Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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,

Hope you both are good and healthy as well as Chris. I am also good. I am writing this letter to you about the surprise party for Chris. I know Chris is living in the different city. Yesterday, Chris and I had a video call and he was telling that he really miss you both and he is feeling alone and want to celebrate his birthday with his family. I believe that Chris will feel overwelm when he will get the surprise party.

Unfortunately, I would not able to attend the party as I am overseas (India) to visit my parents. I just reached here 2 days ago. I will be here for a month.

After a month, I will be returned to Australia and I will meet Chris before going to collage. I will make the plan to do some adventures activites with him and he definately loves that. Hope you have a great time with Chris on his birthday and he will enjoy.

Thanks and regards

Lovey

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain why Chris will enjoy the party by mentioning his homesickness and desire to celebrate with family ("he really miss you both and he is feeling alone"). You also give a valid reason for your absence by stating that you are overseas in India visiting your parents. Finally, you outline a clear plan to see him after your return, including doing adventure activities before college. The tone is appropriately friendly and polite, fitting the General Training letter format. All parts of the task are well covered, earning a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear overall progression from the opening greetings to the explanation of the surprise, your absence, and future plans. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak; the entire body of the letter is clumped into one large paragraph rather than being divided logically. Cohesive devices are used, but they tend to be basic and repetitive, such as "and" and "after a month". Referencing is generally clear, but the logical arrangement could be significantly improved by separating the ideas into distinct paragraphs for the surprise, your absence, and the future meeting.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating your ideas. There are several attempts at less common vocabulary, such as "surprise party", "overseas", and "adventure activities". However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as "overwelm" instead of overwhelmed, "collage" instead of college, and "activites" instead of activities. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent you from achieving a higher band score. Improving your spelling and using more precise collocations will enhance your lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as "I believe that Chris will feel overwhelmed when he will get the surprise party." There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, including "Hope you both are good and healthy as well as Chris" (informal and slightly unnatural phrasing), "he was telling that he really miss" (subject-verb agreement error and incorrect tense choice), and "I would not able to attend" (missing verb 'be'). Although these errors occur frequently, they do not completely obscure the meaning of your message, allowing the reader to follow your points without severe difficulty.

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

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