Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-26

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 5.5)

Dear mrs collins,

I hope you are fine. i am writing this letter to parents thank you for invite me. many many conguralation your son birthday.I heard your big party attend for birthday suprise.I am sure chris will enjoy the party.

Actully, that day i am busy because that day my sister wedding. All arrengement my responsibilty and parents always should help me. so totally i am busy for one week. my father not well rather than all arrenge to me attend. you are now marriage arrenge doing the very difficult and full stress. so few days my very stressfull.

We are meet the next month. because i am free . my college start next month . and my hometown open new restautrent i heard this place very nice and cheap dishes.all dishes very teasty and fresh. so we become a plan meet the next month.

Hoping a meet you soon,

Yours lovingly,

jaspreet .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you say Chris will enjoy the surprise, explain that your sister’s wedding prevents you from attending, and suggest meeting the following month. The reason for your absence is relevant, and mentioning your father’s poor health helps explain why you have extra responsibilities. However, the explanation of why Chris will enjoy the party is brief, and the alternative plan is not fully specific: “We are meet the next month” does not identify a date or confirm how you will arrange the meeting. Develop these points with a little more detail, such as what Chris enjoys about celebrations and a proposed day or time. The letter’s purpose is clear overall, though some details are difficult to interpret.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, an explanation of your absence, and a final paragraph proposing another meeting. This makes the main purpose reasonably easy to follow. Some links between ideas are less clear, however. In the second paragraph, the move from your sister’s wedding to your father’s health and then to the stress of arrangements feels abrupt. The repeated use of “that day” and “so” also makes the connections sound mechanical. In the final paragraph, the college and restaurant details are relevant to meeting, but the relationship between them could be explained more smoothly. Use clearer transitions and refer directly to the proposed meeting to strengthen progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the situation, including “surprise party,” “responsibility,” “arrangement,” and “stressful,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, spelling errors and unnatural word combinations are noticeable, for example “conguralation,” “arrenge,” and “cheap dishes.” Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “my hometown open new restautrent” and “all dishes very teasty and fresh.” These choices make parts of the letter harder to read and reduce the naturalness of the tone. Check spelling carefully and learn common combinations such as “make arrangements,” “attend a wedding,” and “a newly opened restaurant.” A wider range of accurate, natural expressions would make the letter clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer explanations, and the reader can usually identify the main message. However, there are some errors in verb forms, sentence structure, articles, and punctuation. For example, “I am writing this letter to parents thank you” needs a clearer structure, while “We are meet the next month” should use a correct future form such as “We can meet next month.” The sentence “my college start next month” also needs subject–verb agreement and a suitable tense. Capitalisation is inconsistent, as in “i” and “chris.” Practise forming complete sentences and checking verb tense and agreement, especially when explaining plans and responsibilities.

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

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