Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-28

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 6.0)

Dear Mr ans mrs collins,

I am very pleased that you invited me to chris surprice birthday party hold on 24 august 2026. I was very surprised that you both are planned a party for him but i was confused and wonder too that why did you think he will like your surprice as he did not have experience of those kind of surprises ever.

Well, I was very happy after receiving your invitation but, unfortunately i was unable to attend a party and being with you . Actually before day of party i had an interview for my very first job and it was a great chance to prove myself which i did not want to loss. Fortunately, I got that job and it is very great moment for me but i did not tell to chris about that as i want to give him a surprise after meeting him next week.

I have alots of plan with him . So, I am coming next week before joining my job and then we will celebrate his post birthday party as well my job party too.

Your sincerely,

Holu

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explained why Chris would enjoy the party, provided a valid reason for your absence (a job interview), and proposed a plan to meet him later. However, the tone is somewhat inconsistent; for instance, questioning why the parents think Chris would enjoy the surprise party is slightly inappropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. To improve, ensure your tone remains consistently polite and appreciative throughout the correspondence. The ideas are relevant, but the development could be more natural and socially appropriate for the context of a formal letter to parents.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into three distinct paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure of your response. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Well', 'Actually', and 'So', although these are sometimes used in a slightly mechanical or repetitive way. The progression of ideas is generally logical, moving from the invitation to the apology and finally the future plan. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the transitions between sentences feel more natural and less forced.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'unfortunately', 'invitation', and 'celebrate'. However, there are several spelling errors (e.g., 'ans', 'collins', 'surprice', 'alots') and some awkward word choices, such as 'post birthday party' and 'job party'. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, but they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a broader range of vocabulary to express your ideas with greater precision and stylistic appropriateness.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include incorrect verb tenses ('you both are planned'), missing articles, and punctuation errors, particularly with capitalization and commas. For example, 'I was very surprised that you both are planned a party' should be 'I was surprised that you had planned a party'. While these errors rarely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall flow and accuracy of your writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage will help improve your score.

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

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