Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-25
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,
I hope you are doing well. It's been a long time since I met Chris and I am very excited to meet him. I really want to join all of you for the party and celebrates in a same way, we did last year. Unfortunately, I would not able to attend his surprise birthday party this year, as I have my exams during that week.
But I am certainly sure that he would love the surprise, because in college time, our friends group gave him a surprise gift and he really loved it. He feels special when his loved once care for him.
I am free for one month after my exams in june. In this vacation, I already planned to explore whole Australia and love to stay with you guys during my stay in Brisbane. I am planning to stay for a whole week in Brisbane, so I can have some quality time with Chris.
I am really sorry for my absense. I hope the surprise party goes well.
Kind regards
Rajveer
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You explained why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provided a clear reason for your inability to attend (exams), and proposed a concrete plan to visit him later. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could have elaborated more on why you are certain he would enjoy the surprise beyond a brief mention of a past event. Overall, the response is relevant and fully satisfies the requirements of the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the task, which makes the letter easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices like 'Unfortunately', 'But', and 'In this vacation' to link your thoughts. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to their antecedents would help elevate this score to a higher level.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using phrases like 'quality time' and 'explore whole Australia'. However, there are some noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'celebrates' instead of 'celebrate', 'loved once' instead of 'loved ones', and 'absense' instead of 'absence'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on mastering common collocations and proofreading for basic spelling mistakes, as this will allow you to use a wider range of vocabulary with greater accuracy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I would not able to' (missing 'be'), 'in a same way, we did' (incorrect article and punctuation), and 'I already planned' (tense inconsistency). While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of your message. To improve, pay closer attention to verb forms, auxiliary verbs, and subject-verb agreement. Increasing the frequency of error-free sentences will be key to moving into the higher band range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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