Use the information and language from this lesson to answer this Writing Part 1 task.

You should
Instruction spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words. The chart and graph below give
information about participants who have entered the Olympics since it began. Summarize the
information by selecting and reporting on the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.

I- Choose relevant information

• Group important information together. Which of them would you

include?
1. The most successful athlete is Michael Phelps from the USA, who has won the most
medals for swimming.
2. The chart also shows that three of the top five athletes were gymnasts from the USSR.
3. Michael Phelps won 22 medals, Larysa Latynina 18, Nikolai Andrianov 15, Ole Einar
Bjoern Dalen 13 and Borys Shakhlin 13.
4. The sports which the athletes achieved medals in were swimming, gymnastics and the
biathlon.
5. In summary, both charts illustrate that the two most successful countries in the Olympics
were the USA and the USSR.

II- Structure the report

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Tips:
The sample answer describes a graph and a chart as you may be asked to do in the Writing test. Although this may look difficult, the
structure is similar to describing just one graph.
1. Label and order the paragraphs of the sample answer describing the two charts.
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1-Introduction. 2- Body 1 3- Body 2. 4- Overview

A……
Looking at the bar chart it is easily apparent that China has been significantly more successful than any other country in badminton.
They have achieved far more gold medals than other countries but have gained only slightly more silver and bronze medals.
B…….
To summarize therefore, both charts illustrate the countries (or former countries) with the greatest number of medals. The bar chart
indicates that China is the most successful country in badminton and the pie chart shows that the USA is the most successful in
rowing.
C……….
The bar chart illustrates the country medal leaders in badminton and also the number of gold, silver and bronze medals won by each
country. The pie chart, however, shows which countries are the most successful in rowing.
D……………
The pie chart, on the other hand, shows that the USA won the most medals in rowing. They were a little more successful than Great
Britain, however. The other three countries represented won roughly the same number of medals each.

III- Comparing data

Comparative forms are often needed when comparing data, either in one graph or two, so it is important to become familiar with their
structure.
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In this sentence from the sample answer the word significantly is used to modify the comparative. In other words, to say how big or
small the comparison is. Here, the word significantly is called a 'modifier'.
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• Match 1-6 to a-f to form correct sentences

• Which one could NOT stand at the beginning of the sentence?

• Write 2 comparative sentences:
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IV- Comparative report

no time + 1 year (2002) = no trends/ no changes over time

1. Superlative:
+ Of the five countries, A is by far / practically the largest producer of oil à large +EST = largest
+ Of the five countries, A is by far / practically the most effective producer of oil à the most + effective
+ E is by far / practically the least effective producer of oil à the least + effective
2. Comparative:
+ Oil production in A is about twice / about 6 million barrerls larger than (that) in B
à Oil production in B is about twice / about 6 million barrerls lower than in A
à A produces about twice more oil than B
+ Oil production in A is significantly / substantially / dramatically / far / much more effective than (that) in C
à Oil production in C is significantly / substantially / dramatically / far / much less effective than in A
à A produces substantially more oil than C
+ Oil production in D is slightly / marginally larger than (that) in C
à Oil production in C is slightly / marginally lower than in D
+ Oil production in C is 0.8 million barrels as high as in B
+ Oil production in A is about twice as effective as in B
3. Equality:
+ Oil production in C is as effective as / the same as in D
+ Oil production in C is almost / quite / nearly as effective as in D

• Practice
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• The chart below shows numbers of incidents and injuries per

100 million passenger miles travelled (PMT) by transportation type
in 2002. à compare + contrast

4. INTRODUCTION
Topic words:
chart =graph
shows = illustrates / demonstrates / gives a breakdown of
number of incidents and injuries = the number of accidents and
injured people = the quantity of incidents and injuries
per 100 million passenger miles = per 100 PMT
transportation type = types of vehicles = types of transportation

à Given is the bar chart illustrating / demonstrating / giving a

breakdown of (the changes in)...................

5. Overall information (don’t include data):

+ For all the types of transportation: the number of incidents > the
number of injuries
à Overall, what stands out from the chart is that / it is clear that S + V

6. BODY 1 (grouping significant information into groups where you can make comparisons and contrasts):
+ Demand response vehicles: to have/to witness by far / practically the largest number of incidents and injuries, at........
and at....... respectively / in turn
+ By contrast, / In contrast / In stark contrast, commuter rail trains: to record by far / practically the lowest figures
(.......... and.......... respectively)
à S + V (demand response vehicles). By contrast, / In contrast, / In stark contrast, S + V (commuter rail trains)

7. BODY 2 (grouping significant information into groups where you can make comparisons and contrasts):
+ Light rail: the same number of incidents as the bus, at ............ # the bus: to record significantly / substantially /
dramatically more injuries than light rail trains (66 as opposed to 39)
+ Heavy rail trains: much lower figures in comparison with light rail trains and the bus, with its incidents at ...... and
its injuries at.............
à S + V (light rail trains), while/whereas S + V (the bus). In terms of heavy rail trains, S + V
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No summary!
• The bar chart shows how much consumers spent on six
items in four countries Germany, Italy, France, and Britain.
→ No time: the simple present or the simple past

8. Topic word:
+ how much consumers spent = consumer spending

9. Overall information
+ British people: spent the most money on all the items
(main) + photographic film: the largest item of expenditure
(secondary
à Overall, what stands out from the chart is that / it is
clear that S + V (main); besides/in addition, S + V
(secondary)

10. BODY 1: Britain + Germany

+ People in Britain: spent the largest amount of money on
photographic film, just over $170,000. For all the other
items: spent significantly more money than other countries
+ Germans: the lowest overall spenders, with the figures across all the times being similar ($145,000)
à S + V (Britain). By contrast, / In contrast, / In stark contrast, S + V (Germans)

11. BODY 2:
+ The figures for spending on toys: the same in France as in Italy, at $159,0000.
+ French people: spent more on photographic film + CD # Italian people: paid for more personal stereos, tennis
racquets and perfumes
à S + V (France+Italy). However, S + V (France), while/whereas S + V (Italian people) [à However, although S +
V (France), S + V (Italian people)]

V- Homework
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting
on the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
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Reflection

1. Which countries (or former countries) were successful in both the winter and summer Olympics?
2. Which country (or former country) won the most gold medals in the winter Olympics?
3. Which country (or former country) won the fewest medals in the summer Olympics?
4. Did you introduce both graphs in the introduction?
5. Did you discuss the details (main body) of both graphs in the same paragraph or separate paragraphs?
6. Did the summary include both the graphs or just one?
7. Dis you think sentences should be simple and easy to understand, not long and complicated?

The bar chart shows which countries have won the most medals in the winter Olympics. It also states how many gold, silver and bronze
medals each country has achieved. In contrast, the line graph shows which nations have won the most medals in the summer Olympics.

Overall, the bar chart shows that in the winter Olympics, Norway has gained the most medals, winning an equal number of gold, silver
and bronze medals.

………………………………………………………………………………

To summarize, the bar chart and the graph illustrate how many medals the highest-ranking countries have won in the summer and winter
Olympics. The results of each Olympics are very different, with the USA, the USSR and Germany being successful in both.