Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-29

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,

It was very nice to hear about you are throwing a surprise party for Chris's birthday. I assume that chris will be totally amazed to see this surprise planned for one of the most woderful day of his year. Moreover, I would also like to be grateful to you for inviting me to this special ocassion.

But, along with that I am also sad to inform you that I would not be able to join you guys as I will be having my final exams on that week. It would be better for me to prepare for the exam as it will impact my overall cumulative grades.

Apparently I will plan specially to meet Chris in the summer time as I am not taking any summer classes so it would be convienent for me to stay more with my friend and spend some quality time together. But, I don't want to miss out on this surprise event that you planned so I would love to join you guys virtually on that day.

Your's faithfully

Eric

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you explain that Chris will be amazed by the surprise, give your final exams as the reason you cannot attend, and suggest meeting in summer. The offer to join virtually also shows consideration. These relevant ideas make the letter’s purpose clear. However, some points are less fully developed: the reason Chris will enjoy the party is asserted rather than supported with a personal detail, and the summer plan lacks a specific date or activity. The explanation of your exams is clear, though the reference to their effect on your grades could be expressed more naturally. Adding one personal reason Chris would value the gathering and a concrete alternative plan would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: appreciation and the party’s appeal come first, followed by your apology and reason for declining, then an alternative plan. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and links such as “Moreover” and “so” make relationships between ideas visible. Some transitions feel mechanical or do not quite fit, particularly “But, along with that” and “Apparently,” which does not clearly introduce a future plan. The final paragraph also combines the summer meeting and virtual attendance, so the two arrangements are not as clearly separated as they could be. Use simpler, more precise transitions and give the alternative meeting its own clear sentence to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a personal letter, including expressions such as “totally amazed,” “cumulative grades,” and “quality time.” These communicate the main ideas, and the tone is generally warm and appreciative. There are, however, several spelling and word-choice or collocation slips, including “woderful,” “ocassion,” and “convienent,” as well as the unnatural phrase “be grateful to you for inviting me.” “Apparently” is also not the right choice for introducing a plan. These errors do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Choose familiar, accurate expressions where unsure, and proofread spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the reason clause “as I will be having my final exams” and the conditional structure “as I am not taking any summer classes.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are present. For example, “hear about you are throwing” needs a noun phrase or a correctly formed clause, such as “hear that you are throwing.” The opening sentence also shifts awkwardly between “It was” and the present event. In “I would not be able to join you guys as I will be having,” the future form is understandable but could be made more direct. Check clause structure, tense consistency, and punctuation around sentence openings.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.