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LINE CHARTS:
A line graph (also known as line chart) is a graphical presentation of data that
changes over time. It uses line segments to connect data points and shows changes in
data. The X and Y axis are used to denote the changes in the data. Within a line graph,
there are points which are connected to show the changes in value. While the title of
the line graph shows the general overview of the data, the X-axis presents the
occurrences and categories being compared and finally, the Y-axis shows the scale,
which is a set of number that presents. The scale/number in Y-axis is organised in an
equal interval to present the data more visually.
To describe the data presented in line chart we should use trend language.

TREND LANGUAGE:
If we have 2 time points (that could be
days/weeks/months/years/decades), we need to use trend language. We
need to talk about “increase”, “decrease”.
We could talk about 1990 and 2000, or we could talk about January
and June, or we could talk about Monday and Friday.
Here is a list of verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns that you need to use in task
1 writing.
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zz
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Examples:
The overall sale of the company slightly increased by 10% in 2005.
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Note that “plunge” “plummet” and“rocket” do not take adverbs because what they
mean is a big decrease.
We can say “decreased
considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially” or “plunged”,
or “plummeted”.
But, we must not say,
“plummeted considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially”
or “plunged considerably/sharply/dramatically/significantly/substantially”
No need to use those two verbs “plunge” and “plummet” with an adverb.
Decreased sharply equals plummeted. They mean the same thing.
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NOTE: Steadily and

gradually mean the same thing. Slightly is something means different. Steadily
and gradually mean over a period of time. Slightly means how much deals with amount. Steadily
and gradually mean a gradual change like a child growth; he or she grows gradually/ he or she
grows over time.
Levelled off & stabilized
These are flat changes or no changes really, but levelled off and stabilized always
happen after another trend. You can say, for example, “the figure remained the same
before increasing/ the figure remained stable before increasing/ the figure remained
unchanged before increasing/ the figure remained constant before increasing”.
However, we cannot use “stabilized or levelled off” in this case. Stabilized and
levelled off always happen after another trend. For example, sales fluctuated before
they levelled off/ sales fluctuated before they stabilized. Don’t ever use stabilized
and levelled off to start your description.
Fluctuation
You can say fluctuated significantly/ fluctuated wildly (big changes) or
fluctuated slightly (small changes).
The birthday fluctuated significantly/wildly between 2000 and 2005.
Reached a low
“Reach” always happen after a movement. “A high” is always behind a point of the
diagram. We shouldn’t say reached a high, instead we say started at a high/ began
at a high.
We can say reached a low/started at a low/ began at a
low Car sales reached a low of 15.000 in 2000.
Reached a peak
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“A peak” is always up and down. A peak can be a high but it doesn’t have to be. For
example, reached two peaks before reaching a high.
The number of people who were unemployed reached a peak of 2000 people in
2015. The number of tourists reached a peak of 15 million in 1995.
Stood at
You can use “stood at” at anywhere on the graph you want (at the beginning it stood at,
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afterward it stood at, then it stood at”, then it stood at, then it stood at something
else). “Stood at” works for anything on the graph.
The number of sales stood at 4 million in 2010.
The number of people travelling to London stood at 26 million in 2005.
Started at/ began at
You can use “started at/ began at” at the beginning.
In 2000, the figure for Internet users started at approximately 50
million. The amount of meat consumed weekly began at about 150
grams.
Ended at/ finished at
You can use “ended at/ finished at” at the end.
The figure finished at over 50%.
Dipped/decreased slightly
Expenditure on furniture dipped slightly from 9% to 7% between 2002 and
2005. Coffee sales decreased slightly between June and August.
Examples:
Coffee sales began at 50 thousand dollars, then decreased slightly to 48 thousand
dollars. Subsequently, sales plunged and reached a low of 40 thousand dollars
between June and August. Afterwards, coffee sales rocketed to a high of 70
thousand dollars. Sales remained stable before decreasing and stabilizing at…
Started at a high…then it fell slightly/declined slightly/ dropped slightly/ fell
steadily/declined gradually…then it levelled off/ stabilized/ remained
unchanged/ remained stable/ remained the same/ maintained the same figure.
Sales soared/rocketed/rose dramatically/grew sharply/increased substantially.
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Increased slightly/increased gradually.

The number of people using the Internet increased slightly between 1995 and
2005. From 2002 to 2004, CD sales in the UK increased gradually from 3 to 4
million - a
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rise of 30%.
Experienced/witnessed/saw a decrease/a decline/a rise/an increase
Laptop prices experienced a decrease/a decline.
Laptop prices underwent a decrease/a decline.
The price of laptop saw a fall/decrease/a
decline.
The price of laptop witnessed a fall/decrease/a decline.

Some more examples:

The purchase of Honda increased slightly

from…..to…. Honda sales grew slightly from nearly…
to…..
Honda sales decreased substantially, falling from…to…
Sales of Yamaha
rocketed. Sales of
Yamaha soared.
Sales of Yamaha increased substantially.
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FUTURE TENSE (LANGUAGE OF ESTIMATION)

STRUCTURE 1:
The prediction/expectation/projection/forecast/anticipations/likelihood +
shows/reveals/indicates/is that there will be a dramatic increase in the number of
car users.
The anticipation shows/reveals/indicates/is that there will be an increase in the
price of food from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars in 2025.
The forecast shows/reveals/indicates/is that the price of food will
undergo/witness/experience an increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars
in 2025.
STRUCTURE 2:
It is predicted/expected/projected/estimated/ anticipated/forecast/likely that the number
of car users will increase dramatically.
It is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated that the price of food will
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increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars in 2025.

It is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated that the price of food will
undergo/witness/experience an increase from 20 dollars in 2005 to 25 dollars in
2025.
STRUCTURE 3:
The number of car users are
predicted/expected/projected/estimated/ anticipated/forecast to
increase dramatically.
The price of food is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated to decline
from 20 dollars in 2000 to 10 dollars in 2025.
The price of food is predicted/expected/anticipated/forecast/estimated to experience
a decline from 20 dollars in 2000 to 10 dollars in 2025.

FUTURE PERFECT: WILL + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

Let’s talk about future perfect. I will not talk about future continuous, I will only talk
about future perfect because usually my students find it hard to give me a range of
structures as well as another verb form.
What is future perfect?
Future perfect is a verb form that we use to indicate a completed action at some time
in the future.
So if I say “tonight I will eat dinner”. This means some time in the evening, I’ll be
eating. It’s not clear.
But if I say “by 9 o’clock I will have eaten dinner”. That means at night o’clock, I have
finished my dinner. I’m done. The action is completed.
Note: with future perfect, we always need a time.
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Instead of saying “the price of food is expected to decline to 20 dollars in 2020”
We can say “the price of food is expected to have declined to 20 dollars by 2020”
Or “the price of food is expected to have experienced a decline to 20 dollars
by 2020”
Or “it is expected that the price of food will have declined to 20 dollars by 2020”
Try to give a variety of structures, be accurate, use a variety of verbs, use
the future perfect, you will get a higher score.
Understand that we can use a combination of past and future tenses.
In 2010, the figure stood at… (Past tense)…, but it’s expected to
increase slightly to… (Future tense).
 SAMPLES:

The line graph illustrates the amount of three kinds of spreads (margarine, low fat and reduced spreads and butter)
which were consumed over 26 years from 1981 to 2007. Units are measured in grams.
Overall, the consumption of margarine and butter decreased over the period given, while for low fat and reduced
spreads, it rose.
With regards to the amount of butter used, it began at around 140 grams and then peaked at 160 grams in 1986
before falling dramatically to about 50 grams in the last year. Likewise, approximately 90 grams of margarine was
eaten in the first year after which the figure fluctuated slightly and dropped to a low of 40 grams in 2007
On the other hand, the consumption of low fats and reduced spreads only started in 1996 at about 10 grams. This
figure, which reached a high of just over 80 grams 5 years later, fell slightly in the final years to approximately 70
grams in 2007.
The line graph compares the number of cars stolen for every 1000 vehicles
in four countries from 1990 to 1999.
Overall, it can be seen that car thefts were far higher in Great Britain than
in the other three counties throughout the whole time frame.
To begin, car thefts in Sweden, France and Canada followed a fairly similar
pattern over the first five years, all remaining at between 5 and 10 per
thousand. The general trend though for France and Canada was a decline
in the number of vehicles stolen over the period, with both at around 6 in
1999. In contrast, Sweden experienced an upward trend, starting the
period at approximately 8, and finishing at just under 15.
Interestingly, car thefts in Great Britain started at 18 per thousand, which
far exceeded that of the other countries. It then fluctuated over the next
nine years, reaching a peak of 20 thefts per 1000 in 1996, and ending the
period slightly lower than where it began, at approximately 17 per
thousand.
This graph shows the kinds of activities done by old people in their spare time, covering a period
from the 1980s to now in the United States.

Overall, all the activities experienced an upward trend throughout the period while theatres being an
exception. Although hiking was among the least favourite activties in 1980s, it became the most
favourable one at the end of the period.

In the 1980s, surfing the Internet was the least favored activity among old people with just about
5%.Later on, it experienced a gradual increase until 2000s reaching just above 10 percent.
Subsequently, the popularity of this activity surged among the elderly peaking at 50% in 2010s.
Reading was the third favourite activity in 1980s with 30%, and after some fluctuations it reached
20% in 2000s. Similar to the Internet, it also surged in 2000s reaching its highest point 60% in 2010.

Hiking was among the least preferable activities in 1980s with 20 percent. However, it witnessed an
upward trend throughout the period without any fluctuations and reached 80 percent in 2010s,
becoming the most favourite activity among old people. Theatres were the second favourite activity
of old generation in 1980s with 50%. However, it experienced variations throughout the period and
became the least favored activity in 2010s with just above 40 percent. In 1980s, the proportion of TV
watchers was the highest with 60% percent. This activity witnessed a gradual rise until 2000s
reaching its highest point with 70%percent. Subsequently, it fell to just above 60% becoming the
second favourite activity of old people
The line graph illustrates the changing trends in the numbers of students,
in 1000s, who visited Australia for education from four different countries
between 1982 and 2000. Overall it is evident that visitor numbers from all
four countries increased over the time period.
At the start of the period, while Malaysia had around 5,000 students per
year visiting Australia, the other countries had none. However, though
remaining at the highest number up until 1990 and increasing after this,
visitors number from Malaysia finished at the lowest levels of all the
countries, at around 18,000.
The lack of student visitors continued for Hong Kong and Singapore up until
1987. At that point arrivals from Singapore gradually increased over the
years, culminating in nearly 20,000 visitors per year in 2000, while arrivals
from Hong Kong showed a more erratic pattern, fluctuating after 1996 and
finishing at 19,000 per year.
However, the biggest change was seen in numbers coming from Indonesia.
Though this started low, arrivals kept increasing over the years. Numbers
peaked in 1998 at approximately 28,000, before dropping to final arrival
numbers of 23,000, which exceeded all the other countries.

The graph below shows the amount of money spent on books in Germany, France,
Italy and Austria between 1995 and 2005.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

The line graph shows how much was spent in US dollars on books in four
European countries between 1995 and 2005.
Overall, Germany spent the most on reading materials during the entire period.
It is also clear that despite some fluctuations, spending on books increased in
all four places over the 10 years.
German expenditure fluctuated between around $80 million and about $90 million
between 1995 and 2003 before increasing to just under $100 million in 2005.
France was the only country that had a steady rise with around $55 million worth
of books sold in 1995, about $70 million in 2001 and finally reached just under
$80 million in 2005.
Italy’s numbers hovered around $50 million dollars until 1999, when it steadily
rose to just over $60 million in 2005. Austrians spent approximately $30 million
in 1995 and this went up by around $10 million over the next four years and
stayed steady there for two years before climbing dramatically to just above $70
million in 2005.
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The line graph below shows the percentage of tourists to England who visited
four different attractions in Brighton.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

The line graph shows the proportion of visitors to England who visited certain
Brighton tourist spots between 1980 and 2010.
Overall, it can be seen that the percentage of people visiting the pier and pavilion,
despite fluctuations, increased over the 30 year period. The figure for those
deciding to go to the art gallery dropped significantly over the recorded time,
whilst the proportion of festival-goers stayed relatively constant.
During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a sharp increase in visitors to the pavilion
from around 23% to about 48% and then the percentage gradually went down to
approximately 31% in 2010. The trend for the art gallery was similar to the
pavilion. Visitors increased rapidly from about 22% to around 37% from 1980 to
1985 then gradually decreased to just below 10% over the next 25 years.
The number of tourists who visited Brighton’s festival fluctuated slightly, but
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in general remained steady at about 25%. Visitors to the pier also fluctuated
from 1980 to 2000, then rose significantly from around 12% to approximately
22% between 2000 and 2010.

The graph below shows the quantities of goods transported in the UK between
1974 and 2002 by four different modes of transport.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph illustrates how products were transported in the UK over a 28 year
period.
Overall, the primary means of transportation throughout the period was that of
road. All four categories showed a steady increase over the whole period, apart
from rail, which saw its numbers fluctuate.
Approximately 70 million tonnes of goods were hauled on the roads in 1974 and
apart from a slight dip in 1982, these numbers increased steadily to reach nearly
100 million tonnes in 2002. The amount of merchandise shipped by pipeline was
negligible in 1974, but this figure had risen to just over 20 million tonnes in 1995
before levelling off.
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The number of tonnes of goods transported by water started at just under 40
million, and this rose by nearly 50% from 1978 to 1982, and remained relatively
constant until it jumped again in 1998, from around 50 to just over 60 million
tonnes. The figure for transport by rail fell from approximately 40 million tonnes
in 1974 to about 30 million in 1995 and then rose back up to its original number
by 2002.
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The chart shows the results of a report from 2008 about the amounts of
various energy sources
used in the United States since 1980, and includes predictions until 2030.
Overall, since 1980 the consumption of all sources, except hydropower,
has increased, and the projections show that petrol and oil and coal will
continue to grow, while the others are to remain relatively stable.
From the start, petrol and oil have been the most used sources of
energy, starting at 35 quadrillion units and currently resting at roughly
42 quadrillion units. Natural gas began with 20 quadrillion units and
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coal at about 16, but both have increased to the same figure of around
25 quadrillion units in the present day. Nuclear power, solar and wind
power and hydropower each started at approximately 4 quadrillion
units, but while the first two rose to around 7 and 5 quadrillion units,
respectively, hydropower has remained at relatively the same level.
Looking to the future, petrol and oil and coal are forecast to continue
increasing by roughly 5 and 6 quadrillion units, respectively. The other
four power sources are predicted to remain stable until 2030, with the
exception of an additional one quadrillion units for both nuclear power
and solar power in the final few years of the period.