Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-30

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 and Mrs Collins,

Hope toy are doing well. I am pleased, you select me a special member of family and invited me to the special surprise birthday party for the Chris.

I think Chris feel proud on those specially who contribute to arrange everything for his birthday. I know Chris personally, he is very emotional person might be start cry with tears of joy. That would be a great idea when i check a menu card you sent me, you guys add all his favourite dishes in the dinner. Specially a vanilla cup cake which he likes most.

Unfortunately, I have a summer camp during Chris's birthday week. I feel sad because I will miss a special day of Chris. But you guys will share the photographs with me, I am wondering to see all the expression of Chris during his day.

I have also a surprise plan for Chris, in the last week of June I organised a small party for him. The venue is Chris's favorite place in Paris, I booked a table for him at 7pm on 28 June. So, I will invite him but right now do not share a plan with Chris.

Warms Regards

Ram

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining why Chris will enjoy the party, stating your inability to attend, and proposing an alternative plan. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited by grammatical errors, which occasionally make your meaning slightly unclear, such as in the phrase 'you select me a special member of family'. To improve, ensure you expand slightly more on the 'why' behind your alternative plan to create a more cohesive narrative.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, each addressing a specific requirement of the task. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Unfortunately' and 'But', which help the flow. However, the transition between ideas is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the connection between sentences is weak, such as the sudden shift to the menu card details. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to their antecedents would help the text flow more naturally and reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message effectively. You use some relevant topic-specific language like 'surprise birthday party', 'favourite dishes', and 'venue'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'emotional person might be start cry' instead of 'emotional person who might start crying' and 'I am wondering to see' instead of 'I am looking forward to seeing'. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and refining your grasp of common collocations will help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the letter. Examples include 'Hope toy are doing well' (typo/missing subject), 'I think Chris feel proud' (subject-verb agreement), and 'I have also a surprise plan' (word order). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and occur frequently. To improve, focus on basic subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and ensuring that your verb tenses are consistent when describing future plans.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.