Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work for an international company, and would like to spend six months working in its head office in another country. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• explain why you want to work in the company's head office for six months
• say how your work could be done while you are away
• ask for his/her help in arranging it

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

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

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir,

This might come as an absolute surprise to you , but I am writing to seek permission to be able to work from our head office in Tokyo. The MES project that I have been working on from past three years is finally being implemented in Tokyo and that is my sole reason to go work from there.

I understand that you might have a concern of getting team work done while I am away. I would like to ensure you, that while I will be away and despite of time difference between the two countries, will make sure to complete my daily assigned tasks without any delays. I will have a plan ready to be submitted by this week regarding how I am planning to support my current task completion to avoid any confusion within the team members.

The project is expected to be implemented within five months ,so I would like to request a six month approval from your side. I will really appreciate your help in arranging this move within the company and hope to hear from you soon.

Your Sincerely,

Abhi Mehta

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, the writer explains the desire to work in the Tokyo head office due to the implementation of the MES project. Second, the letter addresses how work will be handled in their absence by mentioning daily task completion despite time zone differences and the submission of a support plan. Third, the student explicitly asks for help in arranging the move. The tone is appropriate for a workplace communication to a manager, and the purpose is clear throughout. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently extended, satisfying the requirements for this criterion at a solid level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the motivation for the move, the work coverage plan, and the final request. Cohesive devices are employed adequately, for example, using 'First', or referencing 'The project' and 'this week', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression of information flows well from the initial surprise of the request down to the final timeline and appreciation.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating appropriate workplace terms such as 'permission', 'sole reason', 'assigned tasks', and 'implementation'. There are some minor lexical slips or awkward phrasing, such as 'from past three years' instead of 'for the past three years' and 'go work from there'. However, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the message clearly and shows some attempts at less common lexical items, fitting the requirements for a mid-to-upper band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and subordinate clauses like 'I understand that you might have a concern...' and 'The project is expected to be implemented within five months, so I would like to request...'. There are some grammatical errors, including preposition misuse ('from past three years') and an unnecessary prepositional phrase ('despite of' instead of 'despite'), as well as missing articles ('team members' without context or minor punctuation spacing issues). Nonetheless, these errors do not impede communication, and many sentences remain error-free.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.