Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-25

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 7.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I hope you both are doing well. I am writing to you to pay thanks in response to your invitation for the surprise birthday party of my friend Chris.

I am pretty sure that Chris would like this surprise birthday party because, I know my friend very well. He always loved surprises while we were in hostel and I have arranged a couple of birthday parties for him. In addition to this, please make sure to order a chocolate flavoured cake for him, he would love this cake.

I would like to inform you that I may not be able attend the birthday party of my friend, because I have to attend a buiseness meeting, which is very important to my career. I am feeling ashamed to telling you a such reason but if I cancel this meeting it would cause a big loss to me.

I have made a plan to meet my friend Chris in the end of this month when I am traveling to Australia. Moreover, I will spend a week with Chris and we will do so much fun there.

I hope you will understand my reason.

Yours truly,

M Saqib

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a valid reason for your absence, and outlined a concrete plan to meet him later. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, maintaining a polite and respectful register throughout. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the task requirements. To improve, ensure that your explanations are slightly more detailed; for example, when mentioning the business meeting, you could briefly explain the nature of the commitment to add more depth to your excuse.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each point, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'In addition to this,' 'Moreover,' and 'I would like to inform you that' to link your ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the progression between sentences is more seamless. The paragraphing is appropriate, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your message easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. You use phrases like 'pay thanks in response to' and 'cause a big loss,' which are understandable, though some word choices are slightly unnatural or imprecise. For instance, 'feeling ashamed to telling you a such reason' contains errors in collocation and grammar. To improve, focus on using more natural collocations and idiomatic expressions suitable for informal or semi-formal correspondence. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more precise adjectives and verbs would enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'I am writing to you to pay thanks' (awkward phrasing), 'He always loved surprises while we were in hostel' (missing article), and 'I am feeling ashamed to telling you' (incorrect verb form). These errors do not impede communication, but they do occur frequently. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions and articles. Increasing your control over complex sentence structures will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

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