Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
Student answer (Band 6.5)
Dear Aman,
I hope you are in great spirits. Thank you for inviting me at your place. I can't express my feelings how happy I was when I saw you after so long.
I don't know where to begin because there are so many thaings I want tothank you for, firstly, you threw a serprise party for me, and the best part was my favourite chocolate cake.Secondly, I am really greatfull for those winter jackets that you bought for me because I wasn't aware of the weather conditions.Last but not the least, a handmade greeting card with a lot of love and warm wishes.
Don't forget, my birthday is around the corner, and I am inviting you to the party. I already book two tickets for our favourite music concert. We will go for shopping and visit to one of the best restaurant of my town for dinner.
Can't wait to see you again.
With love,
Gurpreet
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The letter successfully covers all the required purposes of a thank-you letter to a friend, expressing gratitude for the party, the winter jackets, and the handmade card. Furthermore, the writer thoughtfully includes an invitation for a return visit and outlines plans for the upcoming birthday celebration. The tone is consistently warm, friendly, and appropriate for an informal letter to a friend. The purpose of writing is immediately clear and sustained throughout the communication. Ideas are adequately extended with relevant details, such as mentioning the favourite chocolate cake and the booked concert tickets. Therefore, this fulfills the criteria well, earning a solid band score for task achievement based on clear coverage of all expected communicative functions.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The letter demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas, moving smoothly from the initial expression of thanks to specific gifts, and finally concluding with future plans. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct thoughts and events. Cohesive devices are generally present, such as transitional phrases like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Last but not the least', although some of these are slightly mechanical in style. Referencing is mostly clear, though some run-on sentence structures impact the flow between clauses. Overall, the structural progression is easy to follow, supporting effective communication between friends without impeding the reader's understanding.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an informal setting, effectively conveying feelings and gratitude with phrases like 'in great spirits' and 'warm wishes'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'thaings' instead of things, 'serprise' instead of surprise, and 'greatfull' instead of grateful. Additionally, some collocations could be more natural, such as 'visit to one of the best restaurant' instead of visiting one of the best restaurants. Despite these lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips, the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended message clearly without causing major confusion for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures through clauses and compound sentences. There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation issues present. For instance, run-on sentences occur, such as 'I can't express my feelings how happy I was when I saw you after so long,' which lacks a necessary preposition or conjunction. Other errors include tense or verb form slips, such as 'I already book' instead of 'I have already booked'. Punctuation is occasionally weak in separating independent clauses. Nonetheless, these errors rarely impede overall communication, allowing the friendly message to be understood easily.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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