Letter

Band 6+: You were supposed to attend a friend's birthday party last weekend, but you didn't show up without any notice. Write a letter to your friend apologizing for your absence. You should include details about: - why you couldn't attend the party - why you didn't inform them beforehand - how you plan to make it up to them.

See all user-written answers on this topic

Skyrocket your IELTS band score by 1-2 points in under a month with our premium plan!

Note: Both the topic and the answer were created by one of our users.

Hi Khanh

I’m writing to say how deeply sorry I am for missing the birthday celebration on August 13th. I believed it quite joyfull, and I’d absolutely love to come, but unfortunately I’ve taken another work that day.

Do you remember my nephew Ken ? He’s the son of my sister, this year he’s going to get start at primary school. Well, my sister has been on bussiness trip on the day celebration and the next day my nephew join to school. He’s only get one day to prepare, so I really can’t get out of it.

I really want to get together, though. How about beer next week or the week after ? I know you ‘ve got a lot on your plate at the moment, but I’ll give you a call and we can sort out the details over the phone. Maybe we can check out the new restaurant near the post office I will treat you to very delicious dish of them.

Have a great party! Hope to catch up with you soon!

Lots of love

Toan

Word Count: 180

Check Your Answer On This Topic?

Check My Answer

Generate A Band-9 Sample Answer?

Generate A Sample

Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
A2 - Upper Beginner
Consider using more varied and advanced words.

Grammar Mistakes: N/A

Vocabulary Repetition:
No noticeable repetition! Great job!

Task Response

The letter covers all three required points: it apologizes, explains the reason for missing the celebration and for not informing the friend, and suggests a way to make amends. The tone is appropriate and friendly. However, there are some lapses in clarity and accuracy: the explanation for not telling the friend is implied rather than explicit, and some details (e.g., 'taken another work', 'bussiness trip', 'get start at primary school') are unclear or contain errors. To improve, make the reason for not informing your friend clearer, and proofread for grammatical and spelling accuracy.

Coherence & Cohesion

The letter is generally easy to follow, with a clear structure: apology, explanation, and suggestion for making amends. However, the flow is disrupted by awkward phrasing and unclear references (e.g., 'I believed it quite joyfull' and 'I've taken another work that day'). The paragraphing is adequate but could be improved by more logical grouping of ideas. To enhance coherence, use clearer topic sentences and ensure each paragraph focuses on a single main idea.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary is appropriate for the informal context, with some good attempts at idiomatic language (e.g., 'got a lot on your plate', 'catch up with you'). However, there are several errors in word choice and spelling (e.g., 'joyfull' instead of 'joyful', 'bussiness' instead of 'business', 'join to school' instead of 'start school'). To improve, expand your range of expressions and proofread for spelling and collocation errors. Boost vocabulary complexity to elevate the overall score.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The letter contains a number of grammatical errors that affect clarity, such as incorrect verb forms ('I've taken another work'), missing articles, and awkward sentence structures (e.g., 'He's only get one day to prepare'). There is also inconsistent punctuation and capitalization. To improve, focus on using a wider range of sentence structures accurately, and review basic grammar rules for tense consistency and subject-verb agreement.

Answers On The Same Topic:

See All