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,

I hope you are doing well. I would like to say thank you for inviting me to Chris surprise birthday party next month. I think that's a excellent ideas to throw a surprise birthday party at Chris's favourite restaurant.

I know how foody Chris is and I'm sure he is going to enjoy alot there. We all know that Chris loves to spend time with his family and friends. Hence that would be perfect birthday party for him for sure.

I would really like to join all of you there. However I have a urgent business meeting to attend in the same week due to that could not make it this time. I hope you understand my situation.

I am sure that you all going to have so much fun together.

Although, On my return I have some plans in my mind to see Chris next month. Also, I have talked to Chris's old friends and we are planning to spend some time on short vacation very soon in Dubai.

Thank you for your invitation. Enjoy the birthday party and you guys have fun.

Best Wishes,

Ram

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, you explained why Chris will enjoy the party by highlighting his love for family, friends, and good food at his favourite restaurant, as seen in the phrase 'I know how foody Chris is and I'm sure he is going to enjoy alot there.' Second, you clearly stated your inability to attend due to an urgent business meeting. Third, you provided details of a plan to see Chris on your return through a short vacation in Dubai with old friends. The tone is appropriately friendly and polite throughout. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, placing your performance comfortably at a Band 7.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your letter has a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Paragraphs are used appropriately to separate different points, such as the opening gratitude, the explanation for non-attendance, and the future plans. You used cohesive devices like 'However', 'Although', and 'Also' to connect ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or are punctuated incorrectly, such as starting a sentence with 'Hence that would be' or 'Although, On my return'. Despite these minor issues with punctuation and referencing, your ideas flow well and are easy to follow, justifying a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrated an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general social letter, using terms like 'appreciation', 'invitation', and 'vacation'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors that prevent a higher score. For instance, you wrote 'Chris surprise' instead of 'Chris's surprise', used 'excellent ideas' instead of 'excellent idea', and described Chris as 'foody' rather than a 'foodie' or 'someone who loves food'. Furthermore, 'a urgent business meeting' contains an article error. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6.0 level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempted a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using 'Although, On my return I have some plans...' and 'We all know that Chris loves...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including missing articles ('an urgent business meeting'), incorrect prepositions, and punctuation issues. For example, 'due to that could not make it this time' lacks a subject and auxiliary verb, and 'you all going to have' is missing the auxiliary verb 'are'. Because these errors persist across several sentences and cause some distraction, your grammar performance aligns with Band 5.5.

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

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