Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22
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 5.0)
Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,
I hope you are doing well,let I know you are happy mom, I am writting this letter to invite you for surprise birthday party.
I know chris is a good guy who can enjoy parties with families and friends. We have planned so much of surprise for his birthday party,it seems more admirable and interesting. It seems he enjoys musics and dance, In this party we can able to play DJ moreover he can able to dance and gets more happy.
I am unavailable due to my family reasons because my mother wants me to take to her hospital. To check the ECG,ECHO.X-RAY of my due to further procedures. At the same time my friends will help you to surprise the birthday party amd make a memorable arrangements.
In my perspective we can meet him in later evening of nextday,with full of gifts and later have a dinner with him.
I hope this letter will receive you soon,Looking forward to your reply,
Yours sincerely,
xxx
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The letter attempts to cover all parts of the prompt, but suffers from severe confusion regarding who is organising the party. In your opening, you write 'I am writting this letter to invite you for surprise birthday party', which incorrectly suggests that you are inviting Chris's parents to their own son's surprise party arranged by you, rather than responding to their invitation. However, you do successfully touch upon the required bullet points: you mention why Chris will enjoy the party ('he enjoys musics and dance'), explain your absence due to family and medical reasons ('my mother wants me to take to her hospital'), and suggest an alternative time to meet ('in later evening of nextday'). Because of the misunderstanding of the prompt's premise, the task is only partially addressed in terms of role clarity. Band score: 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The letter is broken into short paragraphs, which helps visually structure the response, but the logical progression and cohesion are quite weak. The transitions between ideas feel abrupt and mechanical. For instance, the shift from explaining Chris's love for music to stating your absence ('I am unavailable due to my family reasons') lacks smooth connective tissue. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'of my due to further procedures' where the pronoun lacks a clear antecedent. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall logical arrangement is disrupted by frequent shifts in focus. Band score: 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently impeded by awkward word choices and grammatical translation issues. Phrases like 'let I know you are happy mom' and 'gets more happy' sound unnatural. You attempt some less common collocations such as 'memorable arrangements' and 'further procedures', but there are noticeable inaccuracies throughout the text (e.g., 'musics', 'amd'). The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task, meaning it conveys a basic message but causes some difficulty for the reader due to lexical strain. Band score: 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple or awkwardly constructed complex sentences. There are frequent errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and sentence boundaries (e.g., 'let I know you are happy mom, I am writting this letter...', 'party,it seems...'). Punctuation around commas and spaces is consistently messy. Furthermore, sentence fragments like 'To check the ECG,ECHO.X-RAY of my due to further procedures' lack main verbs and proper structure. These frequent errors cause strain for the reader, though the core meaning remains partially decipherable. Band score: 4.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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