Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Collins,

Hope you doing well. I am really grateful to you for inviting me to Chris's birthday party. I know Chris will be over the moon after seeing your efforts and he would definitely appreciate this kind and thoughtful gesture.

I regret to inform you that I will not be able to attend the birthday party due to my prior work-related commitments which I cannot postpone. I really wanted to make his birthday special and create some life-long cheerful memories together. However, it will not be possible this year.

To make up to him, I would definitely plan to meet him on the upcoming weekend for movies and dinner plan. I am sure he would be pleased to enjoy to our time together.

Once again, thank you for inviting me. Hope to see you soon.

With regards,

Parveen

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

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 meeting time. However, the response is 142 words, which falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length impacts the development of your ideas, as the explanation for your absence and the alternative plan are somewhat brief. To improve, ensure you expand on your ideas—for example, by adding more detail about why you are busy or describing the specific plans for the weekend in greater depth to ensure you comfortably exceed the word count.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Once again' to link your ideas. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases to improve the flow between sentences. Currently, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Ensuring that each paragraph has a clear focus and that your ideas progress smoothly will help improve your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using phrases like 'over the moon' and 'thoughtful gesture' effectively. There are no significant spelling errors, and the tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. To improve, try to incorporate more precise or less common vocabulary. For instance, instead of 'make up to him', you could use 'compensate for my absence'. Expanding your range of collocations will help you achieve a higher band score, as your current vocabulary is functional but lacks the sophistication required for higher levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'Hope you doing well' (missing the auxiliary verb 'are') and 'enjoy to our time' (incorrect preposition usage). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions. Incorporating more complex sentence structures, such as conditional sentences or relative clauses, while maintaining accuracy, would also help you demonstrate a wider grammatical range.

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