Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-24

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 you both are doing well. I would like to thank you for inviting me to Chris's birthday party.

I and Chris are best friends since our childhood, and as far as I know him I can say he is found of surprises. In fact he is the one in our friend circle who always plans surprises. I am pretty sure this unexpected party will make him feel loved and special.

As per invitation the partly scheduled on 8th of September, unfortunately I will be having my IELTS exam on the same day, due to my exam commitment I won't be able to attend the party. However, I will connect via video call as I do not wish to miss the smile on his face.

I have already made some plans to celebrate his birthday, after completing my test. I have made reservations at one of Chris favourite restaurants and booked the movie tickets for both of us on 10th of September and of course that is going to be surprise to him.

Let me know if you need my help regarding party preparations.

Best regards,

Mansi

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 valid reason for your absence (the IELTS exam), and proposed a concrete alternative plan to celebrate. 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 relevant to the task requirements. No parts of the prompt were omitted, and the response is fully focused on the requested scenario.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing, where each paragraph corresponds to a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is smooth and easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In fact', 'However', and 'As per', which help connect your thoughts. While the flow is generally good, the transition between the explanation of your absence and the alternative plan could be slightly more refined to improve the overall cohesion. Nevertheless, the structure is clear and serves the purpose of the letter well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'exam commitment', 'unexpected party', and 'party preparations' are used effectively. There are a few minor errors, such as 'found of' instead of 'fond of' and 'Chris favourite' instead of 'Chris's favourite'. While these do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more attention to collocations and possessive forms. The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the context, though incorporating a few more sophisticated or varied expressions would elevate the score further.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'I and Chris are best friends' (should be 'Chris and I have been best friends'), 'the partly scheduled' (should be 'the party is scheduled'), and 'that is going to be surprise' (should be 'a surprise'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. You show an attempt at using complex structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy in future tasks.

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

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