Letter to Friend's Parents About a Surprise Birthday Party

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,

Annotated response

8 correction notes

Dear Mr and Mrs ,

I am excited to hear that you will be arranging a surprise birthday party for Chris next month. I am honoured to be invited to this party that will However, I will be visiting my hometown at that time and .

Chris will love this party, especially since his close university friends will be there to cheer him up. It will also be a fabulous occasion for him as he is stressed out a bit from a few deadlines in his new office. I am sure you will have many memorable events at his birthday party.

As much as I would like to be present at the party, I just can not miss an appointment to take my father to the doctor on the same day. The specialist doctor, to whom I will take my father, comes from a different state and is available only for three days. That is why I will travel to my hometown two days before birthday and return a day after his birthday party.

a week after his birthday and present him with On that occasion, I hope to spend some time outdoors with him or even arrange a dinner party at my home.

Thank you once again for inviting me.

Yours sincerely,

Alfred Kinsey

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The letter is a strong, well-developed response that covers all three bullet points with relevant detail and a consistently appropriate semi-formal tone. Its main limitations are the incorrect opening salutation, which does not match the prompt's required greeting, and a handful of minor language slips that slightly reduce precision.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

7.0

The letter clearly covers all three bullets with well-developed, relevant detail, including why Chris will enjoy the party, the father's medical appointment, and a concrete alternative plan, though the salutation deviates from the required Dear Mr and Mrs Collins.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas are logically organised in paragraphs that mirror the bullets, with a range of cohesive devices such as however, as much as I would like, and that is why used naturally.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is flexible and mostly precise, including honour, fabulous occasion, stressed out, and specialist doctor, with only occasional awkwardness such as a good reason to enjoy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A good range of structures is used with generally firm control, including relative clauses and concessive constructions, though slips like can not, Chir's, and it will give us a good reason to enjoy appear.

More responses with feedback

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