Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-24

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 6.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I hope you both are doing well.

It's good to hear that you are planning a surprise birthday party for Chris. He will definitely be happy and suprised, as he was overwhelmed with the college's assignment and workshop, suprise party would be fun for him, by meeting with friends and family, he might feel happy and less overwhelmed.

I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to attend the party. I am visiting my parent's place on that day, as it's there wedding anniversary and we have planned a visit to the temple, where they got married and a family meal.

I would be meeting Chris, the next day and we will have a small friends get-together. We are planning to gift him a guitar, as recently he has started to show an interest in learning it. I think he would definitely love it.

Apologies for not being able to attend his suprise birthday party.

Thanks and Regards

XXX

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The candidate has fully addressed all parts of the task prompt. In the first body paragraph, they successfully explain why Chris will enjoy the surprise party, noting that he has been overwhelmed with college assignments and workshops and will benefit from relaxing with friends and family. The second paragraph clearly explains why the writer cannot attend, giving a valid reason regarding their parents' wedding anniversary and a family temple visit. Finally, the third paragraph gives specific details of a plan to see Chris the next day for a small get-together and outlines a group plan to gift him a guitar. The tone is appropriately polite and friendly for a general correspondence letter. The response satisfies all bullet points comprehensively, earning a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical paragraph structure, moving smoothly from the opening pleasantries to the surprise party reasons, the absence explanation, future plans, and finally the closing sign-off. Cohesive devices are generally used appropriately, such as 'I wanted to let you know that' and 'The next day'. However, there are minor cohesion and referencing flaws, such as run-on sentences in the first paragraph ('He will definitely be happy and suprised, as he was overwhelmed...') which could have been broken up for better flow. Paragraphing is clear and appropriate for a personal letter, supporting a solid Band 6.5 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating personal news and intentions. The writer attempts some less common phrases like 'overwhelmed with the college's assignment' and 'small friends get-together'. However, there are some lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors, such as 'suprised' (misspelled twice as 'suprise'), 'parent's place' (should be 'parents'', or plural possessive), and 'there wedding anniversary' (should be 'their'). Because these errors do not impede overall communication and demonstrate a functional vocabulary range, the response achieves a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or causal clauses ('as he was overwhelmed with the college's assignment...'). There are, however, several grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation slips throughout the text. For example, comma splices and run-on structures occur frequently, such as in the first paragraph. Furthermore, phrase constructions like 'I would be meeting Chris, the next day' contain unnecessary punctuation. While these errors are noticeable and detract from grammatical control, the meaning remains clear, which aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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

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