Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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,

I hope you both are doing well. Thank you for inviting me on my friend’s surprise birthday party. I’m just writing to you to share my ideas about celebrating this excited event.

I am sure he will enjoy this special occasion since i know very well about my friend he love to receiving surprises from others. It was happened on his twentieth birthday while we were studying I was arranged a secret night party for him and I was amazed how much happy he was during this incident.

Unfortunately, I was not there to give you a company as there my exams already scheduled for that week so that it will be not possible for me to come at your residence and join you. I really sorry for this inconvenience.

May be I have holidays after exam results around two weeks for spending time out of study stress that promised I will surely arrange a trip to catch up you at your place. I’m also excited to meet my friend as it has been a long time we haven’t met. I am going to send a present for my beloved friend.

Best wishes,

Bhagwant

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

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 suggested a future meeting. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, some ideas could be more clearly developed; for instance, the anecdote about the twentieth birthday is a bit confusingly phrased, which slightly impacts the clarity of your explanation. Overall, the response covers the requirements well, but ensure that your explanations are logically structured to fully satisfy the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Unfortunately' and 'I’m also excited', to link ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the transition 'May be I have holidays'. Additionally, some referencing is unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the sequence of events is difficult to follow. Improving the variety and accuracy of your linking words would help the flow of your writing significantly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'special occasion', 'inconvenience', and 'beloved friend'. There are some instances of inaccurate word choice or collocation, such as 'give you a company' (should be 'keep you company') and 'excited event' (should be 'exciting event'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they indicate a need for more precise vocabulary usage. Expanding your range of collocations and checking word forms will help you reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'he love to receiving' (should be 'he loves receiving'), 'I was arranged' (should be 'I arranged'), and 'it has been a long time we haven’t met' (should be 'it has been a long time since we met'). These errors are noticeable and occur in both simple and complex structures. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tense usage, as these are currently hindering your accuracy.

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

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