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,

Hope you both are doing well! I'm really glad to know that you are planning to arrange a surprise party for Chris's birthday. As far as I know, he likes to give surprises others, so he'd definitely like it if anyone do the same for him. Moreover, he'd love to spend this special day with their loved ones.

I was really excited to attend the party and in fact, I also booked an airline ticket to visit there, but I received an email for a meeting, which is compulsory to attend for all employees, yesterday. Unfortunately, it's happening on the same day. Therefore, I could not come to the party.

As I told you before, I booked the air ticket, but luckily it is refundable and now I changed the travelling dates. I already discussed with Chris about visiting in the last week of this month.

I am really excited to see Chris and you guys!

Best Regards,

Ravneet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provide a logical reason for your absence (a compulsory work meeting), and propose a concrete alternative plan to visit. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents, maintaining a polite and friendly register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. No parts of the task are omitted, and the response remains focused on the requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the task, which helps the reader follow the narrative easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Therefore', and 'As I told you before' to link your sentences and paragraphs. While the flow is generally smooth, the transition between the explanation of the meeting and the alternative plan could be slightly more refined to improve the overall cohesion. However, the paragraphing is appropriate and the structure is effective.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'compulsory to attend' and 'refundable' are used correctly. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'he likes to give surprises others' (should be 'give surprises to others') and 'their loved ones' (referring to Chris, so 'his' would be more accurate). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating a few more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic expressions would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are a few grammatical slips, such as 'if anyone do the same' (should be 'does') and 'I also booked an airline ticket to visit there' (the 'there' is slightly redundant). Additionally, 'I already discussed with Chris' should be 'I have already discussed with Chris' to maintain correct tense usage. Despite these minor errors, the meaning is never obscured, and the majority of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound.

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

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