Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-27

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 Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well, I got your invitation for chris's birthday party. I am excited to know that you have arranged such great party for him. He used to like such surprises since childhood. The different games and activities you mentioned to be held in party are fun. It will surely be memorable and joy full for chris.

Sadly, I won't be able to join you all on this special occasion because of my prior business commitments. The fast-paced nature of my job makes it impossible to attend such personal gatherings.

I am planning a Northern area trip as a birthday gift for chris in coming month. I hope it would be a adventurous trip as there are many new places and foods to explore. We will spend quality time together.

All the best for birthday party preparations and best wishes for chris.

Yours Faithfully.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a reason for your absence, and proposed an alternative plan to meet him. However, the tone is slightly inconsistent. The prompt asks you to write to the parents of your friend, which requires a friendly, semi-formal or informal tone. You began with 'Dear Sir or Madam' and ended with 'Yours Faithfully', which are formal business letter conventions. Since you are writing to your friend's parents, 'Dear Mr and Mrs Collins' (as instructed) and a sign-off like 'Best regards' or 'Warmly' would have been more appropriate for the context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each addressing a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between the reason for absence and the alternative plan could be smoother. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the overall flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect sentences more naturally, rather than relying on simple sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'prior business commitments' and 'fast-paced nature' are good attempts at more sophisticated language. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'joy full' (should be 'joyful') and the misuse of 'Northern area trip' (which sounds a bit unnatural). Additionally, the opening and closing salutations are inappropriate for the context of writing to a friend's parents, which impacts the lexical appropriateness for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips. For instance, 'I got your invitation' is a bit informal; 'I have received your invitation' would be better. There are also punctuation and capitalization issues, such as 'chris's' (should be 'Chris's') and 'in coming month' (should be 'in the coming month'). Some sentences are slightly fragmented or lack necessary articles. Despite these errors, they do not impede communication, and the message remains understandable throughout.

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