Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-28
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 Chris's Parents,
I hope you are doing well, I am Parkash Singh chris's close friend. I just ready your E-mail regarding you have orginised Chris's superise birthday party on December 10th 2026 at Tandoori Flams in Australia.
Well, I am over existed to visit Australain for party to give him superise and I want to see his reaction and make his 25th birthday speical, which he remember forever.
However, during the ending of year it's very difficult to get vaccations from college because college authorities orginised our final semster exam, which very important for me to pass it, as well as it's very hard for me to come Australia to attend his birthday party.
Finally, Do not worry uncle and aunty I will give him surprise by sending birthday gift after he getting gift you will call me on whatsapp video call, according to The Canadian time. So I could check his reaction and wish him Happy Birthday. I hope you will understand my feelings of true friendship.
Your sincerely
Parkash Singh
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three points: you explain that Chris would enjoy the surprise and remember his birthday, give your college exams as the reason you cannot travel, and suggest sending a gift followed by a WhatsApp video call. The reason for his enjoyment is relevant, but it could be developed more specifically—for example, by mentioning what Chris particularly likes or why a surprise would matter to him. Your alternative plan is present, though the timing is unclear: “after he getting gift” does not say when you will call, and the task also invites a plan to see Chris at another time. Make that arrangement explicit, such as proposing a visit or meeting after your exams. The opening also does not follow the requested salutation.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The letter has a generally clear progression: you respond to the invitation, explain your absence, and then offer an alternative way to celebrate. Connectors such as “However” and “Finally” help signal these stages, and the reader can follow the main message. This meets the lower-band expectation of an overall coherent arrangement and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, the ideas are crowded into long paragraphs, and the final plan is difficult to follow because several actions are joined together: “after he getting gift you will call me on whatsapp video call.” Use separate paragraphs for the three task points and clearer sequencing, such as “Once he has opened the gift, please call me.” Also make the proposed later meeting distinct from the video call.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “surprise birthday party,” “final semester exam,” “birthday gift,” and “video call.” However, the range is limited, and noticeable spelling and word-choice errors sometimes make the message harder to read. Examples include “superise,” “existed” where you mean “excited,” “vaccations,” and “speical.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “visit Australian for party” and “give him surprise.” These errors fit a limited but minimally adequate vocabulary range: the intended meaning is usually recoverable, but accuracy and natural collocation are inconsistent. Check spelling carefully and learn common combinations such as “attend the party,” “give him a surprise,” and “take time off college.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a reason clause with “because” and a sentence explaining the gift and call. However, control is inconsistent, and several sentence structures are faulty enough to slow the reader. For example, “I hope you are doing well, I am…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma; “which very important for me to pass it” is missing a verb and has an unclear pronoun; and “after he getting gift” needs a correctly formed clause, such as “after he gets the gift.” There are also errors in articles, agreement, and punctuation. Practise building accurate complete sentences first, then combine them with conjunctions and relative clauses, checking that each clause has a subject and verb.
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