Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-14

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,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing this to request you change my working location to our head office. I am currently working in the sales department of your company as a regional sales manager.

I heard from our website that there is a six-month workshop of sales analysis with professionals. To gain some extra knowledge and skills, I plan to join that workshop in our head office. By attending the workshop, I can get an exposure to the real-time competitive analysis strategies.

I have an assistant who is operating under my supervision. He is doing great work in my absence, so he can perfectly handle my duties while I attend the workshop. I am also keen to guide him through a confusing situation.

There are no join-in criteria; only managers from different branches can put down the names.

I will appreciate it if you could recommend me for that workshop. I am genuinely looking forward to grabbing this opportunity.

Yours sincerely,

Shubham

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You clearly explain your motivation for wanting to work in the head office by mentioning the six-month workshop on sales analysis and your desire to gain extra knowledge. You also address how your work will be handled during your absence by noting that your assistant, who operates under your supervision, can perfectly handle your duties. Finally, you ask for your manager's help by requesting a recommendation for the workshop. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager, and the purpose is clear throughout the text, earning a solid Band 7.0 for addressing all parts of the prompt adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Each paragraph serves a specific function, beginning with a standard polite opening, moving into the request, explaining the workshop, discussing work coverage, and concluding with a call to action. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'By attending the workshop,' and 'He is doing great work in my absence, so he can...'. However, paragraphing could be structured more cleanly, as several single-sentence paragraphs disrupt the natural flow and cohesion of the letter. This places the response comfortably in the Band 6.0 category for overall organisation.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

Your lexical range is adequate for the task, successfully conveying your message with clear vocabulary like 'regional sales manager', 'competitive analysis strategies', and 'supervision'. You attempt some less common items such as 'real-time' and 'genuinely looking forward', though there are minor awkward phrasings like 'request you change' instead of 'request that you change' and 'no join-in criteria'. Vocabulary errors are infrequent and do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily understand your meaning. This performance fits the Band 6.5 criteria well, balancing sufficient functional vocabulary with occasional minor lexical inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional-like structures successfully, such as 'I am writing this to request you change my working location' and 'I will appreciate it if you could recommend me'. There are some grammatical slips, such as omitting 'that' after request and using 'join-in criteria' instead of 'entry requirements' or 'application criteria'. However, these errors are minor and rarely impede communication. The majority of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound, supporting a Band 6.5 score for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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