A Variety of Graphics
Nowadays thanks to word processing software and desktop publishing packages
it has become quite easy to produce tables, graphs, charts and diagrams to
illustrate number-based information. That is why for any professional being able
to describe graphs both orally and in the written form is often seen as a part of
your competence at work.
1. Pie chart =circle graph (круговая диаграмма)
A pie chart is a circle divided into sections to show the relative proportions of a
set of things.
A pie chart has good visual impact but does not show movement:
sector
Pie chart:
They are circular shaped graphs with the entire circle representing the whole.
The circle is then split into parts, or sectors.
Each sector represents a part of the whole.
Each sector is proportional in size to the amount each sector represents,
therefore it is easy to make generalizations and comparisons.
Sample task 1
The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land becomes less
productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world
during the 1990s.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model answer 1
The pie chart shows that there are four main causes of farmland becoming
degraded in the world today. Globally, 65% of degradation is caused by too much
animal grazing and tree clearance, constituting 35% and 30% respectively. A
further 28% of global degradation is due to over-cultivation of crops. Other
causes account for only 7% collectively.
These causes affected different regions differently in the 1990s, with Europe
having as much as 9.8% of degradation due to deforestation, while the impact of
this on Oceania and North America was minimal, with only 1.7% and 0.2% of land
affected respectively. Europe, with the highest overall percentage of land
degraded (23%), also suffered from over-cultivation (7.7%) and over-grazing
(5.5%). In contrast, Oceania had 13% of degraded farmland and this was mainly
due to over-grazing (11.3%). North America had a lower proportion of degraded
land at only 5%, and the main causes of this were over-cultivation (3.3%) and, to
a lesser extent, over-grazing (1.5%).
Overall, it is clear that Europe suffered more from farmland degradation than the
other regions and the main causes there were deforestation and over-cultivation.
Sample task 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university
lecturer describing the information in the two graphs below. You should write at
least 150 words.
Model answer 2
The pie charts compare the highest level of education achieved by women in
Someland across two years, 1945 and 1995. It can be clearly seen that women
received a much higher level of education in Someland in 1995 than they did in
1945.
In 1945 only 30% of women completed their secondary education and 1% went on
to a first degree. No women had completed post-graduate studies. This situation
had changed radically by 1995. In 1995, 90% of women in Someland had
completed secondary education and of those, half had graduated from an initial
degree and 20% had gone on to postgraduate studies. At the other end of the scale
we can see that by 1995 all girls were completing lower secondary, although 10%
ended their schooling at this point. This is in stark contrast with 1945 when only
30% of girls completed primary school, 35% had no schooling at all and 35% only
completed the third grade.
In conclusion, we can see that in the 50 years from 1945 to 1995 there have been
huge positive developments to the education levels of women in Someland.
Report structure.
The report should be structured simply with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Tenses should be used appropriately.
1. Introduction.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph or graphs and your
report. These opening sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one
should define what the graph is about, that is the date, location, what is being
described in the graphs etc. :
e.g. The pie chart illustrates/shows
e.g. The pie charts compare…
!!! Notice that the sample opening sentence does not simply copy the words used
on the graphic material.
Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend.
e.g. Globally, 65% of degradation is caused by…
e.g: It can be clearly seen that…
2. Body. Describing the chart in detail.
The body of the report will describe the chart or charts in detail. You will need to
decide on the most clear and logical order to present the material. In this case it
might be best to work through the charts one by one.
a) Describing one part of the chart.
- Starting with the adjective:
e.g. The highest/The greatest/The lowest/A significant/The smallest/ The largest
percentage of/proportion of/number of…
- Starting with the subject:
Red is the most popular car colour
Professional is the second/third most prevalent employment category
Spain is the least common holiday destination
b) Describing two parts of the chart.
- Starting with the adjective:
As many red cars are sold
Twice as many women are employed in X
as …
Three times as many holiday makers come from X
Not as many
More than
Far more
Much more
Many more
A lot more
Substantially more
Considerably more
Significantly more
Slightly more
Fractionally more
- Starting with the subject:
as
quite as
common
just as
popular as …
nearly as
prevalent
almost as
not as
more
much more
Blue cars are
far more
Women are
substantially more
Spain is
considerably more
women
slightly more
cars sold than
fractionally more
holiday makers
less
much less
far less
considerably less
fractionally less
3. Conclusion
Your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report
or draw a relevant conclusion.
2. Bar chart (столбцовая диаграмма)
A bar chart is a graph which uses parallel rectangular shapes to represent changes
in the size, value, or rate of something or to compare the amount of something
relating to a number of different countries or groups, [mainly UK; US bar graph].
Bar charts can be presented vertically or horizontally.
They are particularly good for making comparisons:
Price of Corn versus Quantity Demanded
Graph Title--The graph title gives an overview of the information being
presented in the graph. The title is given at the top of the graph.
Axes and their labels--Each graph has two axes. The axes labels tell us
what information is presented on each axis. One axis represents data groups,
the other represents the amounts or frequency of data groups.
Grouped Data Axis--The grouped data axis is always at the base of the
bars. This axis displays the type of data being graphed.
Frequency Data Axis--The frequency axis has a scale that is a measure of
the frequency or amounts of the different data groups.
Axes Scale-- Scale is the range of values being presented along the
frequency axis.
Bars--The bars are rectangular blocks that can have their base at either
vertical axis or horizontal axis. Each bar represents the data for one of the
data groups.
Sample task
The bar chart shows the divorce rates in two European countries from 2011 to
2015. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features,
and make comparisons where relevant.
Model answer
The bar chart provides information about the percentages of divorces in Finland
and Sweden between 2011 and 2015. Overall, Sweden experienced a downward
trend, while Finland showed an upward trend throughout the period. Both
countries’ divorce rates had some fluctuations. Although Finland initially had a
lower rate, it outraced Sweden at the end of the period.
Sweden’s divorce rate was about 45% in 2011, being higher than Finland’s rate
by approximately 8%. Then, it rose to almost fifty percent in 2012. However, the
figure showed a gradual decrease to about 47% in 2013, and continued to decline
steadily to the end of the period, reaching around 45% in 2014 and hitting a low-
point of about 37% in 2015.
Percentage of divorces in Finland was less than 40% in 2011, and it decreased in
2012, when about one third of marriages in Finland ended with a divorce (as
opposed to almost a half in Sweden). However, the figure experienced a steady
growth during the next three years. It rose to approximately 30% in 2013, then
increased by around 5% in 2014, and reached around 42% in 2015, outracing the
rate of Sweden.
Report structure
1. Introduction
You should start your answer by writing an introduction. The introduction is 1
or 2 sentences, where you paraphrase the information from your question. You
should mention two things in your introduction:
what your graph shows
for what period of time
In our example, the introduction can look like this:
The bar chart provides information about the percentages of divorces in
Finland and Sweden between 2011 and 2015.
See how we use synonyms to paraphrase the question:
shows → provides information about
divorce rates → percentages of divorces
two European countries → Finland and Sweden (it’s good to be more
specific)
from 2011 to 2015 → between 2011 and 2015.
The second paragraph of your answer is a general overview, where you briefly
describe major trends on your graph. Ideally, you should describe 2-4 key features.
To make major trends easier to notice, you can outline Sweden’s bars and
Finland’s bars like this:
Now it’s obvious that:
Sweden experienced a downward trend
Finland experienced an upward trend
both countries showed fluctuations
Initially Finland had a lower rate, but in 2015 Finland outraced Sweden
Use word overall to start your general overview. In our case, the overview may
look as follows:
Overall, Sweden experienced a downward trend, while Finland showed an
upward trend throughout the period. Both countries’ divorce rates had some
fluctuations. Although Finland initially had a lower rate, it outraced Sweden at
the end of the period.
2. Body. Describing the chart in detail
You should describe the specific features in 2 or 3 (sometimes more) paragraphs.
You can group data in such way:
Details about Sweden
Details about Finland
When you have two countries (or two cities or any other two things depicted on the
graph), the simplest way of grouping data - is to describe each country’s trend in a
separate paragraph.
When giving specific features, you have to write exact
numbers/percentages and include as much details as you can.
In our case, the specific details may look as follows:
Sweden’s divorce rate was about 45% in 2011, being higher than Finland’s rate
by approximately 8%. Then, it rose to almost fifty percent in 2012. However, the
figure showed a gradual decrease to about 47% in 2013, and continued to
decline steadily to the end of the period, reaching around 45% in 2014 and
hitting a low-point of about 37% in 2015.
Percentage of divorces in Finland was less than 40% in 2011, and it decreased
in 2012, when about one third of marriages in Finland ended with a divorce (as
opposed to almost a half in Sweden). However, the figure experienced a steady
growth during the next three years. It rose to approximately 30% in 2013, then
increased by around 5% in 2014, and reached around 42% in 2015, outracing
the rate of Sweden.
Tips:
When analyzing a bar-chart, we cannot always give exact details (due to
inaccuracies of the chart), so use
words around, about and approximately when giving inexact data.
Give data for each year shown on the chart
3. Conclusion
Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your
report or draw a relevant conclusion.
3. Table (chart) (таблица)
A table is a written set of facts and figures arranged in columns and rows.
Tables (charts) give very precise information, but their visual impact is very
poor and they should be avoided during presentations as they may be difficult to
read:
Sample task
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the table
below. You should write at least 150 words.
Hours of leisure time per year in Someland
Teens 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s+
Watching TV/videos 1,200 700 400 500 600 700 1,100
Socialising with 4 or less people 150 150 300 250 250 200 200
Socialising with 4 or more people 350 350 50 50 25 25 25
Individual exercise 150 100 200 200 50 75 150
Group exercise/sport 450 350 200 150 50 0 0
Cinema 100 75 50 25 25 50 75
Model answer
The table shows how people in different age groups spend their leisure time in
Someland over the course of a year. It can be clearly seen that the amount of
leisure time available varies considerably across the age groups and that people
of different age levels have very different ways of spending their leisure time.
According to the figures, as people age in Someland their social lives reduce.
Teenagers and people in their twenties spend on average 500 hours per year on
socialising and 350 hours of that time is with a group of more than 4 people.
Although the total hours of socialising in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s is fairly
constant (between 300-350), socialising with more than 4 people drops
dramatically to 50 hours in the 30s and 40s age groups and only 25 from 50 years
old. Group and individual exercise follow a similar pattern.
People of all ages spend a good part of their leisure time on entertainment such as
TV/video viewing and cinema. In both cases, teenagers and retired people spend
around twice as much time as those who are at working age. Home entertainment
ranges from just over a thousand hours for teenagers and retired people and an
average of 600 hours for everyone else. Cinema accounts for 100 hours of the
teenagers and retired people’s leisure time and 25-50 hours for the rest.
In conclusion we can see there is a significant trend towards solitary and smaller
group activities as people grow older and that teenagers and retired people spend
a lot more time on entertainment than those of working age do.
Report structure
1. Introduction.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the table and your report. These
opening sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define
what the table is about; that is, the date, location, what is being described in the
graphs etc.
E.g: The table shows how people in different age groups spend their leisure time
in Someland over the course of a year.
Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend.
E.g.: It can be clearly seen that the amount of leisure time available varies
considerably across the age groups and that people of different age levels have
very different ways of spending their free time
2. Body. Describing the table in detail.
The body will describe the information presented in the table in detail. You will
need to decide on the most clear and logical order to present the material.
Generally you will choose one of the categories given in the table; that is, the age
or activity in the example task above. Your choice would depend on whether you
could see the most significant trends occurring by age group or by activity. In this
case distinguishing the age group is your primary concern in describing this table,
and you would do this by highlighting some differences between the activity
preferences of the age groups.
3. Conclusion
Ideally your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your
report or draw a relevant conclusion.
4. Line graph (линейный график)
A line graph is a diagram that shows the relationship between two sets of
changing numbers or measurements. The line graph shows the degree and direction
of change over time.
Sample task 1
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the graph
below. Write at least 150 words.
Model answer 1
The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Someland between the years
1960 and 1995. As an overall trend, it is clear that the number of cases of the
disease increased fairly rapidly until the mid seventies, remained constant for
around a decade at 500 cases before dropping to zero in the late 80s.
In 1960, the number of cases stood at approximately 100. That number rose
steadily to 200 by 1969 and then more sharply to 500 in 1977. At this point the
number of cases remained stable until 1984 before plummeting to zero by 1988.
From 1988 to 1995 Someland was free of the disease.
In conclusion, the graph shows that the disease was increasingly prevalent until
the 1980s when it was eradicated from Someland.
Report structure.
1. Introduction.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce your report. These opening
sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define what the
graph is about; that is, the date, location, what is being described in the graph etc.
E.g: The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Someland between the
years 1960 and 1995 …
Notice the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the
graph shows the information in the present time. Notice that the sample opening
sentence does not simply copy the words used on the graphic material. Copied
sentences will not be assessed by the examiner and so you waste your time
including them.
Describing the overall trend.
Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend.
e.g.: It can be clearly seen that X disease increased rapidly to 500 cases around
the 1980s and then dropped to zero before 1999, while Y disease fell consistently
from a high point of nearly 600 cases in 1960 to less than 100 cases in 1995.
Notice the tense used. Here we are talking about the occurrence of the disease in
the past.
2. Body. Describing the graph in detail
The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to
decide on the most clear and logical order to present the material. Line graphs
generally present information in chronological order and so the most logical order
for you to write up the information would, most probably be from earliest to latest.
Bar graphs, pie charts are organised in different ways and so you need to decide on
the organisation of each one.
3. Conclusion.
Your report may end with one or two sentences which summarise your report to
draw a relevant conclusion.
Grammar and vocabulary
Avoiding repetition. You will receive a higher mark if your writing uses a range of
structures and vocabulary correctly rather than a limited number. You should
therefore practise writing reports using a wide variety of terms to describe the
different movements in the graphs and different structures to vary your writing.
Describing trends
Trends are changes or movements. These changes are normally expressed in
numeric items, for example, population, production volumes or unemployment.
There are three basic trends:
Expressing movement: nouns and verbs. For each trend there are a number of
verbs and nouns to express the movement. We can use a verb of change,
E.g. Unemployment levels fell
Or we can use a related noun,
E.g: There was a fall in unemployment levels
Direction Verbs Nouns
Rose (to) A rise
Increased (to) An increase
Went up (to) Growth
Climbed (to) Boomed An upward trend
A boom (a dramatic rise)
Fell (to) A decrease
Declined (to) A decline
Decreased (to) A fall
Dipped (to) A drop
Dropped (to) A slump (a dramatic fall)
Went down (to) A reduction
Slumped (to)
Reduced (to)
Levelled out (at) A levelling out No change
Did not change
Remained stable (at) Remained
steady (at)
Stayed constant (at) Maintained
the same level
Fluctuated (around) A fluctuation
Peaked (at) Reached a peak (of)
Plateaued (at) Reached at plateau (at)
Stood at (we use this phrase to
focus on a particular point,
before we mention the
movement,
for example: In the first year,
unemployment stood at … )
Describing the movement: adjectives and adverbs. Sometimes we need to give
more information about a trend as follows:
There has been a slight increase in the value of the dollar (degree of change)
Unemployment fell rapidly last year (the speed of change)
Remember that we modify a noun with an adjective (a slight increase) and a verb
with an adverb (to increase slightly).
Describing the degree of change
Adjectives Adverbs
dramatic dramatically
sharp sharply
huge
enormous enormously
steep steeply
substantial substantially
considerable considerably
significant significantly
marked markedly
moderate moderately
slight slightly
small
minimal minimally
Describing the speed of change
Adjectives Adverbs
rapid rapidly
quick quickly
swift swiftly
sudden suddenly
steady steadily
gradual gradually
slow slowly
Sample task 2
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the graph
below. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features,
and make comparisons where relevant.
Model answer 2
The graph compares the rate of smoking in men and women in Someland between
the years 1960 and 2000. It can be clearly seen that the rate of smoking for both
men and women is currently declining and that fewer women have smoked
throughout the period.
In 1960, 600 men in every 1,000 was smoking. This number decreased gradually
to 500 by 1974 and continued to decrease but more steeply to 250 in 2000. In
contrast, the rate of smoking in women in 1960 was very low at only 80 in every
1,000. By 1968 this increased to 170, and increased again but more steeply to 320
in 1977. The rate of female smokers then remained stable at 320 until 1984 at
which point the figures began to decline and had dropped to 200 by 2000.
In conclusion we can see that the rate of smoking in men dropped throughout the
whole period but was always at a higher level than the female figures. The rate of
smoking in women increased until 1977 but then decreased for the rest of the
period.
Report structure
1. Introduction.
Use two standard opening sentences to introduce the graph and your report. These
opening sentences should make up the first paragraph. Sentence one should define
what the graph is about, that is the date, location, what is being described in the
graph etc.
e.g.: The graph compares the rate of smoking between men and women in
Someland between the years 1960 and 2000.
Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend.
e.g. It can be clearly seen that the rate of smoking for both men and women is
currently declining and that fewer women had smoked throughout the period.
!!!!!!!!Notice that the Present perfect tense is used. Here we are talking about the
rate of smoking in the past and up to the present
2. Body. Describing the table in detail.
The body of the report will describe the graph or graphs in detail. You will need to
decide on the most clear and logical order to present the material. Line graphs
generally present information in chronological order and so the most logical order
for you to write up the information would also, most probably, be from earliest to
latest. Bar graphs, pie charts, etc are organised in different ways and so you need to
decide on the organisation of each one.
3. Conclusion
Your report should end with one or two sentences which summarise your report or
draw a relevant conclusion.
e.g. In conclusion we can see that the rate of smoking in men dropped
5. Diagram (схема, чертеж)
A diagram is a simple drawing which consists mainly of lines and is used, for
example, to explain how a machine works.
Diagrams are illustrations designed to show how a machine or system functions.
Sample task
Sample task
The diagram below shows the production of electricity using a system called
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Write a report for a university
lecturer describing the information below. Write at least 150 words.
How Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) works
Source: Daily Telegraph - 8th Jan 2008
Model answer
The diagram depicts the production of electricity using a system called Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)
is a system that converts heat energy into the electric power using the temperature
difference between surface seawater, which can be up to 29 degrees Celsius, and
deep seawater, which is only 5 degrees Celsius.
The main components of the system are an evacuated evaporation chamber, a
turbine and a condensing chamber. The solar energy of the sun heats up the
surface water and this warm water is introduced into the evacuated evaporation
chamber, where it boils. As it boils, salt is deposited and water vapour is
generated. This vapour then drives a turbine to generate electricity. After it
powers the turbine, the water vapour enters the condensing chamber, which is
cooled by the water from the depths of the ocean. The water vapour is condensed
in this chamber, producing drinking water. Meanwhile, waste salt water is
discharged into the ocean and the process can be repeated.
Report structure
1. Introduction
Use one standard opening sentence to introduce the report. This opening sentence
will make up the first paragraph. You should state simply what the process is.
e.g. The flow chart/diagram shows the marking procedures for national exam
papers in Someland.
2. Body.
The body of the report will describe the process in a logical order.
3. Conclusion
A conclusion will generally not be necessary in this kind of report.
Useful phrases
a small fraction, a small number, a small minority
a large portion, a significant majority
nearly a fifth, almost 10%, in region of 40%, more than a half, over a quarter,
around two thirds, more or less three quarters, exactly one in ten, approximately a
third
Useful time expressions:
over the next... / for the following... (for the following two months... over the next
six months...)
from ... to / between ... and (from June to August... between June and August...)
during (during the first three months...)
Warning!
Per cent is the word form of the symbol %. We can write 10% or 10 per
cent. Percentage is the noun form: The percentage of children using supplements.