Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Aman,

I hope you are in great spirits. Thank you very much for helping me a lot during my last visit to you. I don't have enough words to express my feelings that how happy I was when I saw you after such a long time.

I wasn't expecting that you planned a surprise party for me, especially my favourite cake. Thank you for those winter jackets that you bought for me because I wasn't aware of the weather conditions of your city. The best part of my visit was that we spent quality time together, watched favourite movies, and attended the best music concert.

Don't forget my birthday is around the corner, and I will be glad if you will come to my birthday party. We will go shopping and at our favourite restaurant to enjoy their famous desserts.

Can't wait to see you again.

Your love,

Gurpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully covers all the communicative functions required by a standard informal thank-you and invitation letter. The writer expresses gratitude for the hospitality and gifts, mentions specific details from the past visit such as the winter jackets and the surprise party, and extends a warm invitation for an upcoming birthday. The tone is consistently friendly, enthusiastic, and appropriate for writing to a friend. The purpose of the letter is fully clear from the beginning to the end, and all ideas are relevant and adequately developed to fulfil the task requirements without any omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a clear overall progression with logical paragraphing. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: the opening and expression of thanks in the first paragraph, specific details of the visit in the second, and the invitation for the upcoming birthday in the third. Cohesive devices such as referencing ('you', 'those', 'the best part') are used effectively to connect ideas. However, paragraphing and transitions are occasionally somewhat straightforward rather than sophisticated, placing this securely at a solid band 7 level where the logical organisation is clear and progression is maintained throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an informal setting, such as 'great spirits', 'surprise party', 'weather conditions', and 'around the corner'. There are successful attempts at natural phrasings like 'quality time together' and 'favourite desserts'. While some word choices are slightly repetitive or basic—such as 'best part', 'best music concert', and 'best restaurant'—the lexical resource is sufficient to convey precise meaning without communication being impeded. Occasional minor slips occur, but overall the vocabulary meets the expectations for a band 6.5 or 7 task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative-style clauses such as 'when I saw you after such a long time' and 'because I wasn't aware of the weather conditions'. There are a few grammatical inaccuracies, most notably the awkward phrasing in the opening paragraph 'express my feelings that how happy I was', and a tense slip in 'if you will come' instead of 'if you come'. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences are accurate, supporting a band 6 score.

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

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