Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

Hope you both are doing well! I'm glad that you have planned a surprise party for Chris's birthday and invited me to it. Chris would be more than happy to deliver this kind of surprise as he too, is so perfect at giving surprises to close-ones. Especially, after lot of hardships, he is finally living a sustainable life so, I'm sure, he will enjoy it.

I'm so delighted for this invitation and would love to be there. Unfortunately, the company, I'm working for, have arranged a important meeting for the upcoming project, with the clients in the States, a day before his birthday.

I'm planning to visit my sister in Melbourne for this Christmas, I will be staying with her for a week and I'll be left with two more days, during those days, I would love to see Chris and we both can go to watch Boxing day test match.

I'm really excited to see you guys!

Best regards,

Arsh

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 surprise, provided a valid reason for your absence, and proposed a concrete alternative plan to meet him. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, the development of ideas is slightly limited; for instance, the explanation of why he would enjoy the party is a bit vague, and the mention of 'hardships' is somewhat abrupt. To improve, ensure that your explanations are more fully developed and flow naturally within the context of the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing, which helps the reader follow your train of thought. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Unfortunately' and 'In addition' (implied), to link ideas. However, the transition between the reason for your absence and the alternative plan could be smoother. Some of the sentence structures are slightly disjointed, such as the run-on sentence in the third paragraph regarding your trip to Melbourne. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that your sentences are not overly long or fragmented would improve the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use some appropriate phrases like 'delighted for this invitation' and 'sustainable life'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'deliver this kind of surprise' (should be 'receive') and 'close-ones' (should be 'loved ones'). Additionally, 'Boxing day test match' requires capitalization. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your word choices are natural and idiomatic in the context of a personal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'the company, I'm working for, have arranged' contains a subject-verb agreement error (company is singular) and unnecessary commas. You also have issues with article usage and punctuation, such as 'a important meeting' (should be 'an'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to improve your accuracy.

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

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