Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-01
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 your doing well, First thank you so much for inviting me to chris surprice birthday party, She will be very happy to see her birthday party and she love surprices,I am glade that you invited me to her birthday party.But unfortunatly i will not able to attend her birthday party .Because at that day i have a final paper which i prepare myself for along time and its very important for me because if i not attempt it i will be not able to move in next semester. I am very disappointed to not attempt chris birthday.But i have a plan,that i will visited your house after attempt my final paper and i will meet her at yours house.
Thankyou so much for inviting me,and i will meet chris soon after the finals.I hope she will enjoy the party very well.
Lily your best friend.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address the three main points: you say Chris enjoys surprises, explain that a final paper prevents you from attending, and suggest visiting after the exam. The reason for missing the party is the clearest and most specific part. However, the plan to meet later is vague: “after [I] attempt my final paper” does not say when you will visit or arrange a definite time. The explanation of why Chris will enjoy the party is also brief and partly unclear. In addition, the greeting names only Mrs Collins, although the task asks you to write to both parents, and the closing “Lily your best friend” is not clearly formatted as a sign-off. Develop each point more fully and make the later meeting plan specific.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter follows a generally understandable order: you thank the parents, explain your absence, and then propose seeing Chris later. Basic links such as “But” and “Because” help show the relationship between ideas. However, most of the response is presented as one long paragraph, so the separate purposes of the letter are not clearly signposted. Several ideas run together, particularly in the opening, and the repeated references to the party and meeting Chris make progression feel repetitive. Punctuation also makes some transitions difficult to follow. Use short paragraphs for the invitation, apology and alternative plan, and connect sentences more clearly—for example, introduce the exam reason in a complete sentence and then move directly to a specific proposed visit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main message, including “inviting,” “final paper,” “important,” and “disappointed.” The reader can understand that you value the invitation and cannot attend because of an exam. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the letter less clear or natural, such as “surprice,” “surprices,” “glade,” and “attempt” where you mean sit or take an exam. Phrases such as “she will be very happy to see her birthday party” do not express the intended idea naturally. Aim for accurate, conventional expressions for celebrations and exams, and vary repeated wording such as “birthday party” and “meet her.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response mainly uses simple sentence patterns, with a few attempts to join ideas using “because” and “that.” These attempts show some effort to explain reasons, but frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the message difficult to read. For example, “I will not able to attend” needs a verb after “will,” while “I will visited” combines incompatible verb forms. “I hope your doing well” also has an incorrect form of “you’re,” and several sentences are joined without appropriate punctuation. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses. Check that each sentence has a complete verb phrase and that past, present and future forms are consistent.
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