Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The parents of your Australian friend Chris have invited you to a surprise birthday party for him/her. Write a letter to Chris's parents. In your letter:

• say why you think Chris will enjoy the surprise party
• explain why you won't be able to attend the party
• give details of a plan to see Chris at a different time

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I am glad and excited that you invite me to joining a surprise birthday party, which you are going to organize.

I believe Chris will be very happy after celebrating his birthday as a surprise event. Chris is keen to attend different kinds of gathering and love to spend time with his loved ones. I still remember during our times at high school, where he surprised everyone with his funny and caring character, making him more enjoyable to celebrate such an event with his friends.

Unfortunately, I will not able to attend the event due to my prior commitment at work. On that day, we have schedule meeting with international clients about our recent project and as a result I won't able to join the party. I would be very disappointed for not able to make my presence at the event.

I hope that you assure Chris that I will meet him during a Diwali vacation and will spend a quality time with him. I hope you guys celebrate and enjoy Chris birthday party with lots of fun.

Kind regards,

Jay Kodi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you explain that Chris enjoys gatherings and time with loved ones, give a work commitment as the reason for missing the party, and suggest meeting during the Diwali vacation. The personal memory of Chris’s character also makes the explanation relevant. However, the reasons he would enjoy the surprise are somewhat general, and the high-school anecdote is not clearly connected to why a surprise party would suit him. The alternative plan is also vague: “during a Diwali vacation” does not specify when or what you might do together. To strengthen the response, develop these ideas with a clearer link to Chris’s preferences and a more definite proposed time or activity.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear overall progression: you respond positively to the invitation, explain why Chris would enjoy the event, give your reason for not attending, and close with an alternative plan. Separate paragraphs make these stages easy to follow, and transitions such as “Unfortunately” and “I hope” help signal the shifts. Some links between ideas are less clear, particularly the sentence about Chris’s high-school character, which does not fully explain how it supports the surprise-party idea. The final paragraph also combines reassurance, the alternative meeting, and a general party wish without much development. Make these connections more explicit and give the proposed meeting its own clear focus to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a personal letter, including relevant expressions such as “prior commitment,” “international clients,” and “quality time.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the tone is generally warm and appropriate. However, several word combinations or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, including “invite me to joining,” “schedule meeting,” and “make my presence.” “Different kinds of gathering” is also less natural in this context. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim to learn common collocations as complete phrases, and choose wording that sounds conversational when writing to someone’s parents.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “which you are going to organize” and a reason-result structure with “as a result.” The message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “I am glad and excited that you invite me” needs a more suitable tense, while “Chris … love” has a subject–verb agreement error. There are also missing or incorrect forms in “I will not able to attend,” “we have schedule meeting,” and “I won't able to join.” Review auxiliary verbs, tense consistency, articles, and agreement. More accurate control of these patterns would make your varied sentence attempts clearer and more fluent.

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

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