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
Sample Response
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Cooper,
I hope you are both doing well. I was delighted to receive your invitation to Chris’s surprise birthday party. I can already imagine how thrilled Chris will be! He has always loved surprises, and with all his close friends and family around, I am sure this celebration will be truly special for him.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the party as I have to be at the airport to meetreceive one of my aunts that eveningin the evening on that day. I simply cannot change these plansreschedule it even though I would very much like to attendwould very much want to! I am really disappointed to miss such a wonderful occasion, but I know Chris will have an amazing time with everyone there.
InsteadHowever, I would love to make it up to him! I was thinking of taking Chris out for a special lunch the following weekend at his favourite restaurant. That way, I can celebrate his birthday with him more personallyin a more personal way and also hear all about the surprise party!
Thank you again for the kind invitation. I hope the party turns out to be a memorable eventfantastic and memorable event. Please do pass on my best wishes to Chris after the party!to Chris!
Warm regards,
Lucas
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response’s strongest feature is complete, well-balanced task fulfilment: it explains why Chris will enjoy the party, gives a credible reason for declining, and proposes a specific alternative celebration in an appropriately warm tone. Its limitations are minor rather than score-limiting, mainly a slightly awkward phrase about meeting an aunt and frequent exclamation marks. The best refinement is to retain the structure while making those few expressions more natural and restrained.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The letter fully develops all three bullet points, responds warmly to the invitation, and offers a clear alternative plan for lunch the following weekend.
As a refinement, specify the proposed day or ask the parents to help keep the later lunch discreet until after the surprise party.
Coherence and Cohesion
Each paragraph has a clear purpose and the progression from appreciation to explanation, alternative plan and closing is smooth and easy to follow.
Reduce the number of exclamation marks slightly so the otherwise effective progression feels more controlled.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, precise and appropriate to a warm semi-formal reply, with natural expressions such as “delighted,” “make it up to him” and “memorable event.”
Replace the slightly unnatural “receive one of my aunts” with “pick up my aunt” for maximum idiomatic precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of structures is accurately controlled, with effective subordination, referencing and punctuation and only rare minor awkwardness.
Maintain this control while clarifying the reference in “I simply cannot reschedule it” by naming the airport commitment directly.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
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
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.