Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-26

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 7.5)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I trust you have been great. I was excited when I received an invite to Chris' birthday party that would be holding tomorrow evening. From my many interactions with him, it has been a part of his wish list to be surprised on his birthday, and I am sure this would be the best gift you could have offered him for his 21st birthday.

It is quite unfortunate that I will not be able to attend the party because I am currently not in the country. I went on a planned visit to spend time with my parents and I will not be back until a week after Chris' party.

Of course, I have also planned a mini hangout with Chris and some of our closest friend. We would be having a picnic at the beach and I have placed an order for some of his best meals.

I look forward to hearing how the party went in my absense, I am sure it will be great.

Yours sincerely,

Oyinloluwa Akinsipe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response fully and effectively covers all bullet points of the task instructions. You begin with an appropriate greeting and successfully explain why Chris will enjoy the surprise party, noting that it has been on his wish list based on your past interactions. You then clearly explain your inability to attend due to being out of the country on a family visit, and you provide specific details regarding an alternative plan to see Chris for a mini hangout and picnic at the beach. Your tone is suitably polite and friendly for a General Training letter to a friend's parents. All parts of the prompt are well-extended and clearly addressed without any omissions or irrelevant digressions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 8.0

Your letter is well-structured and logically sequenced. The flow of ideas moves naturally from acknowledging the invitation and explaining Chris's preferences, to stating the reason for your absence, and finally proposing an alternative meeting. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each main point housed in its own clear paragraph. Cohesive devices such as 'From my many interactions', 'It is quite unfortunate', and 'Of course' are used naturally to guide the reader through the text. Referencing is clear throughout, ensuring the letter reads smoothly and cohesively from start to finish.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to a semi-formal letter. Expressions such as 'planned visit', 'mini hangout', and 'placed an order' communicate your message clearly and naturally. There are a few minor lexical slips, such as writing 'invite' as a noun when 'invitation' is more standard, and 'would be holding' instead of 'is being held' or 'is going to be held'. However, these vocabulary choices do not impede communication, and you successfully attempt less common phrases with a good awareness of conversational style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

Your writing displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and conditional ideas. The majority of your sentences are grammatically sound and well-controlled. You successfully use various tense forms, such as past simple ('received'), present perfect ('have been great'), and future/modal structures ('will not be able to'). There are very minor issues, such as the slight tense awkwardness with 'that would be holding tomorrow evening' and a minor typo in the final paragraph ('absense' instead of 'absence'). Overall, your punctuation and grammar are well-managed and rarely interfere with readability.

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