Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 6.0)

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I am writing to infrom you about my plans regarding Chris's birthday party. That will be held on next friday at evening.

As we know Chris is very busy these days with his studies. He probably would have forgotten about his upcoming birthday. Arranging a special birthday party will be a pleasant surprise for him. As he loves parties and evants.

However, I would like to infrom you that I will not be able to attend this party. As my exams are approaching near, I will be preparing for them. My first exam is scheduled on same day as of his birthday party.

I am planning to see chris after a week of his birthday evant. We have decided to meet-up at a restaurant near the downtown. I will be arranging a small surprise for him as well. I hope every thing goes according to my plan. I will be gifting him a smart watch.

Yours sincerely,

John.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you explain that Chris is busy with studies and will enjoy the surprise, give your exams as the reason for not attending, and propose meeting a week later at a downtown restaurant. The plan to give him a smartwatch adds a useful personal detail, so the letter fulfils its purpose and maintains a clear, appropriate tone. To strengthen the response further, develop the reasons for Chris’s enjoyment a little more specifically—for example, mention what he particularly likes about parties or why this gathering would be meaningful. The alternative meeting plan is clear, though confirming a day or suggesting how you will arrange it would make it more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible order: the party and Chris’s likely reaction come first, then your apology, followed by the alternative plan. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and linking expressions such as “However” make the change of focus clear. This gives the letter a coherent overall arrangement. Some connections are less smooth, however: “As he loves parties and evants” is a fragment that feels detached from the preceding sentence, and beginning another sentence with “As my exams are approaching near” creates a similar break. The repeated “I am” openings also make the progression somewhat mechanical. Join related ideas and vary transitions or sentence openings to make cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, with relevant expressions such as “upcoming birthday,” “approaching,” “scheduled,” and “surprise.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling or word-choice problems reduce precision: “infrom” appears twice, “evants” is misspelled, and “birthday evant” repeats the same error. Some phrases are also unnatural, including “at evening,” “approaching near,” and “meet-up at a restaurant near the downtown.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they make it less fluent and idiomatic. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for dates, exams, and meeting arrangements; more precise phrasing would make the letter sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use mostly straightforward sentence patterns and attempt some subordination, as in “As my exams are approaching near, I will be preparing for them.” The message remains understandable, but the range is limited and several sentence-level errors recur. “That will be held on next friday at evening” has an unclear reference and problems with articles and prepositions; “As he loves parties and evants” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence. Likewise, “As my exams are approaching near” is not a complete sentence when separated from the following clause. There are also inconsistent capital letters in “chris” and “friday.” Practise combining dependent clauses with main clauses and check articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries.

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

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