Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05

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 6.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

Hope this letter finds you in pink of your health. I am writing this letter to inform you about my unavailability for chris birthday due to commitment at workplace.

I am immensely pleased for the birthday surprise you organised for chris. last week, he mentioned that there is no place for his birthday and he will do follow regular routine. But when he will get surprise party, I am sure that chris will be on cloud nine. Unfortunately, it cannot attend his birthday as my employer already has meeting on a particular day. Due to my agreement at workplace, it is impossible to be absent on that day.

But I already planned to see him on following weekend. Chris is my close best friend and I will celebrate his birthday. Restaurants table is booked already and set is done. I am sure he will understand my situation and join my on upcoming weekend to again celebrate his birthday with me.

I hope you would understand my situation and act accordingly.

Lots of love,

Arpan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. 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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, the explanation for your absence is a bit repetitive, and the description of the alternative plan could be more specific. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with more natural detail, rather than just stating the facts briefly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your message. You use some cohesive devices like 'But' and 'Unfortunately' to signal shifts in your argument. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some referencing is unclear, such as the phrase 'set is done' which lacks context. The use of cohesive devices is sometimes repetitive, and the transition between the reason for absence and the alternative plan could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall logical progression of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including some idiomatic expressions like 'on cloud nine'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'in pink of your health' (the correct idiom is 'in the pink of health') and 'commitment at workplace' (should be 'a work commitment'). Additionally, 'restaurants table is booked' is grammatically and lexically imprecise. While your meaning is generally clear, these errors prevent the vocabulary from being considered flexible or precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ('at workplace', 'on particular day'), subject-verb agreement issues ('it cannot attend', 'restaurants table is booked'), and capitalization errors (e.g., 'chris'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic articles, proper noun capitalization, and consistent verb tense usage, as these errors currently limit your score in this criterion.

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

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