Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-11
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 5.0)
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Collins,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to express my concern about the surprise party.
To begin with, I am so glad that you invited to the surprise party. I am his childhood friend and I know how he feel about party. I would like know about why you think that he will definitely enjoy this surprise party. Moreover, he doesn't like this type of surprises. For example, when we are at the 10th class me my friends arranged a surprise party to Chris on that day he acted as weird later he said that he don't like these things.
Furthermore, another question i would like to ask why don't you guys able to attend that party. why asking me to organize that. However, I am very excited to plan a party for him. I don't know that may he changed his old style he will like surprise. Anyway next week i will be there . I will stay at hotel to keep that surprise.
Thank you for the valuable time and consideration. I will look forward for your response.
Faithfully,
Riya
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response fails to address the core requirements of the prompt. The instructions ask you to explain why Chris will enjoy the party, why you cannot attend, and to propose a plan to meet him later. Instead, you argue that Chris dislikes surprises and express confusion about why you were invited to organize it. This misinterpretation of the task means the content is largely irrelevant to the prompt's requirements. While you do mention a plan to see him next week, the overall response does not fulfill the communicative purpose of the letter, leading to a low score for task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The letter is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak due to the confusion regarding the task. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with' and 'Furthermore', they are often used to introduce ideas that do not follow the prompt's instructions. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the shift from questioning the invitation to offering to help is abrupt and confusing. The overall structure is present, but the flow of ideas is hindered by the lack of relevance to the task.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, which limits the ability to convey complex ideas. There are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'he feel about party' instead of 'he feels about parties' and 'acted as weird' instead of 'acted weirdly'. The range is sufficient for simple communication, but there is little evidence of the flexibility or precision required for higher bands. Some phrases, such as 'I don't know that may he changed his old style', are awkward and impede the clarity of the message.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include 'you invited to the surprise party' (missing passive voice), 'he don't like these things' (subject-verb agreement), and 'why don't you guys able to attend' (missing auxiliary verb). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at more complex sentences often result in errors. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization. Significant improvement in basic sentence construction and verb tense consistency is required.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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