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
Sample Response
Dear Mr Henry,
I am writing to request you to reduce my daily working hours so that I can accommodate my part-time studies which are going to begin at the beginning of the next month. I am taking a part-time Cybersecurity course at Hampton Center College, and I am hoping to get your approval to reduce my working hours so that I can continue the course.
The course will begin on the 2nd of March, and the classes and sessions will start at 4:00 pm on weekdays. To continue with the course, which I believe will be a highly beneficial skill for me to contribute to our office, I need to reduce my daily working hours from 8 hours to 5 hours. I wish to start my office at 9:00 am and work till 2:30 pm. The course will take just six months to complete and afterwards, I can resume working for 8 hours a day.
After I complete this course, I should be able to enhance our ability to protect sensitive data and prevent cyber threats. Since our company heavily rely on digital systems, being able to identify vulnerabilities, implement best practices, and comply with security protocols are immensely important. I want to contribute to safeguarding our company data and protect it from cyber threats.
I would kindly request you to reduce my working hours so that I can enrol and successfully complete this course.
Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,
Joshua Carter
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct request structure Original: I am writing to request you to reduce Suggested revision: I am writing to request a reduction in Why it matters: Request takes a noun object here rather than a person followed by an infinitive.
- 2. Clarify schedule purpose Original: accommodate my part-time studies Suggested revision: accommodate my part-time study schedule Why it matters: The revision makes clear that the working hours must fit around scheduled classes.
- 3. Remove repeated wording Original: are going to begin at the beginning of the next month Suggested revision: will begin next month Why it matters: The replacement avoids repeating begin and is much more concise.
- 4. Lowercase course subject Original: Cybersecurity Suggested revision: cybersecurity Why it matters: Cybersecurity is a common subject noun and is not capitalized here.
- 5. Use formal approval request Original: I am hoping to get your approval Suggested revision: I hope to receive your approval Why it matters: Receive approval is more formal and concise than get your approval.
- 6. Correct course timing Original: continue Suggested revision: undertake Why it matters: The course has not yet begun, so continue is inconsistent with the stated timing.
- 7. Use formal date format Original: on the 2nd of March Suggested revision: on 2 March Why it matters: Formal British correspondence normally omits the article, of and ordinal ending.
- 8. Remove redundant course terms Original: the classes and sessions Suggested revision: the classes Why it matters: Classes and sessions refer to the same scheduled teaching here.
- 9. Correct work collocation Original: start my office Suggested revision: start work Why it matters: A person starts work; they do not start their office.
- 10. Use formal endpoint Original: till Suggested revision: until Why it matters: Until is the more formal preposition for the end of a work period.
- 11. Write short number Original: 8 Suggested revision: eight Why it matters: Numbers below ten are conventionally written as words in formal prose.
- 12. Use possessive company form Original: company Suggested revision: company's Why it matters: The data belongs to the company, so the possessive form is required.
Suggested Rewrites
- I am writing to request you to reduce I am writing to request a reduction in
- accommodate my part-time studies accommodate my part-time study schedule
- are going to begin at the beginning of the next month will begin next month
- Cybersecurity cybersecurity
- I am hoping to get your approval I hope to receive your approval
- continue undertake
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully explains the course, proposes precise temporary working hours, and makes a convincing case that cybersecurity training would directly benefit the employer. Its strongest feature is the practical, professional development of every bullet point within a clear formal structure. The main limitation is occasional grammatical and collocational inaccuracy; the priority is to correct agreement and phrasing while clarifying whether the proposed 9:00-2:30 schedule represents five or five-and-a-half working hours.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All three requirements are fully developed with dates, proposed hours, course duration, and specific organisational benefits in an appropriate professional tone.
Resolve the small numerical ambiguity between reducing the day to five hours and proposing a 9:00 am to 2:30 pm schedule.
Coherence and Cohesion
The letter is logically sequenced into focused paragraphs covering the request, schedule, employer benefits, and courteous conclusion.
Reduce repetition of the request in the opening and closing by using the final paragraph to propose a discussion or handover arrangement.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and precise for study, schedules, cybersecurity, and organisational benefits, with a few awkward workplace collocations.
Use natural phrases such as 'adjust my working hours', 'start work', 'benefit the company', and 'protect company data'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are used effectively and meaning is consistently clear, though agreement and parallel-structure errors recur in the benefits paragraph.
Correct forms such as 'the company relies', 'these skills are important', and 'safeguarding our data and protecting it from threats'.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
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
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.