IELTS Essay Bank · GT Task 1 letters · Apology letter
Apology Letter to a Friend: Band 8 Sample Letter
204 words · Topic: Family ·
The question
A close friend recently held a special celebration, but you were unable to attend at the last minute. Write a letter to your friend.
In your letter:
- apologise for not being able to come to the event
- explain what happened that prevented you from attending
- suggest a way you could make it up to your friend
Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sam,
Band 8 sample letter
Highlighted = useful vocabularyDear Sam,
I'm so sorry I didn't make it to your engagement party on Saturday. I'd been looking forward to it since weeks, and I feel awful that I let you down on such a big night for you and Maya.
You deserve a proper explanation, so here it is. At about five o'clock, just as I was getting ready to leave, my mum rang to say that Dad had collapsed in the garden. I rushed straight over and drove him to hospital, and we ended up spending the whole evening in A&E waiting for test results. Thankfully, it turned out to be a bad reaction to some new medication and he's absolutely fine now, but by the time we got home it was nearly midnight. I should have messaged you, but honestly, my phone was the last thing on my mind.
I'd love to make it up to you both. How about I take you out for dinner at that little Italian place by the harbour you're always raving about? My treat, of course – and you can show me every single photo from the party. Just let me know which weekend works for you.
Congratulations again to you both!
Lots of love,
Hannah
Word count: 204
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The same question is ready on its practice page, with a Band 8–9 model answer to compare.
Why this is Band 8: criterion by criterion
Task Achievement
Band 8All three bullet points are sufficiently covered and extended. The apology is sincere and specific ("on such a big night for you and Maya"), the explanation is vivid and credible, and it even acknowledges a second failure — not sending a message — which a close friend would notice. The suggestion is concrete (a named kind of restaurant, "My treat", a weekend of Sam's choosing) and personal. The informal tone is consistently appropriate: warm, direct and natural from the first line to "Lots of love". To reach Band 9, the reassurance about the friendship itself could be made slightly more explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 8Information is sequenced logically, and every aspect of cohesion is managed well. The second paragraph opens with a natural bridge ("You deserve a proper explanation, so here it is"), the story is told in clear chronological order ("At about five o'clock", "by the time we got home"), and the final paragraph moves naturally from apology to solution. Cohesion comes through reference and time expressions rather than formal linkers, which is exactly right for an informal letter. Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate.
Lexical Resource
Band 8A wide range of vocabulary is used fluently and with a precise sense of register: informal phrasal verbs and idioms ("let you down", "rushed straight over", "the last thing on my mind", "raving about") sit alongside accurate detail such as "a bad reaction to some new medication". Collocations are natural throughout and there are no spelling or word-formation errors. The only thing between this and Band 9 is that a few phrases ("so sorry", "absolutely fine") are common rather than distinctive.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 8A wide range of structures is used flexibly and accurately: past perfect continuous ("I'd been looking forward to it"), a past continuous background clause ("just as I was getting ready to leave"), reported speech, a modal perfect of regret ("I should have messaged you") and an informal suggestion with "How about I…?". The great majority of sentences are error-free. There is one slip with a time preposition — "since weeks" should be for weeks — which is the kind of very occasional error Band 8 permits.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- let you down
- to disappoint someone who was relying on you; the most natural phrasal verb for an apology.
- the last thing on my mind
- an idiom meaning something you did not think about at all; it explains the missing message without sounding like an excuse.
- make it up to you
- to do something kind to repair a disappointment; the key phrase for the third bullet.
- raving about
- informal for praising something very enthusiastically; perfect register for a close friend.
- My treat
- an informal way of saying I will pay; short, warm and idiomatic.
How this letter could reach Band 9
- 1Correct the one preposition slip (for weeks, not "since weeks"); at Band 9 errors occur only as rare, barely noticeable slips.
- 2Add a sentence that speaks directly to the friendship (for example, that missing the party was especially painful because of how long you have known each other), so the apology feels fully developed on every level.
- 3Replace one or two common intensifiers ("so sorry", "absolutely fine") with more individual wording to show complete lexical flexibility.
This is an original sample letter written by IELTS-Bank to illustrate Band 8 against the public IELTS Writing band descriptors. The band scores are our assessment, not an official IELTS result. IELTS-Bank is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. "IELTS" is a registered trademark of its respective owners and is used here for descriptive purposes only.