Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-27

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. Thank you for inviting me to attend Chris's surprise birthday party. I am writing this letter to let you know that I will not attend this party.

Chris will really enjoy this surprise party because he always wants to celebrate his 25th birthday with his close friends and family members. Moreover, a surprise celebration will bring him a lot of happiness and enjoyment. Thus, he will make more nostalgic memories just because of you.

I will not attend this party because my mother is really sick. And doctor also said me to take care of her. That's why I personally take care of her daily routine, medicines, and cleanliness at home. As a result, I cannot leave her alone.

After few days later, I will come there to meet you and Chris. We will have dinner together and again celebrate his birthday. Moreover, I will bring a gift for him and will celebrate again.

I hope you and Chris will enjoy this party.

Best Regards,

Happy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a plausible 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 instructions. To improve further, ensure that the transition between your reason for absence and the proposed solution feels more natural, as the current structure is slightly abrupt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Thus', and 'As a result' to link your ideas. While these are effective, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the progression between sentences is smoother. For instance, the transition between the explanation of your mother's illness and the plan to visit later could be better connected to show a clearer relationship between the events.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, successfully conveying your message without any confusion. You use some appropriate phrases like 'nostalgic memories' and 'daily routine'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'doctor also said me' (should be 'told me') and 'After few days later' (which is redundant). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing, such as the repeated use of 'celebrate' and 'take care of'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'I will not attend this party' (a bit blunt; 'I am sorry to say I cannot attend' would be more natural), 'doctor also said me' (incorrect verb pattern), and 'After few days later' (incorrect prepositional phrase). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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