Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

Hi, I hope you both are feeling well.

I am so excited to hear that you are preparing a birthday surprise for your son, Chris. He is one of those people, who loves surprise at any moment. The reason, why I say this is because we used to prepare surprises for our other classmates during our university time together.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that I cannot be able to make it to the party. I have a trip planned with my family. We have our tickets booked and we will be taking off the plane to Landon on the same day as Chris's birthday. I know, I am about to miss all the fun, which will be going to happen at his birthday but I promise that I will come and see him on the 20th of November, this year. Let me know, if this is a good day to come or not.

I will call and text him personally too but after the party because I don't wanna ruin the surprise for him.

Thank you for considering me to attend Chris's surprise birthday party and I hope you all will have a great time together. Do not forgot to share me the pictures.

See you all soon.

With love,

Gurpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You successfully cover all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, you explain why Chris will enjoy the party by noting that he loves surprises and mentioning your shared university memories. Second, you clearly explain why you cannot attend due to a family trip and flights to London on the same day. Finally, you provide a specific alternative plan to see him on the 20th of November and ask if that day suits. The tone is appropriately friendly and semi-formal, meeting the General Training letter-writing requirements well. All parts of the prompt are fully addressed with relevant, extended ideas, earning a solid Band 7.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter is easy to follow, with a clear logical progression from greeting to discussing the party, explaining your absence, offering an alternative date, and concluding nicely. You use paragraphs adequately to separate distinct topics, which helps the reader navigate the letter. Cohesive devices are generally well handled (e.g., 'Unfortunately, I am afraid that...', 'The reason, why I say this is because...'), though some punctuation around connectors is slightly awkward, such as unnecessary commas ('The reason, why...'). Overall organisation is clear throughout, fulfilling the criteria for a Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task with some attempts at less common phrasing, such as 'surprise birthday party', 'family trip', and 'ruin the surprise'. However, there are a few lexical and spelling inaccuracies that prevent a higher score. For instance, you wrote 'taking off the plane to Landon' instead of 'boarding a plane to London' or 'flying to London'. You also wrote 'Do not forgot' instead of 'forget'. Despite these minor slips, communication is never impeded, placing your lexical control comfortably at Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms to express your thoughts. There are several good complex structures, such as 'I know, I am about to miss all the fun, which will be going to happen at his birthday but I promise that I will come...' However, there are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'I cannot be able to make it' (instead of 'I will not be able to make it') and unnecessary commas interrupting clauses ('He is one of those people, who loves surprise...'). The majority of sentences are understandable, and errors do not impede communication, which aligns with Band 6.5.

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

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