15 KEY AREAS OF LANGUAGE

GRAPHS WITH CHANGES

1. Write the introduction:

- The line graph shows variations in …
- The line graph shows the weekly consumption categorized by four types of food.

2. Describe the highest:

• S + was VPP + in significantly/far higher/greater amounts/quantities/numbers (than the
rest/than the other + N (umbrella term)+ listed) .

e.g Chicken was consumed in significantly higher quantities than the other foods listed.
e.g Cars were manufactured in far greater numbers towards the end of the period.

>< S + was VPP + in relatively/significantly lower/smaller amounts

e.g Green energy was consumed in significantly lower amounts
Rainbow trout was continually cultivated in relatively small amounts
• S + took the lead / dominated the graph / dominated N-umbrella term from around ….
onwards / from this point on / towards the end of the period.
e.g Local fixed line calls dominated phone usage towards the end of the period.
~ Phone usage was dominated by local fixed line calls towards the end of the period.
• S + became the dominant + N. / S + remained the dominant category
e.g Asia became the dominant country in terms of energy use at the end of the period.
• The majority of … (An overwhelming majority of ….)
e.g The majority of cars were produced in Argentina in the first year.
• …, although the peak was not maintained. = However, this level was short-lived …
• Despite dropping back to their initial level, they still retained their top position.
• A did not reach B’s highest level
• X was at its peak in 1918
• Notably, nuclear energy has led this sector since 2010 and is expected to continue to do so,
with its peak of approximately 7 quadrillion units in 2025.

3. Describe the first year:

• Although the figure initially fell significantly, it then recovered.
= Despite an initial significant fall, the figure then recovered
• While A dominated initially, it then fell significantly …
• Despite some initial fluctuations, A increased from … to …
4. Describe the final year:
• A saw just gradual increases, eventually/finally reaching 4914 million tonnes in 2018
• A dropped and ended the period only 10 points higher than B.
• “by + the final year, S + had + Vpp”
Beef consumption fell almost continually, and by 2004 had almost halved

5. S + V, Ving … (the same subject for both clauses)

• It then recovered, reaching a high of close to 240 grams
• Fish was consistently eaten the least, beginning at around 60 grams then dropping to below 50
grams.
• The data for A increased gradually to 10 billion minutes.
→ The data for A saw gradual increases, reaching/rising to 10 billion minutes in 1998
• A & B are also predicted to mirror C’s rising trend, increasing to around 6 quadrillion units

6. Compare changes
• Similar changes to X, but to a lesser/greater extent/degree, was witnessed in Y, which
increased from … to …
• Y witnessed a similar change, but increased to a greater/lesser degree than X ; by a
larger/lesser amount than X, increasing from … to …
• Y almost exactly
+ mirrored X’s fluctuating/rising trend
+ followed a similar pattern to X = witnessed a similar change to X
, albeit at a lower/higher rate/level
, albeit less/more sharply.

It fell from … to approximately …

….(describe X)…. A similar change to X, but to a lesser degree, was witnessed in Y, which grew
slightly from … to …

….(describe X)…. Y witnessed a similar change, but increased to a lesser degree than X/by a
lesser amount than X, growing from … to …

….(describe X)…. Y almost exactly mirrored X’s rising trend, albeit less sharply / albeit at a
lower rate. It grew from … to …

….(describe X)…. Y almost exactly mirrored X’s rising trend, although it remained at a
relatively low level in comparison to X. It grew from … to …

___________________
• Notably, the increases in … corresponded with the declines in …(, which + V.)
e.g. The decline in A corresponded with the dramatic increase in B, which, by 2002, had reached
almost 45 billion minutes
• … is expected to change considerably, with a significant fall in X, which could drop to ….,
+ and corresponding increases in Y.
+, and this huge drop corresponded with the increases in Y.
___________________
• …(category with an increase)…
- This contrasts starkly with the data for B, which declined steadily throughout.
- This is in stark contrast to the data for B, which declined steadily throughout.

7. Describe a trend which remained the same

• Fish was consistently eaten the least = People in this country consistently ate more meat than
fish
• Fish remained the lowest / dominant in terms of consumption throughout the period.
~ Fish remained the dominant category
• A continued to dominate
 ________
• A fell almost continually from this point on
= An increasingly smaller proportion of people + V
• B dropped in almost every 10-year period = B dropped in each decade
• A continued its rising trend = A’s upward trend continued

8. Comment on figures
• A was produced in great numbers in the final year, at 10 million, which was almost five times
as high as B ; five times higher/greater than B, at only 2 million.
• In the final year, A had reached a striking/massive 10 million, which was almost eight times as
high as B, at a mere/as low as 2 million.

• A rose dramatically to 2000 million tonnes, which was significantly higher than any other
products.
• Almost as much was spent on A as on B.
• …, almost half of its initial level (=starting point) ; almost half of sales of 5 years earlier.
• ….(describe high figures)… These figures contrast starkly with those for + O, which + V
….(describe low figures)…
e.g These figures contrast starkly with those for mobile phone calls in the same period, which
began at approximately 2 billion minutes and saw gradual increases, reaching …
• A equalled the figure for B = A reached parity with B = A and B were near parity = A was
consumed at an identical rate to B
• …, considerably reducing/narrowing the gap between all three categories
9. Linking words
• Notably, the lowest recorded figure occurred in ...
Notably, the increases in chicken corresponded with the declines

• A witnessed a gradual growth …. Similarly, B also increased steadily throughout to …

= A witnessed a gradual growth. A similar change was witnessed in B, which also increased
steadily throughout to …
• A saw just gradual increases, eventually reaching …. By/In contrast, B fell significantly in
almost every two-year period.
= A saw just gradual increases, eventually reaching …. An opposite change was witnessed in B,
which fell significantly in almost every two-year period.
• A then reached a high of …. However, from 2010 onwards, A fell almost continually.
• A had the highest values and increases, while B was the second highest. In comparison /
Meanwhile, C and D were significantly lower.
• The figure for the youngest age group is higher in comparison to the figure for the oldest age
group.
• The proportion of people who ate fast food a few times a year increased, rising from around
13% to 15%, whereas/while the other categories decreased.
• Despite rising in 2006/Although they rose in 2006, they both fell in 2013 before increasing
dramatically to reach their peaks.
• Apart from 1939 and 1953, the figures dropped in almost every 10-year period until 1991 when
the decline slowed and renting increased slightly in 2011.

10. Support idea

S1 + V, with + S2 + Ving …

Total consumption is predicted to rise, with A consistently far exceeding B, and C remaining the
dominant food.

A are consumed in significantly lower amounts, with all figures remaining close to 5 quadrillion
units up to 2020.

Road transport was the second highest, with figures climbing from $311 to $375 billion.

The proportions of people who did A and B were the lowest overall, with only slightly more
people doing A in comparison to doing B.

The data for A was consistently almost double that of B, with the former rising from … to a peak
of …, while the latter rose from …
→ …, with the former Ving, while the latter SV.

11. Non-defining relative clause

a) Local fixed line calls dropped back to their initial level and ended the period only 10 billion
minutes higher than national and international fixed line calls, which increased consistently
throughout.

b) These figures contrast starkly with those for mobile phone calls in the same period, which
began at approximately 2 billion minutes and saw gradual increases, reaching 10 billion minutes
in 1998.

c) Notably, the declines in local fixed line calls corresponded with the dramatic increase in
mobile phone use, which, by 2002, had reached almost 45 billion minutes.

12. Describe a trend which did not begin in the first year
The trend for … did not begin until …
= It was not until … that the trend for … began.

13. Describe “higher”

e.g The value of imports generally (far) exceeded/surpassed/overtook/outnumbered that of
exports.

14. Special Terms for charts with many categories

- At the top and bottom ends of the scale

- “every day” & “never”: the two most extreme categories = more extreme categories

15. Adding figures

• The proportion of people who did A increased, rising from around 13% to 15%,
• Slightly more people did A (5% falling to 4%) in comparison to doing B (4% dropping to
3%)
• Although the percentage of people doing A and B increased in 2006 (from approximately
31% to 33% and 17% to 20% respectively), they both fell in 2013, with respective figures
falling to 27% and 16%.
• (A) ….. (B), with the former +Ving … and the latter + Ving …
= (A) ….. (B), with the former +Ving …, while the latter + V2/Ved …
The data for A was consistently double that of B & C, with the former increasing from … to a
peak of …, while the latter rose from … to …
This continued decline in A corresponded with the increases in B and C, with the former rising to
… , and the latter increasing slightly and accounted for …

*OTHER VOCAB
- There is evidence of this trend reversing
- Notably, this marked a peak in the data, showing that most people ate fast food on a
monthly rather than a weekly basis by the end of the period.
- All figures hovered around 5 million up to 2020 = All figures remained close to 5
million up to 2020
- initial level = starting point