Eating sweet foods produces acid in the mouth, which can cause tooth decay. (High acid levels are measured by low pH values) Describe the information below and discuss the implications for dental health.
Sample Response
The provided graph illustrates the pH level in the mouthacid level in our mouths before and after the consumption of different sweet foods. It is obvious that a pH level below 5.5pH level less than 5.5 is detrimental to our teeth and the longer the pH remains below 5.5the longer this level prevails the more damagedamages it causes. Initially, the pH level in the mouthacid level of our mouth is 7, but after consuming sugary products the level begins to drop quickly in the first 5 minutes. It slowly gradually returns to its initial leveltries to get to where it was at first, though it varies in different types of sugarsugar deliveries. For instance, after the intake of honey, the pH level in the mouththe pH level of mouth falls below 5.5 within five minutesdescends below 5.5 in 5 minutes and it only takes around 15 minutes to get out of the danger zone, whereas cane sugarwhile the cane sugar lowers the pH level in just 3 minutes and it stays below the risk thresholdin the risk level for approximately 30 minutesalmost for 35 minutes. Finally, fruit sugar causes the pH level to dip below 5.5 in roughly 4 minutes and remains in the hazard zonestays in hazard zone for about 20 minutes. To conclude, no matter what sort of sugary food we consume it does damage our teeth and makes them vulnerable. Although the risk of tooth decayrisk of decaying differs among the three productsdiffers from honey to cane sugar and honey seems to be the safest sweet food for our teeth.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The report identifies the threshold for tooth-decay risk and compares how long all three sweeteners keep mouth pH below it, with honey correctly emerging as the safest. Its main weakness is imprecise timing and terminology, including unsupported three- and four-minute claims and confusion between pH and acid level. Prioritise accurate time points from the graph and describe the sharp fall, minimum level, and recovery for each series consistently.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response gives a relevant overview and covers the risk duration for all three series, but a few timings are unsupported or imprecise.
Use the plotted five-minute intervals and compare each minimum pH and recovery time accurately.
Coherence and Cohesion
The description progresses logically from the shared starting point to individual series and a concluding comparison, despite limited paragraphing.
Separate the overview from the detailed comparisons and group the three recovery patterns in a more visibly parallel structure.
Lexical Resource
A reasonably varied scientific vocabulary is used, but phrases such as sugar deliveries, risk level, and risk of decaying are imprecise.
Distinguish acidity from pH and use precise terms such as consumption, danger threshold, and risk of tooth decay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response attempts varied complex structures, but article, plural, agreement, and sentence-fragment errors recur.
Complete every subordinate clause and check articles, countable nouns, and subject-verb agreement throughout.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
Eating sweet foods produces acid in the mouth, which can cause tooth decay. (High acid levels are measured by low pH values) Describe the information below and discuss the implications for dental health.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.