Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-29

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,

Hope you and your family doing well. First of all, thank you for inviting me in Chris birthday party. I know Chris love surprises and if he see me in his birthday party he feel over the moon. Moreover, currently I am in my final term of the university. In upcoming month I will busy in my exam. Thus, I won't be able to attend his party. I apologize for that.

However, after completing my university my parents plan for mini vacation. So, I will suggest them to visit your home to see Chris and your whole family. We will do some fun activity or go for the outing and do many more things. Happy birthday to Chris in advance and I will bring beautiful gift for him. I am sure he like it.

Warm regard,

your best friend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt: explaining why Chris would enjoy the party, stating why you cannot attend, and proposing an alternative meeting. However, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum, which impacts the development of your ideas. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, the ideas could be expanded with more detail to fully satisfy the task requirements. For instance, you could elaborate on why Chris enjoys surprises or provide a more specific timeframe for your visit. Because the length requirement was not met, this limits the score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs that correspond to the task requirements. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Thus', and 'However' to link your ideas. While the progression is clear, the flow is occasionally interrupted by short, simple sentences. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your referencing (e.g., 'he', 'his') is always clear. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the overall structure helps the reader follow your message without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, such as 'over the moon' and 'mini vacation'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'thank you for inviting me in Chris birthday party' (should be 'to Chris's birthday party') and 'do some fun activity' (should be 'do some fun activities'). The vocabulary is generally sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher band scores. Focusing on correct prepositions and pluralization will help improve your lexical accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'Hope you and your family doing well' (missing auxiliary verb 'are'), 'if he see me' (subject-verb agreement error: 'sees'), and 'I will busy in my exam' (missing verb 'be'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the grammatical slips are noticeable. To reach a higher band, you should focus on subject-verb agreement, the correct use of auxiliary verbs, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately.

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