Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-20

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 7.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

How are you? First of all, thank you for inviting me for a surprise party on Chris' birthday. As he just came yesterday from Australia, I think he can not think about such a fantastic surprise.

I am pretty sure that he will enjoy an event because he didn't get a chance to chat with all his friends for a while; hence, he would be happy to meet everybody there and have a wine with friends after a long time.

I wish I could surprise him on his special day but unfortunately, I would not be able to attend the ceremony this time due to my hectic schedule. I recently enrolled in a new course which does not allow me to take a day off at the moment.

As I am unable to see him this time, I am planning to visit you and Chris next month on Christmas vacation. I am eagerly waiting to see you all and very excited to have a Christmas dinner with you. Let me know if you have different plan.

Hope you enjoy a lot and have a astonished surprise party.

Warm regards,

Alex

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provided a logical reason for your absence, and proposed a specific alternative plan to meet him. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, maintaining a polite and friendly register throughout. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and the ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is well-organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'hence', and 'unfortunately' to link your thoughts. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions could be more natural; for instance, the connection between the surprise party and the invitation could be tightened. Overall, the logical progression of ideas is consistent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. You use some good phrases like 'hectic schedule' and 'eagerly waiting'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'have a wine' (should be 'have a glass of wine') and 'have a astonished surprise party' (should be 'have an astonishing surprise party'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band. Expanding your range of collocations would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound. There are a few minor errors, such as 'he can not think about such a fantastic surprise' (which sounds slightly unnatural; 'he would not expect' would be better) and 'if you have different plan' (missing an article: 'a different plan'). These errors are infrequent and do not cause confusion for the reader. Your control over punctuation and sentence structure is generally good.

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

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