. Separate paragraphs make the main points easy to locate, and phrases such as “The reason behind” and “besides” help connect ideas. The letter also has an appropriate opening and closing. Some links between details could be smoother: the request to reduce hours by two is followed by class times, but the reader must infer how those times fit your work schedule. The final sentence is polite but does not specify a next step. Make the relationship between your proposed hours and class timetable explicit, and close by inviting a meeting or response.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the purpose and includes relevant terms such as “part time course,” “artificial intelligence,” “overall revenue,” and “automated technology.” These choices communicate the subject and the intended benefit. You also attempt more formal expressions, including “I would appreciate” and “your insight.” However, some phrases are awkward or imprecise, such as “continue ahead,” “uplifting my profile,” and “customer dealing.” There is also repetition of “course” in the same sentence. Choose more natural workplace collocations and use precise terms for the skills and business outcomes you have in mind; this would make the letter sound more fluent and professionally controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and more developed structures, including the reason clause beginning “because classes will run…” and the sentence explaining how the training could benefit the organization. Meaning remains clear throughout, and several sentences are controlled. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, prepositions and number agreement: “for last two years” needs an article, “request to reduce” is better formed as “request a reduction,” and “by 2 hour for six month of period” has errors in number and phrasing. The sentence beginning “I would appreciate if” also needs “it” after “appreciate.” Review these patterns and check articles and singular/plural forms; greater accuracy across these details would strengthen an already understandable response.

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

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