Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29
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,
Thankyou so much for your kind invitation to Chris birthday party.I was delighted to recieve it and appreciated that you think of me.
Chris will absolutely love the idea of celebrating outdoor as he likes to spend his special day with his friends and family. I like your barbeque idea too because he loves barbeque and i think he will be very glad to see all the setup that you are planning. He will be so touched that you have organized this for him.
unfortunately, i will not be able to attend thus event because i have to travel this weekend for my office meeting which i cannot cancel because i am the project manager which i am very disappointed about.
However, i would still love to see Chris. We will plan another day as soon as i get back. I will take him for dinner and will give him his birthday gift. I will call him next week and we will make a plan.
Thankyou so much for inviting me it means alot to me.
Kind regards,
Ronald
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, the letter clearly explains why Chris will enjoy the surprise party, mentioning his preference for outdoor celebrations and barbecues. Second, it provides a valid reason for the inability to attend by citing an un-cancellable office meeting over the weekend as the project manager. Third, it outlines a clear plan to see Chris at a different time by taking him out for dinner and presenting his birthday gift upon return. The tone is appropriately friendly and polite, fitting the General Training context well. All aspects of the prompt are covered with relevant and well-developed ideas, earning a solid Band 7.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The letter exhibits a clear logical progression, moving from thanking the parents and discussing the party to explaining the absence and offering an alternative plan. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different topics, such as the party details in the second paragraph and the scheduling conflict in the third. Cohesive devices are generally well managed, although some transitions could be smoother (e.g., "unfortunately, i will not be able to attend thus event"). Referencing is mostly clear, and the overall structure follows a natural letter-writing format starting with the required greeting and ending with an appropriate sign-off. The organizational structure supports the message effectively, matching Band 7 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully conveying personal feelings and plans. Phrases like "delighted to recieve it," "touched that you have organized this," and "project manager" demonstrate adequate lexical control. However, there are some spelling errors, such as "recieve" instead of receive, "barbeque" (though acceptable, consistency is key), and lowercase letters for pronouns like "i" and proper nouns like "Chris birthday party." While attempts are made to use less common vocabulary, the presence of basic spelling and punctuation errors limits the score to Band 6.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as "Chris will absolutely love the idea of celebrating outdoor as he likes to spend his special day with his friends and family." There are noticeable punctuation and capitalization errors throughout the text, including missing apostrophes ("Chris birthday") and lowercase letters at the beginning of sentences and for the pronoun "i". Furthermore, some sentences are run-on, such as "unfortunately, i will not be able to attend thus event because i have to travel this weekend for my office meeting which i cannot cancel because i am the project manager which i am very disappointed about." Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, supporting a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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