Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-13

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 guys are doing well. I 'm very happy to see your invitation for the Chris's surprise birthday party and I wish I could be there to attend the party.

I think Chris will love this surprise party as he always keen to celebrate his birthday in different ways.Also Chris is mad for the music,dance and food so he will enjoy these carnival theme party a lot.Chris will receieve a lots of gifts so he will be more excited to open all of them.

I really wish i could be a part of this party but unfortunetly, my dad is in the hospital so i need to be with him and I can not be able to come for the fuction. However,I 'm definetly going to be miss this party and chance to meet you all.

I think to celebrate his 20th birthday starts with good morning breakfast at Five guys resturant which is his faviourte brunch place then after in the afternoon go for cinema at vue. Furthermore, in the evening it is good to through a big party with loud music, testy food and his faviourite people for dance.

Happy birthday to chris on behalf of me in advance and when I will come to Australia I will come to meet him.

Yours lovingly,

Kaira Boss

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, reasons are provided as to why Chris will enjoy the surprise party, mentioning his love for music, dance, food, and the carnival theme. Second, the reason for not being able to attend is clearly explained due to a family medical emergency involving the student's father. Third, a plan to see Chris at a different time is detailed, mentioning a future visit to Australia. While the tone shifts slightly at the end into suggesting what the parents should do for his birthday rather than keeping strictly to the letter's purpose, all key requirements are covered well and supported by relevant ideas. The task is fully completed with a friendly and appropriate semi-formal letter register.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is generally coherent and follows a logical overall arrangement, breaking ideas into appropriate paragraphs for introduction, reasons for enjoying the party, the inability to attend, alternative plans, and closing wishes. However, there are some flaws in cohesion and paragraphing logic. For instance, the fourth paragraph suddenly suggests an itinerary for Chris's 20th birthday (breakfast at Five Guys, cinema, evening party), which confuses the timeline since the student has already stated they cannot attend. Paragraphing is used, but transitions between ideas can feel a bit abrupt. Referencing and cohesive devices are used, but at times mechanically, such as 'Also' and 'Furthermore'. Progression is present, but the organizational flow could be smoother and more logically structured.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'unfortunetly' (spelling error: unfortunately) and 'carnival theme'. There are several noticeable lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'faviourite', 'receieve', 'testy' (likely meant 'tasty'), and 'fuction'. Word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward, such as 'mad for the music' or 'to through a big party' (throw). Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, matching the criteria for Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and causative forms like 'I wish I could be there' and 'I think Chris will love this surprise party as he always keen...'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent minor errors, including missing articles ('go for cinema'), subject-verb agreement issues ('he always keen', 'it is good to through'), punctuation errors (spacing around commas), and spelling mistakes that bleed into grammar and word form. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band.

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

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