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LESSON 6: MIXED CHART
The charts below show the favorite takeaways of people in the UK and the number of Indian
restaurants in the UK between 1960 and 2015.
(A takeaway is a meal you buy in a restaurant)
Activity 1: Look at the following expression. Which are more suitable for diagram 1 and which are
suitable for diagram 2?
1 the highest proportion of people
2 only a very small number of people
3 there has been a steady increase
4 a very small drop
5 about a third
6 approximatetly a quarter of people
7 the greatest rise took place
Activity 2: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Complete the introductory sentence and the overview. Write one word in each gap.
The (1)................................ chart show which type of takeaway food is the most popular
in the UK, while the (2)....................... chart shows how many Indian restaurants existed
in the UK between (3)............................ and (4).............................. .
We can see that (5)............................. and Indian takeaways are the favorites, and that
the number of Indian restaurants in the UK (6).................................. steadily during this
period.
TIPS!
When you are working with two diagrams, your
introductory sentence should introduce both of them
and you should summarize both of them!
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Activity 3: MAKING COMPARISONS
Complete the sentences about the pie chart with words in the box. One word is used twice
fewer least less more most
1. The ................... popular type of takeaway is Chinese.
2. The three ...................... popular types are Mexican, Greek and Japanese.
3. Italian takeaways are slightly ................... popular than British takeaways.
4. Japanese food is ..................... popular than Thai food.
5. .......................... people like Chinese food than Italian food.
6. .......................... people like Mexican food than Thai food.
Activity 4: STUDYING A MODEL ANSWER
The pie chart shows which type of takeaway food is 1. Read the model answer. Two
the most popular in the UK, while the bar chart sentences that should not be included.
shows how many Indian restaurants existed in the Can you find them?
UK between 1960 and 2015.
2. Read the model sample again and find
We can see that Chinese and Indian takeaways are
- the overview
the favorites, and that the number of Indian
restaurants in the UK rose steadily during this - a sentence that explains the links
period. between the two charts
- some comparisons
The pie chart shows that Chinese and Indian - a passive form
takeaways are much more popular than all the - a way of saying “1990 to 2000”
others, at 34% and 26%. There are another two - an expression meaning “has not
types that quite a lot of people like. These are changed much”
Italian at 10% and British at 9%. It is not surprising - expressions used to avoid exact
that people in the UK like British food as fish and numbers
chips is the national dish. Greek Japanese and
Mexican were only chosen by 1% of people.
The pie chart shows us that Indian food is popular TIP!
and the bar chart shows how its popularity grew. Never include any information that
Even my village has an Indian restaurant! There was is not shown in the diagram. Even
a rising trend from 1960 onwards. The increase was if you know a lot about the data
greatest in the 1990s, from about 5000 restaurants given, do not try to explain the
in 1990 to almost 8000 in 2000. Since 2007, the reasons for it or give your opinion.
number has remained stable at just over 9000.
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Exam Practice
Practice A: Read the exam question below and study the charts, then answer these questions
about the data before you write your summary at least 150 words
The bar chart shows the percentage of adults who were overweight or obese in one country from
1965 to 2015. The pie chart shows the proportion of adults who were overweight, obese or severely
obese in 2015.
1. What is the main trend revealed in the bar chart?
2. Which ten year period showed the first significant increase?
3. What happened in the ten-year period after that?
4. What is the link between the two charts?
5. In 2015, what percentage of people were severly obese?
6. Which was the largest group in 2015?
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Practice B:
The chart and graph below gives 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.
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Practice C:
The two bar charts show the proportion of 14-16 year-old students studying a modern foreign
language in an English speaking country, and the top three foreign languages.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting on the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.
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Practice D: The table and chart give the result of surveys in Australia about the use of the
Internet. The table provides information on the reasons for use. The chart shows use in relation to
age.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting on the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.
Internet uses
Trends-all Australians 2008
Banking 62%
Phone calls 22%
Blogs 10%
Ordering goods 57%
and services
Bills 63%
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Describe Diagrams without exact numbers
Some graphs or charts do not give the exact numbers. It is important to show that the number
you use is not exact. Match these numbers with their description.
1 8950 a approximately 4000
2 2019 b about a hundred
3 500,070 c just under 9000
4 3946 d between 7000 and 7500
5 103 e around half a million
6 7223 f a little over 2000
Look at these examples from a description of diagram 2.
There were about 500 Indian restaurants
in the UK in 1960.
The number rose from approximately
5000 in i990 to just under 8000 in 2000.
The figure for 1997 was around 7500.
From 2007 to 2015 the number of
restaurants was between 9000 and 9500.
In 1970 there were a little over 1000
Indian restaurants.
Use the expressions in bold to complete the sentences about diagram 3, which shows the market
share of four supermarkets.
1. In 1995, Foodhall had ……………………….20% of
the market, while Finco had ……………………….
20%.
2. In 1995, Bestway’s share of the market was
…………………….5%.
3. In 2005, all the supermarkets had …………………
11% and 30% of the market.
4. In both 2005 and 2015, Alton’s share of the
market was ……………………… 16%
5. Finco had the biggest share in 2005, which
was …………………… 30%.
TIP!
You can replace “approximately” by “about/around/nearly/roughly/almost”
You can replace “just under” by “just below”, “just less than”
You can replace “a little over” by “a little above”, “just more than”
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[email protected] GRAMMAR PRACTICE
ARTICLES: Correct errors with articles in these sentences about diagram 1 and 2
1. The number of Indian restaurants in UK has risen.
2. The Chinese food is the most popular.
3. Second most popular food is Indian.
4. There was small drop in the number of Indian restaurants in 2011.
5. There were about thousand Indian restaurants in 1970.
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
We use “more or less” with uncountable nouns.
We use “more or fewer” with countable nouns.
Put the nouns into the correct column.
restaurant coffee farm country home land
language meat oil person animal sand
COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE
Now complete the sentences with more/less/or fewer. Use information in the chart.
China India
Land 9,596,960 square km 3,287,960 square km
Percentage of population living in cities 50.5% 31.3%
Official languages Mandarin Chinese 22 official language
1. China has ......................... land than India.
2. India has ......................... land than China.
3. In India, ........................ people live in cities than in China.
4. India has ........................... official languages than China.
