Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18

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 6.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I've received your invitation for chris' surprise birthday party and I'm delighted that you organised a surprise for him. Chris loves to spend time with his loved ones and he is very emotional. I think he would really love this because he hasn't celebrated his birthday for past few years.

However, I'd like to apologise because I won't be able to come to the party. Since I have the interview scheduled for the same day. I have been trying to get this job for a long time, and now I finally got the opportunity that I don't want to miss.

I will come to meet him on this weekend and I will bring a smartwatch as a surprise gift because he told me that he love such watches and he wish to buy one. Please don't tell him that I would be coming, as I'd also like to surprise him because it's been a while seeing him.

Thanks again for the invite and I look farward to see you guys. take care.

Best wishes,

Utsav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You begin by acknowledging the invitation and explaining why Chris will enjoy the surprise party, noting that he loves spending time with loved ones and hasn't celebrated his birthday recently. You then clearly explain why you cannot attend due to a conflicting job interview. Finally, you provide a specific plan to meet him over the weekend, including a surprise gift of a smartwatch. Your tone is appropriately friendly and polite, and the purpose of the letter is fully clear throughout. You have met all requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, making it easy to follow. You use appropriate paragraphing to separate different points, such as the reason for Chris enjoying the party, your inability to attend, and your alternative plan to meet. Cohesive devices are generally used effectively, such as 'However' and 'Since'. However, there are minor cohesion and referencing slips, such as 'because it's been a while seeing him', where better linking phrases would enhance the flow. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for a general correspondence task, using phrases like 'delighted', 'loved ones', and 'opportunity'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'scheduled' and 'surprise gift'. However, there are a few word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'I've received your invitation for chris' surprise birthday party' (capitalisation and preposition choice), 'come to meet him on this weekend' (unnatural preposition), and 'it's been a while seeing him'. Despite these minor flaws, communication is never impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures throughout the letter, such as conditional and subordinate clauses like 'Since I have the interview scheduled for the same day' and 'Please don't tell him that I would be coming'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including a sentence fragment ('Since I have the interview scheduled for the same day.'), a missing comma splice, and tense inconsistencies ('he wish to buy one' instead of 'wishes', and 'look farward to see' instead of 'looking forward to seeing'). However, these errors do not impede overall communication.

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.