WRITING TASK 1 - ACADEMIC

Sessions 5+6: Comparative Graphs

Instructor: Kiana Rafiee

 WHAT TO DO

 Read the title, which tells you what the graph describes.
 Think of what you should compare.
 Decide what tenses you need to use.
 Choose the most noticeable features including the highest and lowest numbers,
similarities and key differences.
 Write an introduction to the topic using your own words.
 Write an overview that describes the big picture.
 Pick some details to mention.
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 1

 Correct the mistakes:

 1. I can read in English easier than before.
 2. Living in the environment is the better way to learn the language.
 3. Travelling is becoming more clean and safe.
 4. The most highest percentage appeared in 1991.
 5. Workers’ salaries got worser in 2000.
 6. I want to study abroad so that I can get a more better-paid job in the future.
 7. If you can’t understand a text, try reading it slowest.
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 1

 Correct the mistakes:

 1. I can read English more easily than before.
 2. Living in the country is the best way to learn the language.
 3. Travelling is becoming cleaner and safer.
 4. The highest percentage appeared in 1991.
 5. Worker’s salaries got worse in 2000.
 6. I want to study abroad so that I can get a better-paid job in the future.
 7. If you can’t understand a text, try reading it more slowly.
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 1

the city vs. the countryside

 The city is more polluted and noisier than the countryside. (adjective)
 More people live in the city, so there is more noise. (noun)
 There are fewer jobs in the country, but there is less stress. (noun)
 People live more peacefully in the country. (adverb)
 Accommodation costs more in the city. (verb)
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 1

the city vs. the countryside

 The city is much more polluted and noisier than the countryside. (adjective)
 The rural population lives slightly happier lives than the urban population. (adjective)
 Many more people live in the city, so there is considerably more noise. (noun)
 There are significantly fewer jobs in the country, but there is remarkably less stress. (noun)
 People live far more peacefully in the country. (adverb)
 Accommodation costs enormously more in the city. (verb)
 PRACTICE

 1. Travelling by train is slightly…

 2. A night in a hotel costs much…
 3. London is considerably…
 4. You will learn a language far…
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 2

the city vs. the countryside

 The country isn’t as polluted as the city. (adjective)

 Not as many people live in the country, so there isn’t as much noise there. (noun)
 There aren’t as many jobs in the country, but there isn’t as much stress as there is in the
city. (noun)
 In the city, people do not live as peacefully as they do in the country. (adverb)
 Accommodation does not cost as much in the country as in the city. (verb)
 LANGUAGE FOR MAKING COMPARISONS 2

the city vs. the countryside

 The country isn’t nearly as polluted as the city.

 Not nearly as many people live in the country, so there isn’t quite as much noise there.
 There aren’t nearly as many jobs in the country, but there isn’t nearly as much stress as
there is in the city.
 In the city, people do not live nearly as peacefully as they do in the country.
 Accommodation does not cost nearly as much in the country as in the city.
 DESCRIBING NUMBERS
percentage percentage fraction ratio
50% fifty percent a half one in two
25% twenty-five percent a quarter one in four
75% seventy-five percent three quarters three in four
33.3% a third one in three
66.6% two thirds two in three
10% ten percent a tenth one in ten

Just over three quarters…

Nearly/almost half of…
Just under a quarter…
Around/about/approximately a third…
Three out of ten Britons…
  NUMERICAL COMPARISONS

Favorite Film Genre

 Action movies are twice as popular as
45
comedies for men.
40
35
30
 Three times as many men prefer thrillers as
25 romantic comedies.
20
15  Half as many women like science fiction as
10 westerns and thrillers.
5
0
Men Women
 Science fiction and westerns are only half as
popular as comedies among men.
Action Comedy thriller
Western Sci-fi romantic comedy
 SAMPLE
1995
 The two pie charts compare how energy was produced in
France in the years 1995 and 2005. nucl othe
ear6 r gas
.4 4.9 29.6
 Overall, it can be seen that the most common ways to 3
generate energy in both years were coal, gas and petrol – petr
ol
all fossil fuels. The first two methods did not experience 29.2
significant change, while France’s dependence on petrol 7
coal 2005
fell by around ten percentage points, leaving more room
29.8
for the two remaining categories. other
9.1
 Looking at the details, in 1995, coal, oil and petrol
nuclear gas
contributed almost equally to the total energy gas coal petrol 10.1 30.31
nuclear other
production, about 30% each. The remaining 10% came petrol coal
from nuclear sources and other ways, whose share 19.55 30.93
increased to 9.10% and 10.10% respectively in 2005,
reaching a combined share of just above 20% of the
country’s energy production.
gas coal petrol
nuclear other
 SAMPLE
1995
 It is also worth mentioning that, in 2005, France nucl othe
ear6 r gas
allocated approximately 60% of its energy 29.6
.4 4.9
production to coal and gas, which was only petr
3
marginally higher than the figure for 1995. ol
Moreover, the source that saw the highest increase 29.2
7
was ‘other’, whose share more than doubled in the coal 2005
period in question, going up from 4.90% to 10.10%. 29.8
other
9.1
(172 words)
nuclear gas
gas coal petrol 10.1 30.31
nuclear other
petrol coal
19.55 30.93

gas coal petrol

nuclear other