Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-12

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're well and in high spirits. I am writing this letter to discuss about Chris's birthday party. As you're planning to give surprise to him I really loved you're idea but unfortunately due to some circumstances I will not be able to attend his birthday.

First and foremost you're thought to arrange his birthday celebration on the roof of hotel which have eye-catching view of the city will be loved by Chris. Moreover, cake decorated with lots of fruits and pictures of him on it will definitely grad his attention. To put the long story short, he will really love you're plan.

However, I will not be able come on that as you know I am in my final semester which include practicum for one month. Therefore, I can't ask leave for even one that because it will directly deduct my 10 %. So, it's impossible to attend this party.

But I am coming to meet him on weekends. we'll see fire works on that from top of the tower. I have also booked tickets of us.

Looking forward to see you all.

Your lovingly,

Gurleen kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task. You successfully explain why Chris will enjoy the surprise party by mentioning the roof of the hotel with its eye-catching view and the fruit-decorated cake. You also clearly explain why you cannot attend due to your final semester and practicum schedule, and you provide details of an alternative plan to meet on the weekend to see fireworks. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, and the tone is appropriately friendly and conversational for a letter to a friend's parents. However, some ideas like the cake description could be slightly more extended for a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is structured with clear paragraphing, moving from an opening greeting and the main purpose, to the reasons for enjoying the party, the inability to attend, and finally the alternative plan. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First and foremost', 'Moreover', and 'However', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or unnatural. Paragraph breaks are generally appropriate, and referencing is mostly clear, allowing the reader to follow your narrative easily from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'eye-catching view', 'practicum', and 'fire works'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'discuss about' (instead of 'discuss'), 'give surprise' (instead of 'give a surprise'), 'you're' used incorrectly for 'your', and 'grad' instead of 'grab'. Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. You successfully employ subordinate clauses and relative clauses, such as 'which have eye-catching view of the city' and 'as you know I am in my final semester'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, including 'come on that' instead of 'come to that', 'ask leave' instead of 'ask for leave', and missing capitalisation in places like 'we'll see'. These errors occasionally cause the reader hesitation, but the meaning remains clear.

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

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