Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-30

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&Mrs Walter,

Hope you are doing fine? I am writing in response to your invitation to Chris's surprise birthday party. Thank you for your invitation.

I strongly believe that Chris will like the surprise party because he has never gotten a surprised birthday party before although he gets surprise gift sometimes. I also think he is going to love it because a lot of his friends will be in attendance both abroad and home friends.

I would like to use this opportunity to tell you that i won't be attending because my company sent me on a mission to another branch for a meeting so important to the firm and I won't be coming back soon. It will take over a month plus. I am so sorry for that but I will be send my gifts across to Chris.

I planned to see Chris soon. I will be coming to Australian by November 12th, that's when i will be due for vacation and i will use the means to see Chris too. I will be spending some time with him, we will visiting many places he told me he will to go to. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Thanks for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely,

Lynda.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

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 outlined a plan to meet him later. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, although it leans slightly informal in places. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, fulfilling the requirements of the task effectively. To reach a higher band, ensure that the connection between the ideas is slightly more fluid and that the tone remains consistently polite and appreciative throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific part of the task. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'I also think' and 'I would like to use this opportunity', which help the flow of information. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the explanation of your absence and the plan to visit could be improved with better linking words. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'in attendance', 'opportunity', and 'vacation'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'gotten a surprised birthday party' (should be 'had a surprise birthday party') and 'use the means to see Chris' (which is slightly unnatural). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the use of vocabulary from being considered 'flexible' or 'precise'. Focusing on more natural collocations would help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'Hope you are doing fine?' (which should be a statement, not a question), 'I will be send my gifts' (should be 'I will send'), and 'we will visiting' (should be 'we will be visiting'). Additionally, there are some punctuation and capitalization issues, such as the lowercase 'i' used throughout. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

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