Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-11

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, I am happy that you are planning a surprise for Chirs's birthday. He is going to love this surprise party as Chirs is always found of surprises, I know when I planned surprise trip for him on our graduation ceremony to the wonderland. There he enjoyed a lot and it was an amazing experience for him.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to join your surprise party because in last week of September I have to fly across the city. I am travelling to Sydney for my US visa appointment, I already reserved my stay in a hotel which is non-refundable.

For this time, please forgive me but we will plan a new year celebration together and I will also invite our college friends. That will also be a surprise for him to see all his college friends.

Thanks for inviting me to the party and always considering me in family. I will meet you and Chirs at new year.

Best regards,

Shubham

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 valid reason for your absence, and proposed a concrete alternative plan to meet him. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could have elaborated more on the specific nature of the surprise or the logistics of the New Year meeting. However, the task is fully covered and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on one of the required points. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'For this time', and 'Thanks for inviting me' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by minor punctuation errors, such as comma splices (e.g., 'I hope you are doing well, I am happy...'). Improving the use of linking words and ensuring sentences are correctly punctuated would enhance the overall cohesion and make the progression of ideas smoother for the reader.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, such as 'graduation ceremony', 'non-refundable', and 'appointment'. There are some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'found of' instead of 'fond of' and the repeated misspelling of 'Chirs' (Chris). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on accurate collocations and proofreading for common spelling mistakes. Using more varied vocabulary to describe your feelings or the event would also help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, including subject-verb agreement issues and punctuation errors like comma splices. For example, 'I know when I planned surprise trip' is missing an article, and 'always considering me in family' is slightly unnatural. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy. Focusing on sentence boundaries and article usage will help you achieve a higher level of grammatical control.

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

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