Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-23

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 7.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I hope this letter finds you well. I received the gracious invitation from you to attend Chris's 19th Birthday party at your house. I am writing to update you that despite my strong desire to celebrate this occasion with you, I will not be able to make it to the party .

Firstly, I want to apprise you that Chris will love this surprise party being organized by you. As he’s fond of celebrations and gatherings, he’ll truly cherish this event. I personally was very much excited to be there and enjoy the moments with all of friends and family. However, I have been recently diagnosed with chronic typhoid fever and being hospitalized at the moment. I have discussed this concern with my treating physicians if I may attend this event but they’ve strictly advised not to leave hospital premises during the course of treatment which would last for a couple of weeks.

Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for the invitation and apologies for not being able to attend this auspicious ceremony. I promise I would make it up to him and pay a visit the moment I got in better health.

Yours faithfully ,

Zia

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provided a valid 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 respectful register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements, ensuring the reader understands the situation clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which aids readability. You have used cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'However', and 'Therefore' (implied) to connect your thoughts. While the flow is generally smooth, the transition between the explanation of the surprise and your personal situation could be slightly more refined. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the message is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using phrases like 'gracious invitation', 'apprise you', and 'auspicious ceremony'. These choices show an attempt to use more sophisticated language. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'being hospitalized' (should be 'I am currently hospitalized') and 'got in better health' (should be 'regain my health'). However, these do not impede communication and the vocabulary is generally well-suited to the formal context of the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'I personally was very much excited' (word order) and 'I promise I would make it up' (tense consistency; should be 'will'). Additionally, there is a minor error in 'all of friends' (should be 'all of his friends'). Despite these occasional errors, the majority of your sentences are error-free, and your control of grammar is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly without confusion.

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

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