Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-04

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 am very glad to receive an invitation from you for Chris's birthday party. He is turning 21 this month on 15 august and he must be excited for this. We are just over from our annual exam's pressure and Chris will definitely love this surprise party for his birthday.

I am very sad to write you this that I will not be able to join this event, because of my grandmother's health conditions. She recently got her kidney transplant operation successfully done and recommended for 15 days bed rest. I also got my tickets reserved to visit her at village home as she is living with my grand father who is also old in age. I am going there to help them for their household chores and to take care of their health so that she could improve better and fast.

I promise you, I will meet Chris on Diwali event which is next month. We will celebrate it together and will save lots of memories for future.

Yours loving,

Simarpreet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provided a valid reason for your absence, and proposed a concrete alternative plan to meet him. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, maintaining a polite and respectful register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that the opening and closing are fully aligned with the requested format; while you followed the opening instruction, the closing 'Yours loving' is slightly non-standard for this context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the acknowledgement of the invitation to the explanation of your absence and finally the alternative plan. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'because of' and 'so that', to link your ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words or transition phrases to connect sentences more fluidly. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different topics, which helps the reader follow your message easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'annual exam's pressure' and 'household chores' are used appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'recommended for 15 days bed rest' (should be 'was recommended 15 days of bed rest') and 'improve better and fast' (should be 'recover more quickly'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations. Expanding your vocabulary to include more sophisticated expressions would enhance the overall quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'We are just over from our annual exam's pressure' (awkward phrasing), 'I also got my tickets reserved' (should be 'I have already booked my tickets'), and 'at village home' (missing article 'the'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and capitalization issues, such as '15 august' (should be 'August') and 'grand father' (should be 'grandfather'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help improve your score in this area.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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