Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

It is ten years since you left college. You'd like to organise an event to celebrate this anniversary with all your friends and classmates from college.

Write a letter to one of your college friends. In your letter

• say what kind of celebration event you'd like to organise

• explain why you think it would be good to celebrate in this way

• describe what help you need to organise this event

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Hello Simran,

How are you ? I hope you are doing well.

I am really very happy to inform you that I am going to organise a surprise party at home. I want to celebrate the ceremony of anniversary with all my friends and family members. I also want to invite my all friends and relatives on this special occasion.

The reason behind organising this event is not only to celebrate the anniversary together but also to meet all the friends and discuss the old memories which I have spent together during college. Owing to this, I want to make this day memorable which I will never forget in my whole life.

Therefore, my husband and all my family members help me to organise this special party at home. Even I also want suggestions and ideas from my you regarding with how to decorate the home.

Thank you

west wishes,

Jaspreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the main purpose by proposing a surprise party at home, explaining that it would let former classmates meet and share college memories, and asking Simran for decorating ideas. These are relevant points, but the task is only partially covered: the event is described briefly, and the reason for celebrating this particular ten-year anniversary is not made clear. The help requested is also narrow; you mention suggestions for decorating, but could specify practical support such as contacting classmates, choosing a date, or arranging food. The reference to family members is less central than the requested reunion with college friends. Develop each bullet point more fully and make the anniversary context explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: it opens with a greeting, introduces the proposed event, gives a reason, and then asks for help. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and connectors such as “The reason behind” and “Therefore” signal relationships between ideas. However, some links feel mechanical or do not express the relationship precisely; “Therefore” does not clearly follow from the preceding explanation. References such as “this event” and “this special party” are understandable, though the repeated use of “I want” makes the progression less smooth. Use a wider range of natural transitions and connect the request directly to the planning details to make the letter flow more clearly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the basic plan and purpose, including “surprise party,” “anniversary,” “memorable,” and “old memories.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which can make parts of the message less clear. For example, “celebrate the ceremony of anniversary” is not a natural expression, and “discuss the old memories” would be better expressed as sharing or reminiscing about memories. “My all friends” and “regarding with” also show difficulty selecting natural phrases. Aim for precise, conventional expressions for invitations, reunions, and planning, rather than repeating general words such as “special” and “event.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the purpose clause “not only to celebrate … but also to meet” and a relative clause beginning “which I will never forget.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in these longer structures and in basic sentence patterns. For instance, “the old memories which I have spent together” does not form a correct relative clause, and “I also want suggestions and ideas from my you” has an incorrect pronoun construction. There are also issues with articles and prepositions, as in “the ceremony of anniversary” and “regarding with.” Check sentence structure and punctuation carefully, and practise building accurate complex sentences before adding more clauses.

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