Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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,

First of all, thank you for inviting me to the surprise birthday party.

Chris gonna enjoy this birthday party, as he loves all kind of parties. Chris likes to socialize with people and loves to entertain them. Also he likes gifts and birthday cakes.

I won't be able to attend the party because I have another commitment where I need to another function where my colleague's daughter dancing competition is there. He called me well in-advance and told me to attend the function at any cost, so I can't miss that show and my apologies well in-advance.

I'm planning to do a visit by a next week. We can enjoy a lot at that time. I am planning to take you all for a dinner to compensate my absence and make him happy. Also I am planning to stay there for 2 days as I have a conference to attend.

Hope to see you all soon.

Regards,

Tomy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a reason for your absence, and proposed a plan to meet him later. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, although it leans slightly informal. The ideas are relevant and clear, though the explanation for your absence is a bit repetitive and could be more concisely phrased. Overall, the task requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each addressing a specific part of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'Also', and 'In addition' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences in the second paragraph is slightly disjointed due to the repetitive phrasing regarding the dance competition. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more varied cohesive devices and ensure that transitions between sentences are smoother and less mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message clearly. You use some functional phrases like 'compensate my absence' and 'another commitment'. However, there is a reliance on simple, repetitive language (e.g., 'likes', 'planning to'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and verbs to describe your feelings and plans. For instance, instead of saying 'he loves all kind of parties', you could use 'he is an incredibly sociable person who thrives in festive environments'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that affect the flow, such as 'Chris gonna enjoy' (informal/incorrect), 'where I need to another function where my colleague's daughter dancing competition is there' (clunky and grammatically incorrect), and 'do a visit by a next week' (incorrect preposition and article usage). While these errors do not prevent understanding, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy of your writing.

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

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