IELTS Informal Letter: Apology letter to cousin for missing birthday party

The task

Last Weekend, Your Cousin Celebrated Her 50th Birthday, but You Couldn't Attend and Forgot to Cancel.

Write a Letter to Your Cousin. In your letter:

→apologize for Missing the Birthday Celebration
→explain Why You Missed It and Why You Hadn't Let Her Know
→describe how You Will Make It up To Her

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8178 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Sarah,

I am writing with my tail between my legs to offer my sincerest apologies for missing your 50th birthday celebration last Saturday. I feel absolutely terrible about not being there to toast such a significant milestone with you.

To be perfectly honest, I had a complete lapse in memory regarding my work schedule. I was convinced my shift ended on Friday, but a last-minute roster change meant I had to cover for a colleague on Saturday evening. In the ensuing chaos of trying to get my notes organised, I completely neglected to send you a message. It was incredibly thoughtless of me, and I deeply regret leaving you wondering if I was coming.

I want to make it up to you as soon as possible. How about I treat you to a fancy afternoon tea at that riverside cafe you love? I am free next weekend, so please let me know if Saturday or Sunday works better for your schedule. I would love to hear all about the party and catch up properly.

Best wishes,

James

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Write a letter, get a band free →

Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This response reaches Band 8 by fully addressing all three bullet points with a natural, consistent tone and cohesive paragraph structure. A common mistake in Band 6 answers is failing to provide a logical explanation for why the writer did not notify the cousin, resulting in a less persuasive or incomplete apology.

→Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.
→Contractions, phrasal verbs and a warm opening line are expected; a stiff formal tone loses marks here.
→Still cover every bullet in its own paragraph; friendly does not mean unstructured.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

tail between my legs
feeling ashamed or embarrassed about a mistake
significant milestone
an important stage or event in life
lapse in memory
a temporary failure to remember something important
ensuing chaos
the confusion that followed a particular event
thoughtless
not showing consideration for the feelings of others
catch up
to talk to someone about recent life events

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Informal. Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More apology letters

© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy