Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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. Sam

I am delighted to hear of the forthcoming surprise birthday party for my friend Chris and i think this idea is really superb, and am pretty sure he will enjoy the party as he has always fantazied how he would love to host a celebartion event making his 25th birthday.

It would be my utmost desire to be present, witnessing this great event and to see the sparks that would be in his eyes with this great surprise, but unfortunately, I wont be in attendance as I will be travelling with my family to the village for my elder sisters traditional marriage which is scheduled for the same date.

I have planned to meet with him on a different day, precisely on friday evening at his favourite spot, chloes restuarant known for their deep rooted natural foods, with few of our friends in attendance. The plan is to give him a good pre treat for his big 25th birthday.

Feel free to reach out for assistance with the planning or in any other relevent ideas.

Thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Mercy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, covering the three main bullet points clearly. You explain that Chris will enjoy the surprise because he has always wanted to host a celebration for his 25th birthday, provide a clear reason for your absence due to a family traditional marriage ceremony, and outline a specific alternative plan to meet him on Friday evening at Chloe's restaurant. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's parents. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed, preventing a higher evaluation; for instance, the explanation of why you cannot attend is somewhat extended, but the description of the alternative plan could have included a bit more elaboration regarding the arrangements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. You make effective use of paragraphing, with each paragraph dedicated to a distinct part of the task prompt, moving smoothly from the greeting and introduction to your absence, the alternative plan, and the closing offer of assistance. Cohesive devices such as 'and i think', 'It would be my utmost desire', and 'I have planned to meet' are used adequately to connect your ideas. While the logical flow is easy to follow overall, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel slightly mechanical, which keeps the response at this particular level. Greater flexibility in transitional phrases would elevate the cohesion further.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You display an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common and more formal items such as 'forthcoming', 'utmost desire', and 'deep rooted natural foods'. However, there are some spelling and word-choice inaccuracies that prevent a higher score. For instance, 'fantazied' is misspelled, 'celebartion' contains a typo, and phrases like 'pre treat' and 'relevent ideas' show minor errors in word choice and spelling. Despite these occasional slips, communication is never impeded, and your vocabulary choice remains largely appropriate for a friendly yet polite letter to parents.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

Your writing uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating your ability to construct compound and subordinate clauses, such as 'I am delighted to hear... and i think...' and '...witnessing this great event and to see the sparks...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including lowercase 'i', missing commas before conjunctions, and minor punctuation slips around names like 'Mr.and Mrs. Sam' and 'chloes restuarant'. Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to easily follow your message without confusion.

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

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