Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

 

You started in your present job two years ago. You now feel it is important for your career development to move to a different department in the same company.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• say what you have learned in your present job
• suggest how the company would benefit from moving you to a different department
• explain why you do not wish to leave the company

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Kevin,

I am writing to formally express my interest in exploring new opportunities within our company and to discuss a potential transition to a different department to support my long-term career development.

During past two years in my current role, I have gained valuable skills and professional experience, including; developing strong technical, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities while managing daily operational responsibilities.

I want to ensure a smooth transition and remain fully committed to supporting our team and maintaining my current duties while we explore potential next steps. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to schedule a brief meeting with you to discuss this further and hear your guidance.

Thank you very much for your time, mentorship, and continued support.

Sincerely,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers some parts of the prompt, mentioning that the writer has gained valuable skills over the past two years and expressing a desire to transition departments. However, the letter fails to fully address all bullet points in the prompt. Specifically, it does not clearly suggest how the company would benefit from moving the writer to a different department, nor does it fully explain why the writer does not wish to leave the company beyond a brief mention of career development. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met, as the response contains only 121 words, falling short of the 150-word minimum. This significantly under-develops the required ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and a polite tone appropriate for a formal workplace communication. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, body points, and conclusion. However, cohesion is somewhat limited. The second paragraph lists several skills using a semicolon followed by a list structure, which is punctuationally awkward ('including; developing strong technical...'). Logical progression between ideas is occasionally abrupt due to the brevity of the response, and cohesive devices are minimally employed. Nevertheless, the progression of the letter is clear enough to be understood without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a workplace context, using appropriate phrases such as 'formally express my interest', 'long-term career development', and 'operational responsibilities'. There are attempts to use more formal language, though some expressions remain fairly standard. While there are no major spelling errors, the vocabulary is limited in scope and fails to display the wider, flexible range required for higher bands, partly restricted by the short length of the text. Communication is not impeded by lexical limitations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the introductory complex sentence introduced by 'I am writing to formally express...'. There is good control of punctuation in most areas, though a notable error occurs with the punctuation mark after 'including;', which improperly splits the clause. Grammatical accuracy is generally acceptable for the sentences attempted, and errors do not impede communication. However, the grammatical range is restricted by the overall brevity of the piece, preventing the demonstration of a wider variety of complex forms.

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

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