Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-02

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

I hope you both are doing well.

First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me for one of my childhood friend Chris and i really think that this is the best idea to give him surprise for his 25 Th birthday i am sure that he will be really happy on that day , I know him so well that i know how much he like surprises and parties

As a close friend of him, that is my responsibility to attend his surprise birthday party but due to important business meeting i am unable to visit him on his birthday which is shame but this meeting is really important for me and i am the one who leads this meeting so i have to be on time.

As I will be free ,after this project so after one week of his birthday i am planning to visit him and i have got a huge PS5 game because he is fond of it and i really want him to be happy after he receive his birthday gift

I am really sorry for not to attend his birthday party .

Yours lovingly,

Hardi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the task. You clearly explain why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provide a valid reason for your absence, and propose a concrete plan to meet him later. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on why Chris enjoys surprises or provide more specific details about the planned visit. The response is well-focused on the prompt throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, each addressing a specific part of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'As a close friend', and 'As I will be free'. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by punctuation errors, such as the lack of full stops and the overuse of commas, which makes some sentences feel like run-on clauses. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring clear sentence boundaries would significantly enhance the readability and logical progression of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using phrases like 'childhood friend', 'business meeting', and 'fond of it'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'give him surprise' (should be 'give him a surprise') and 'which is shame' (should be 'which is a shame'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, it lacks the variety and precision required for higher bands. Attempting to use more sophisticated synonyms or idiomatic expressions would help improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar. For example, there is a lack of proper capitalization for 'i' and 'Th', and several sentences are joined by commas where full stops are needed. Additionally, there are minor errors in article usage and prepositional phrases, such as 'for not to attend' (should be 'for not being able to attend'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focusing on sentence boundaries and basic subject-verb agreement will improve your accuracy.

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

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