Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-07

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 Me and Mrs Collins,

Thank you for inviting me for the birthday party. It will be my pleasure to attend the party as we haven’t met since the school graduation and I think Chris will be the more happy if I will be there and meet him.

Unfortunately, at this time, I have some important of office meetings that I cannot cancel as we are having guest from Canada for a deal with our company so this is a crucial time for me and the company so, I will be not able to Attend the birthday party.

I will plan to come in the time of Christmas as it will be my holiday at that time and I will get around 15 to 20 days off from the work so, it will be easy and I will have plenty of time to spend a time with Chris.

Thank you so much. I’m sorry for not attending the party.

You’re truly,

Nick.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a clear 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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the reason for Chris enjoying the party could be expanded with more specific detail about his personality or interests to make the letter more engaging. Overall, the task is fully addressed, but the depth of the content is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each focusing on one of the required points. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'However', and 'Therefore' (though 'so' is used repetitively). The progression of ideas is clear, and the reader can easily follow your train of thought. To improve, try to vary your linking words and avoid overusing 'so' to connect clauses. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the opening and closing salutations are correctly placed.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, but it lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple phrases like 'important of office meetings' and 'get around 15 to 20 days off'. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'the more happy' instead of 'happier' and 'at the time of Christmas' instead of 'during the Christmas holidays'. To reach a higher band, aim to use more natural collocations and a wider range of descriptive language to express your thoughts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'we are having guest' (should be 'guests'), 'I will be not able to' (should be 'I will not be able to'), and 'spend a time' (should be 'spend time'). The punctuation is generally functional, but there are some issues with comma usage in long, run-on sentences. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and word order will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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