Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-21

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 that you both are doing well. Its been so long that we haven't met each other since i left Australia after completing my graduation.

I am over the moon to hear that you have planned a surprise birthday party for Chris, and your invitation to be a part of this celebration is pure love for me. I am very confident that he will be really surprised and happy for this amazing event.

Unfortunately, because of my professional committments, I cannot join you guys in this auspicious celebration.

However, the successful completion of my current project would earn me a vacation for one month which i can utilise to visit you guys. Moreover, a whole month would be adequate to catch up with chris and both of you.

please let me know if that sounds right to you. If yes, i can start planning my trip and looking for destinations. It would be really memorable to spend time with all of you.

Yours faithfully

Gurpreet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain a warm, appropriate purpose: you explain that Chris will be “surprised and happy,” give a reason for being unable to attend, and suggest visiting during a month-long vacation. The main ideas are relevant, but some are less fully developed than others. In particular, the reason Chris would enjoy the party is asserted rather than supported with a personal detail about his preferences or the people attending. The alternative plan is also conditional (“would earn me a vacation”) and lacks a specific proposed date or activity, so the parents cannot yet respond to a concrete arrangement. Adding one detail about Chris and suggesting a definite time to meet would make the letter more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: you reconnect with the parents, respond to the invitation, explain your absence, and move on to a future visit. Paragraphing supports these stages, and transitions such as “Unfortunately” and “Moreover” help signal the relationships between ideas. The closing also invites a response, giving the letter a clear endpoint. To make the organisation more polished, avoid relying on broad linking phrases where a direct connection would sound more natural; for example, “Moreover” introduces the month-long visit but does not add a distinct supporting point. A more specific transition into the proposed visit, followed by a clear date or next step, would strengthen the progression and make the plan easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a sufficient range of vocabulary to express warmth, regret, and future plans, including “over the moon,” “professional commitments,” and “catch up.” These choices show some flexibility and awareness of tone. However, a few expressions are less natural or too formal for a friendly letter: “auspicious celebration” sounds ceremonial, while “your invitation to be a part of this celebration is pure love for me” is unclear in English. “You guys” is also informal when addressing Chris’s parents. There are occasional spelling errors, including “committments,” and inconsistent capitalisation of “I” and “Chris.” Choose more idiomatic phrases and check spelling and names carefully to make the message sound more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the message remains easy to understand. For example, the sentence beginning “However” links a condition to a possible visit, while “Moreover, a whole month would be adequate…” adds a related idea. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. In “Its been so long,” the contraction needs an apostrophe, and “since i left” requires a capital “I.” The sentence “the successful completion of my current project would earn me a vacation for one month which i can utilise” would be clearer with more accurate clause punctuation and a consistent conditional structure. Capitalise the opening “Please” and “I” throughout, and use commas or full stops to separate ideas cleanly.

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