Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-16

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 am writing this letter to request for a transfer in the company's head office located in the United States, for a period of six months.

The reason for the transfer request is that my biological brother has recently got his USA visitor visa approval, therefore he will be visiting USA in the next six months. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to spend a quality time with my brother, as I have not seen him in last five years.

I have already discussed with my colleague Godfred, who is currently working as a part-time associate. He is willing to take over my position for a temporary period. I think he is a perfect fit for this role as he has necessary skills, qualification and experience.

Kindly, talk to your head office about my tranfer. I will make my own travel arrangements as needed. I would be very grateful to you.

Yours sincerely,

Iqbal Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You successfully covered all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explained why you want to work in the head office for six months by mentioning your brother visiting the United States and wanting to spend time with him. You also addressed how your work could be done by proposing your colleague Godfred as a temporary replacement who has the necessary skills and experience. Finally, you asked your manager for help by requesting that they talk to the head office about your transfer. The tone is appropriate for a workplace letter, and the purpose is clear throughout. Your ideas are well developed and directly respond to the task instructions, fitting comfortably within the criteria for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and the paragraphs are appropriately separated to discuss different aspects of your request. You use some cohesive devices effectively, such as 'therefore', 'as', and 'currently'. However, the referencing and linking between certain sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band. For example, the transition between your personal reason for the trip and your proposal for covering your work is a bit abrupt. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the letter clearly, and the overall progression of your ideas is easy to follow, making this a solid Band 7.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrated an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using work-related terms such as 'transfer request', 'temporary period', and 'part-time associate'. However, there are some lexical inaccuracies and slightly unnatural phrasing, most notably 'request for a transfer in the company's head office' (where 'to' or 'at' would be more natural than 'in') and 'recently got his USA visitor visa approval' (which could be phrased more naturally). You also missed a preposition in 'spend a quality time'. Despite these minor errors, your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, which aligns with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You demonstrated a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate clauses appropriately, such as 'who is currently working as a part-time associate' and 'as I have not seen him in last five years'. There are a few grammatical errors throughout the text, including the missing article before 'head office' in 'company's head office', and an unnecessary preposition in 'request for' (request does not need 'for' when used as a verb here). Punctuation is generally sound, and none of your errors impede communication. Your control over grammar reflects a typical Band 6.5 level.

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

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