ATILIM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES
2020-2021 SUMMER
ENG101
Single Graph Description
What’s a Graph?
A graph, also known as a chart, is a mathematical diagram which shows the relationship between two or
more sets of numbers or measurements. Graphs help people understand data quickly. Whether you want
to make a comparison, show a relationship, or highlight a trend, they help your audience "see" what you
are talking about.
Graphs can be useful tools for helping people make decisions. However, they only provide part of a
story. Inferences often have to be made from the data shown. As well as being able to identify clearly
what the graph is telling us, it is important to identify what parts of the story are missing. That’s why
interpreting and describing graphs are important skills in our daily, academic and professional lives.
There are many different kinds of graphs. Some of the most common kinds are as follows.

Line graphs Bar charts

Pie charts Diagrams

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Here is the name of each part in a graph:
1- Title
2- Key
3- Unit of measure
4- Line
5- Horizontal axis
6- Vertical axis
7- Axis title
8- Source
9- Footnotes

Overview
In graph description you are required to write a summary in response to a particular graph to test your
ability to select and report the main features, to describe and compare data, identify significance and
trends in factual information, or describe a process.
Before you begin
1. Underline the key words. Write related words such as synonyms or similar expressions that you
can use in your description.
2. Circle and highlight the graph. Use arrows. Make notes. Circle the significant data such as the
biggest, the smallest, stable or unchanging parts, sudden increases, etc.
3. Identify trends. A trend is the overall idea of the graph that shows
 what is happening/what happened
 the main change over time
 the most noticeable thing about the graph
 the pattern over time
 the pattern for different places, groups, or people.
Exercise 1: Study the line graph and then read the statements below. Decide if they are true or
false and correct the false statements.

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 1. The graph shows annual sales of hardware and software over a period of ten years. ______
2. The horizontal axis on the graph shows the number of units sold. ______
3. The vertical axis shows the number of units sold and is measured in numbers which go up by
5000 at each level. ______
4. The graph only shows where sales increased. ______
5. It would be fair to say that sales figures went up and down over the period described. ______
While you write
In graph description, there should be a certain organization to your description of the given graph. Your
description of the graph should be presented in a single paragraph consisting of three parts:
Introduction
 You need to begin your paragraph with one or two sentences that state what the graph shows. To
do this, paraphrase the title of the graph, making sure you put it in a time frame if there is one.
Also mention the two axes and the names of categories in the graph.
 You can start with some certain structures such as:
“The graph shows…”
“The graph gives information about….”
“The graph illustrates the trends in…”
“The graph reveals information about the changes in…”
“The graph provides the differences between…”
“The graph presents how X has changed over a period of…”
Keep in Mind
 Don’t give details such as data here – you are just looking for something that describes what is
happening overall.
Exercise 2: A sample introduction for the chart below is given. Fill in the blanks with no more
than two words to complete the introduction.

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The (1) _____________________ illustrates the typical (2) _____________________ of money spent
each month on utility bills, (3) _____________________, rent, entertainment and groceries by (4)
_____________________ in Britain in (5) _____________________ (1990, 2000 and 2010). Units are
measured in (6) _____________________. While the horizontal axis gives the years, the vertical one
presents the amount spent in pounds.
Body (Main Points)
 Decide which information in the graph you will include in this main part of the paragraph.
Going from left to right (in chronological order), focus on the trend — how the variables change
within the graph. Include the information that stands out the most, such as the highest and the
lowest points/values.
 Start with general sentence without specific numerical details. “All expenditure items increased
except entertainment.” “The most obvious trend in the graph is that money spent for rent is by
far the highest.” “The expenditure on groceries showed a slight increase.”
 Follow this sentence with an example (sentence with numerical details) to support the key point
given. “From 1990 to 2010, monthly expenditure on transport increased from about 180 pounds
sterling to about 240 pounds sterling”. “Throughout the 30 years, people spent more than 300
pounds sterling for monthly grocery shopping”. “In 1990s and 2000s, people used to pay less
than 100 pounds sterling for utilities in a month”.
 Try to discuss at least two trends from the graph. When you start description about another
trend or group, use linkers. Compare the information when possible.

Keep in Mind
 Don’t write about the line or the bar: “The line went up”. “The bar went down”. Instead, write
about the change/variation. E.g. “The number of people going to work by train increased
gradually”. “Oil production shot up in 1965”.
 Don’t describe the X and Y axis. Give the information.
 Don’t use “I feel”, “as I have written”, “as you can see”, etc. Keep it objective in order to be
academic.
 Don’t use shorthand: “Men went up”. “Women went down”. Instead, write about the real data:
“The number of men at university fell dramatically”. “The percentage of female students
getting a degree rose suddenly”.
 You need to add linkers to help the reader follow your ideas and the connection between these
ideas; in other words, add linkers to improve the flow of your ideas.
 Don’t describe all small details as this creates lists which sound mechanical. Instead of writing:
“It went up by 2% and then dropped up 5%, then rose again for 2 years, and again dropped by
2%”, write: “It fluctuated between 5% and 2% for the first quarter of the year”.

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 Conclusion
 Finish by repeating the main trends and changes using different vocabulary.
Keep in Mind
 Don't have any numbers in the conclusion (you could use words like "most", "the majority", "a
minority", "a small number").
 Avoid details. Only focus on the main trends.
 Don’t express an opinion.
Exercise 3: Read the graph description sample paragraph and underline the introduction, main
points and conclusion.

The bar chart illustrates the number of men and women studying engineering at Australian universities
between the years 1992 and 2012 at 10-year intervals. While the horizontal axis gives the years, the
vertical one presents the number of students studying engineering. It can be seen that there is an overall
decrease in the number of male students. It fell slightly from 14000 in 1992 to 12000 in 2002, and then
remained level through the following decade. The number of female students was relatively low, starting
at 2000 in 1992. However, while the number of men decreased, the number of women increased. Female
students grew steadily by 2000 each decade. This led to a rise in the total number of engineering
students from 16000 to 18000 in this period. While men continued to make up the majority of students,
the proportion of female students increased sharply in this period. In 1992 there was one woman to
every seven men, but by 2012 this had narrowed to one woman to every two men. Overall, we can see a
clear upward trend in the number of female engineering students in Australian universities, while the
number of male students seems to have levelled off.
Use of Tenses
You should make sure of using correct tenses while describing a chart. If the charts deal with facts in the
present, use the Simple Present. If the facts are in the past, then use the Simple Past. If there is a
connection between the past and the present, use the Present Perfect. To determine the tense, pay
attention to the time expressions given in the chart.

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 USEFUL WORDS AND STRUCTURES FOR GRAPH DESCRİPTİON

Movement (Verbs): Up rise, go up, increase, grow, skyrocket, spike, climb, move
upward
Movement (Verbs): Down fall, decline, dive, decrease, go down, drop, plummet, collapse,
dip

No Movement: remain steady is/are unchanged

do/does not change remain constant
remain stable/stabilize remain static
stay the same level off
Tops and bottoms reach a peak reach their highest level
reach a low fall to a low
reach a bottom bottom out
Rapid ups and downs fluctuate zig-zag
fluctuation wave
Prepositions between 1991 and 1997 sales fell to 150 in May
and Time Expressions sales fell by 50% sales rose from 20 to 25
in 2012/ recent years from 1995 to 2000
over the year/ period by 2015
since (point of time) May/ 2011
for (period of time) the period / five months
Adjectives, Adverbs and Small Changes:
Intensifiers slight(ly) slow(ly) mild(ly)
gentle (gently) tedious(ly) a little
Moderate Changes:
somewhat moderate(ly)
steady(steadily) gradual(ly)
Big Changes:
steep(ly) sharp(ly) substantial(ly)
sudden(ly) rapid(ly) swift(ly)
dramatic(ally) significant(ly) a lot

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 Percentage and numbers: 10% increase 25 percent decrease
increase by 15% drop by 10 per cent
fall at 50% reach to 75%
declined to about 49% stand exactly at 43%
5 times higher 3 times lower
Portions a tiny portion a very small proportion
an insignificant minority / proportion
a small minority / portion
a large proportion / a very large proportion
a significant majority / proportion

Exercise 4: Look at the line graph and complete the text with the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets and the correct prepositions.

The graph (1) ____________ (show) the number of people who (2) ____________ (visit) three London
museums in the summer of 2013. Most visitors (3) ____________ (go) to the British museum (4)
____________ June and September. The number (5) ____________ (fluctuate) between 500 and 750.
By contrast, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum (6) ____________ (receive) fewer
visitors. The number of people who visited the Science Museum (7) ____________ (drop) gradually
from 400 thousand to 300 from June to August then (8) ____________ (rise) to 450 thousand (9)
____________ September. It can (10) ____________ (see) that the trend for the Natural History
Museum (11) ____________ (be) similar. There was a sharp drop in the number of visitors from June to
July. The number (12) ____________ (remain stable) until August and then (13) ____________
(increase) steadily in September.

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Exercise 5: Put the following items into the correct category.
rise recover pick up plummet drop
climb fall take off escalate stabilize
decline rocket dip zig-zag fluctuate
hold steady

Exercise 6: Put the sentences in the correct place in the text.

1. Although women read more

books than men in 2011, their
reading fell to below the level of
men in 2014.
2. This was the highest figure in
the period.
3. However, in 2014, their numbers
fell back to 8000 again.
4. It shows how many library
books men and women read over
this four-year period.

The graph gives information about Burnaby Public Library between 2011 and 2014. a_____. While the
horizontal axis presents the gender, the vertical one gives the number of books read. As can be seen
from the graph, there were different trends for men and women. The number of books read by men
increased steadily between 2011 and 2012, from about 3000 to 4000. After that, the number rose
dramatically to 14000 books in 2014. b_____. Women started off reading more books than men, but
their numbers followed a different pattern. Between 2011 and 2012, there was an increase of 3000 from
5000 books to 8000 books, and then a gradual rise to 10000 books in 2013. c_____. Overall, there was a
strong upward trend in the number of books read by men. d_____.

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