Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-27

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 7.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to request for a reduction in my working hours, to accommodate a part-time study program I would love to enroll.

I want this mainly because the lecture schedule demands 7 hours from Monday to Friday for real-time physical classes. For this to be possible, I would require an additional 3 hours every weekday to add to the 4 hours daily off I already had.

As a result, I would like my resumption time to be shifted to 7am every weekday instead of the usual 9 am resumption time. Additionally, the closing time should be shifted to 11 am instead of 4 pm which is my normal closing time.

Fortunately, the training would be beneficial to my duties as a worker because its main aim is to develop participants' workplace communication skills, upselling techniques and the best way to maximize customers' behavioral pattern. I would recommend that my colleagues consider enrolling for the course also.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

Egbodo Victor

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requested points: you explain that the weekday lecture schedule requires time away from work, specify a proposed schedule, and describe workplace benefits such as improved communication and upselling skills. The request is clear and the benefits are relevant to your role, so the reader can understand your purpose. To make the explanation more fully supported, clarify how the proposed hours fit around the seven-hour classes; the stated 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift does not explain the relationship between work and lecture times. You could also make the benefit to your employer more specific by explaining how the training would improve your own performance or customer service.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information follows a clear progression: you introduce the request, explain the study commitment, propose working hours, and then describe the course’s value to the employer. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and linking phrases such as “As a result” and “Additionally” make the sequence easy to follow. The letter also has an appropriate opening and closing. To make the organisation more polished, group the schedule details into one concise proposal and explain the connection between the class hours and the requested shift. “Fortunately” does not clearly signal the relationship between the schedule request and the benefits, so a more precise transition would help the progression feel consistently natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of workplace and study vocabulary, including “reduction in my working hours,” “lecture schedule,” “upselling techniques,” and “workplace communication skills.” These choices communicate the main ideas and show some flexibility beyond basic vocabulary. However, several expressions are not quite natural or precise in this context: “request for a reduction” is less idiomatic than “request a reduction,” and “customers’ behavioral pattern” is unclear and awkwardly formed. “Resumption time” and “closing time” are also less suitable for describing an employee’s work schedule. More accurate collocations and a few more precise terms would make the letter sound more fluent and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The letter includes a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, such as the explanation beginning “I want this mainly because…” and the sentence describing the course’s aims. Most of the meaning remains clear, and the request is easy to follow. Some grammatical issues remain, however. In “a part-time study program I would love to enroll,” the relative clause needs a suitable ending, such as “in.” The phrase “the 4 hours daily off I already had” has an unclear structure and an inconsistent past form; “the four hours I currently have off each day” would be clearer. Check article use and sentence construction as well, particularly in the opening request, to improve accuracy while retaining varied structures.

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

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