Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-16
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 5.5)
Dear Mr and Mrs collins ,I am very happy that you invited me in chris surprise birthday party.Chris became very happy to see the surprise birthday party.Chris will enjoy the party because he loves the surprises.But i will not came in the birthday party because my mother kajal is not well.She suffer a high fever from the last week.Because of high fever her body became very low.She cannot walk without help.So i will not leave my mother alone at home.My father is also not at home ,he is going to abroad for business meeting.My grandmother also very old she cannot handle my mothers suitation.So i cannot came to surprise birthday party.But when my mother recover her health ,then i will plan a surprise for chrisbecause he loves the surprises.I had a surprise for chris .Iplanned that i will book our favourite cafe for bithday party.We will order chris favourite chocolate flavoured cake.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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 surprise, provided a valid reason for your absence, and outlined a future plan to meet him. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding Chris's love for surprises, which is mentioned three times. To improve, ensure each point is distinct and adds new information. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, though it could be slightly more formal in its structure and expression to better suit the context of writing to adults.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the invitation to the apology and finally the alternative plan. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and mechanical. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures and repetitive conjunctions like 'because' and 'so'. There is a lack of paragraphing, which makes the text appear as a single block of information. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'unfortunately') and divide your letter into clear paragraphs for each main point.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message, but it is quite basic and repetitive. For example, you use the word 'surprise' and 'birthday party' multiple times. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'my mother is not well' (which is fine) followed by 'she suffer a high fever' (should be 'has been suffering from') and 'her body became very low' (which is not standard English). To improve, try to use more precise adjectives and verbs to describe your mother's health and your plans.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Common issues include tense usage (e.g., 'she suffer' instead of 'she has been suffering'), missing articles, and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'I will not came' instead of 'I will not be able to come'). You rely almost exclusively on simple sentences. To achieve a higher score, you need to demonstrate control over a wider range of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or relative clauses, and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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