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,

I hope you both are doing well. I am writing to appologise for not attending the birthday party of Chris for what you sent me an invitation.

This the Chris's first birthday that you are celebarting at his birth place and for his this is going to be a special movement. And I was so exited to come to see you all and celebrate Chris's birthday at your place but two days ego I got a call from my office for an urgent meeting which is going to be held in Canada. Because I am the head of my departement and have good relation with the client , my boss insist me to attend the meeting. Due to which I have to cancel the programme to come for the party.

But after coming from Canada, my company will give me complementary trip to my selected place which is for sure your village. I will spend whole week with you all and bring some special gifts from Canada for whole family. I hope you all will enjoy alot and please send me pictures. I hope to see you soon.

Best wishes,

Harpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You successfully covered all parts of the bullet points outlined in the task prompt. You explained why Chris will enjoy the party by noting that it is his first birthday celebrated in his birthplace and that it will be a special moment for him. You also clearly explained why you cannot attend due to an urgent meeting in Canada requested by your boss, and you provided a detailed plan to see him afterward during a complimentary week-long trip to his village. The tone is appropriate for a friend's parents, and the purpose of the letter is fully clear. Therefore, this response meets the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 for Task Achievement, though a slightly more extended exploration of ideas would elevate the score further.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a clear logical organization with distinct paragraph breaks that separate the main ideas, such as the reason for writing, the excuse and explanation, and the future plan. Cohesive devices like 'Because I am', 'Due to which', and 'But after coming' are used to connect sentences, although some transitional phrases feel slightly mechanical or awkward (e.g., 'for his this is going to be' and 'two days ego'). Referencing and paragraphing are generally handled well enough to ensure the reader can follow your message easily without confusion, placing your performance solidly in the Band 6.0 range for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'complementary trip', 'urgent meeting', and 'departement'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, such as 'appologise' instead of apologize, 'celebarting' instead of celebrating, 'exited' instead of excited, and 'ego' instead of ago. Furthermore, phrasing like 'bring some special gifts from Canada for whole family' lacks articles. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict your lexical score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'I am writing to appologise for not attending the birthday party of Chris for what you sent me an invitation'). However, your writing contains frequent grammatical and structural inaccuracies, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the whole family' missing an article, 'boss insist me' instead of insists) and preposition misuse ('for his this is going to be'). While these errors rarely completely obscure your meaning, they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and prevent you from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.5 the appropriate score.

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

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