Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-12

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 6.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I hope you both are doing great. I am writing a letter to express my excitement and thank you for inviting me for Chris's surprise birthday party.

As you know that Chris and me, we have been best friends since 10 years. I received your invitation and see you are planning to arrange a surprise party for his 25th birthday. I know him and I am sure that he will enjoy the surprise party. He loves surprises since his childhood.

I am really sorry I am not able to attend the party because of some work commitments. My company have been preparing for a new product launching and they are planning to send me to abroad for a business meeting. I am the only person who can manage the meeting.

I have a plan to visit Australia next month for attending my cousin marriage. I will take two week vacation and spend some time with Chris. I would like to give him surprise. I hope you understand my situation. Thank you and wish him happy birthday. Lots of love.

Yours faithfully,

Lovepreet kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a plausible reason for your absence, and proposed a concrete plan to meet him later. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, maintaining a polite and friendly register throughout. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands your situation and your intentions. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are slightly more nuanced; for example, you could elaborate on why the specific work commitment is unavoidable to add more depth to your excuse.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'As you know', 'I am really sorry', and 'I have a plan' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally slightly mechanical. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that referencing is always precise. For instance, in the second paragraph, the transition between the friendship history and the party details could be smoother. Overall, the paragraphing is clear and supports the progression of your message effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. You use appropriate phrases like 'work commitments', 'product launching', and 'vacation'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'since 10 years' (should be 'for 10 years') and 'send me to abroad' (should be 'send me abroad'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the use of vocabulary from being considered 'flexible' or 'precise'. Incorporating more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic expressions would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully convey your meaning, there are several grammatical errors present, such as 'My company have been preparing' (subject-verb agreement: 'company has'), 'attending my cousin marriage' (missing possessive: 'cousin's marriage'), and 'give him surprise' (missing article: 'give him a surprise'). These errors are frequent but do not cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and possessives. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will also help you achieve a higher band.

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

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