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 given line graph illustrates the changes in pHvarious acid levels in the mouth caused by consumingrelated to three different sweet foods namelysuch as fruit sugar, cane sugar and honey. The first point to note is that acid levels due to these different sweets are at a level at tooth decay is unlikely to occur both at the time of eating and after 15 minutes of eating. Immediately after all three foods are eatenAt the moment of eating of three sweets, acid levels are very low and equal at pH 7equal at 7 pH. Then after 5 minutes, the pH values droppedit dropped to a pH of 3.5, about 4.2, and about 4.83.5, 4.5, and 5 for cane sugar, fruit sugar and honey, respectivelyby cane and fruit sugar and honey respectively. Acid levels in the mouth gradually decrease and reached to the minimum value within half an hour of cane sugar eating. Acid variations in mouth after eating fruit and cane sugar are almost equal for the next 5 minutes and are followed byand followed by a difference of one pH unit1 pH value for the next 20 minutes. However, after 30minutes of eating sugar and cane sugar, pH value raised and reached to 7 and the acid level hit the lowest level. To sum up, it is clear from the graph that, these sweet foods producethe given sweets produces high levels of acidacids in the mouth soon after eating, but the pH reachesbut reaches to a safe level at which tooth decay is unlikelya safe level which tooth decay is not likely to occur at different times: about 15 minutes for honey, 20 for fruit sugar, and 35 for cane sugarwithin 10-15 minutes.
Why this response received Band 5.0
The response identifies the three foods and includes several approximate pH readings, giving the report a recognizable factual basis. However, it repeatedly confuses low pH with low acidity and inaccurately states when the mouth returns to a safe level, so the central dental-health implications are unreliable. The highest priority is to distinguish acidity from pH and compare how long each food keeps the pH below the decay threshold.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
Some values are selected, but the report reverses the relationship between pH and acidity and gives inaccurate recovery times and safety conclusions.
State that lower pH means greater acidity and accurately compare the periods below pH 5.5 for honey, fruit sugar, and cane sugar.
Coherence and Cohesion
The account follows the time axis loosely, but it is presented as one dense paragraph and contradictory descriptions weaken progression.
Use an introduction, a clear overview, and grouped detail paragraphs that move consistently from the initial fall to recovery.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient vocabulary for the topic, but repeated imprecise collocations such as acid levels are very low at pH 7 obscure the data.
Differentiate precisely between pH falling, acidity rising, and the mouth returning to a safe pH level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally recoverable, but frequent errors in agreement, articles, prepositions, and clause construction reduce accuracy.
Check subject-verb agreement and practise complete relative-clause patterns, especially when describing the level at which decay occurs.
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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.