Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-09

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,

Hope both of you are doing well. I am very glad that you are going to give Chris a surprise party; along with that, I am very happy they i got invited by you.

Bein a long term friend, I am aware that having gifts and planning unpredictable events are the major joy for him and the same thing is going to his own special day will surprise him a lot.

Hearing from you about this party invitation was a chance for me to come to Australia not only for the occasion but also to get in touch with a different environment. Unfortunately, I will not be able to reach there, as I have some really important interviews regarding my future job at the same time.

I am hoping that my work will be done a week after his birthday, and I promise to both of you that i am going to arrange my flights directly to you as soon as possible.

Yours lovingly,

Prabh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You explained why Chris would enjoy the surprise, provided a valid reason for your absence, and proposed a plan to meet him later. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation regarding why Chris would enjoy the surprise is a bit vague and could have been more specific to his personality. Overall, the response is relevant and fulfills the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Unfortunately' and 'In addition' (implied), though the transitions between some sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the first and second paragraph is slightly abrupt. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some minor mechanical errors in sentence structure occasionally affect the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. You use some appropriate phrases like 'unpredictable events' and 'get in touch with a different environment'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'major joy for him' and 'reach there' (instead of 'get there' or 'attend'). There are also some spelling errors, such as 'Bein' instead of 'Being'. While these do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'they i got invited' (incorrect pronoun usage and capitalization) and 'the same thing is going to his own special day' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are some issues with sentence construction that make certain parts of the letter feel slightly unnatural. Increasing your control over complex sentence structures and proofreading for minor errors would improve your score.

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

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