Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Aunty,

Hope this letter finds you well!

Thanks for inviting me to the surprise birthday party of Chris. Its had been a long since I met him. Hope he's doing well. I want him to surprise on his birthday party but due to some business meeting, I won't be able to join. I felt sad as on his memorable occasion I'm not available to wish him. But I'll send present for himand request you to give him on the day of birthday only.

I have sent some beautiful present for him, he'll be surprise to see that.

I remember, in our childhood we enjoy alot and spend memorable time with each other.

But after the busy schedule, we both don't have a time to spent with other.

However, I'm coming next month to surprise him and want you not to disclose this plan to him. I want him to get surprised after seeing me without any prior message to visit him.

I miss him alot and our childhood memories.

I want to wish him birthday from the bottom of my heart and hoping for abundant success and beautiful future to him.

Thanks

Yours lovingly

Savita

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 meeting. However, the tone is inconsistent. You addressed the letter to 'Aunty' despite the instructions to write to 'Mr and Mrs Collins', which is a significant error in task fulfillment. Furthermore, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the 'surprise' element. To improve, ensure you follow the specific instructions regarding the recipient and provide more distinct, well-developed reasons for your points rather than repeating the same sentiment multiple times.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is generally coherent, and the progression of ideas is logical. You use basic cohesive devices like 'However' and 'But' to transition between points. However, the paragraphing is weak; the letter is essentially one large block of text, which makes it difficult to follow. To reach a higher band, you should use clear paragraph breaks to separate the different requirements of the task (e.g., one paragraph for the apology, one for the alternative plan). Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the transition between the gift and the childhood memories.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple, repetitive phrases such as 'beautiful present' and 'memorable time'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'after the busy schedule' and 'give him on the day of birthday only'. While your meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and ensure that your word choices sound natural in the context of a friendly letter to parents.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There are several grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'Its had been a long since I met him' (tense error), 'I want him to surprise on his birthday' (incorrect verb usage), and 'we both don't have a time to spent' (article and verb form errors). While you attempt some complex structures, they are often inaccurate. To improve, focus on basic subject-verb agreement, correct tense usage, and ensuring that your sentence structures are grammatically sound before attempting more complex forms.

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.