Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

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 this letter to express my appreciation and consideration for being invited to part of this great surprise birthday for my dear and wonderful friend Chris.

I have known Chris back in college days, he is such a good boy and we have been friends since then. One thing I love about him, is that he is an emotional person and enjoys surprises. He will be happy when he find out that his parents can go this far to put a smile on his face.

I am very sorry, I won't be attending the birthday party beacuse the same day falls with my wife 30th birthday celebration and we have made all the necessary arrangments. My friend Chris is even aware that he shares the same birth date with my wife.

A day after the celebration I will call Chris to plan on how i can make it up with him. Possible we can do that during the Christmas

holidays. I will take him and get some ice cream so that we catch up old time.

Thanks for your understanding.

Yours faithfully,

Frank

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points in the prompt: you explain that Chris enjoys surprises, give a clear reason for missing the party, and suggest meeting during the Christmas holidays. The detail that Chris shares your wife’s birthday makes the apology specific and relevant. This meets the task well, though some ideas are not fully developed: “Possible we can do that during the Christmas holidays” is tentative, and the plan to get ice cream does not specify when you will contact Chris or arrange the meeting. The opening also focuses on appreciation rather than directly acknowledging the invitation. Make the alternative plan more definite and clearly explain how you will arrange it to strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall sequence: appreciation and background, the reason for declining, then a proposed future meeting. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages, and links such as “I am very sorry” and “A day after the celebration” make the relationships between ideas clear. Some connections are less smooth, however. The shift from describing Chris to explaining the conflict is abrupt, and the final paragraph combines contacting him, choosing a time, getting ice cream, and catching up without a fully clear sequence. The closing “Thanks for your understanding” is appropriate, but the letter would progress more naturally if you stated the alternative plan in a direct order and used clearer references to who will take each action.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including “surprise,” “celebration,” “arrangements,” and “catch up,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts at more expressive language, such as “put a smile on his face,” although some combinations are not natural: “invited to part of this great surprise birthday” and “make it up with him” do not express the intended meanings precisely. Spelling errors such as “beacuse” and “arrangments” also reduce accuracy. Choose familiar collocations carefully and check spelling before finishing. More precise phrases for accepting an invitation, declining it, and proposing a future meeting would make the letter sound more fluent and appropriately natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, for example, “I am very sorry, I won't be attending the birthday party because…” and “One thing I love about him is that…”. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. In “I have known Chris back in college days,” the tense and time expression do not fit together; “I have known Chris since our college days” would be clearer. Other examples include “when he find out,” “my wife 30th birthday,” and “I will call Chris to plan on how i can…”. These involve verb agreement, a missing possessive form, and sentence construction or capitalization. Review these patterns and punctuate longer sentences carefully to improve control.

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

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