Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-23
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,
Hopefully, you are guys are guys are in great spirits. My apologies for not being in touch with you all. But I am making up for it via this letter, at least I hope so ! Thank you for an invitation for Chris birthday party next month.
To begin with, you have always been a great party planner, Chris ususally shared his birthday video to me and it seems he loves surprises. I know Chris will be happy to know that this time as well he will get big surprise from his parents. I remeneber your surprises party are always fun with exciting games, beautiful selfie corner and delicious snacks.
Unfortunately, this time I won't be able to join you guys in celebration and I am very disappointed. I have my graduation ceremony on October 15th, also my fellow classmates have planned dinner and celebration after ceremony.
I planning to visit Austrialia during mid November to spend quality time with Chris. I know he will love to see me as I will be give me surprise. Can't wait to see yo guys soon.
Best regards
Anna
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The student covers all bullet points of the prompt well. You successfully mention why Chris will enjoy the surprise party (referencing his love for surprises, exciting games, and snacks), explain why you cannot attend due to a graduation ceremony and post-celebration dinner on October 15th, and give details of a plan to visit Australia in mid-November. The tone is appropriately friendly and informal for a letter to a friend's parents. However, some ideas are slightly conversational and repetitive, such as the opening redundancy ('Hopefully, you are guys are guys are in great spirits'). Overall, the task is fully addressed with clear development of ideas, warranting a solid band score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The letter follows a clear logical organisation, using appropriate paragraphing to separate the greeting, the enthusiasm for the party, the inability to attend, and the alternative plans. Cohesive devices are generally used adequately, starting paragraphs with transitional phrases like 'To begin with' and 'Unfortunately'. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally become faulty or mechanical, as seen with some repetitive phrasing and minor structural awkwardness between sentences. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, guiding the reader smoothly from one topic to the next. Progression is clear throughout the response.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general social letter, using terms such as 'graduation ceremony', 'delicious snacks', and 'quality time'. There are several noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'ususally', 'remeneber', 'surprises party' (instead of surprise party), and 'Austrialia'. Furthermore, phrases like 'give me surprise' are unnatural and imprecise. While you attempt some less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in word choice and spelling prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands. Communication, nevertheless, is never impeded by these issues.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I know Chris will be happy to know that this time as well he will get big surprise from his parents.' There are several grammatical errors and typos, notably the repeated words in the opening sentence ('Hopefully, you are guys are guys are...'), missing articles ('get big surprise'), and tense/form issues ('I planning to visit'). Punctuation and sentence structures are generally clear enough to be understood easily, but errors in verb forms and minor syntax issues persist, placing this response firmly in the Band 6 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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