Describing a Chart, Graph or a Diagram

Structure of writing (3 paragraphs)

 1st Para: Introduction --- what the graph shows + Overview --- the key features of
the graph
 2nd Body Paragraph --- detailed information (Similarities & Differences)
 3rd Para: Conclusion --- Conclude by saying what the main trends and changes are/were

1. Introduction (1st Paragraph): you should describe the purpose of the report and the overall trends
you see (rising? falling?); describe what the graph is about, its dates and location.

Some introductory phrases:

 The pie chart is about ...  The chart is divided into ... parts.
 The bar chart deals with ...  It highlights ...
 The line graph (clearly) shows ...  ... has the largest (number of) ...
 The slices of the pie chart compare  ... has the second largest (number of) ...
the ...

2. Body Paragraph (2nd Paragraph): you should describe the most important trends, but avoid
unnecessary details; e.g., if a graph has 2 peaks, you should mention that and say when the peaks
appeared and what the peak values are. Notice how many distinctive features (or groups of features)
the graph has and write logically. You must write about all the periods of time and all the subjects of
the graph. If it shows several years (2021, 2022, 2023), write about ALL of them; if it is about
men and women, write about BOTH. Don’t throw information away: just select what’s important,
and then organize, compare and contrast it. In case of comparison & contrast or increase & decrease,
analyze the first state & last state or the trends in the highest & lowest group or analyze the lowest
point and the highest point. Use linking words and a range of vocabulary to describe what you
see in the charts. (You can write % or percent, but be consistent.)
Important Words for Report Writing
Upward trend verbs Downward trend verbs
 to increase  to decrease
 to rise  to fall
 to go up  to go down
 to climb  to decline
 to shoot up  to drop
 to rocket  to plunge
 to soar  to plummet

Adverbs to describe big changes Adverbs to describe small changes

 dramatically  gradually
 sharply  slightly
 suddenly  steadily
 significantly  gently
 drastically  moderately
 noticeably  little by little
 steeply  step by step
 HOW TO DESCRIBE NO CHANGE

 remained the same

 remained constant
 stabilised
 levelled off

Some useful phrases

 The data show a constant/fluctuating increase in ……

 The trend occurred across all groups ……
 3. Conclusion (Last paragraph): you should sum up the general trends shown of highlight the highest and
lowest trends, and compare them if applicable. Personal opinions must not appear anywhere in the
report, along with any information which is not in the graph!

Concluding phrase
In conclusion, we learned from the graph(s) …………………………………………….

List of Probable Linking Devices

Addition Emphasis Contrast Example Result

 Moreover,…  Clearly,…  However,… For instance,… As a result,…
 Furthermore,…  Indeed,…  In contrast,… For example,… That is why,
 In addition,…  Especially,…  By contrast… …,such as… Consequently,…
 Additionally,…  In particular,…  In comparison,… A very good example Accordingly,…
 Likewise,…  Particularly,…  Meanwhile,… is… Therefore,…
 On top of that,… Without a doubt,… On the other hand,… The best example is… On that account,
 Obviously,…  But… To illustrate,… For that reason
 Importantly,…  Alternatively,… Hence,
 Nevertheless,…
Sequence Condition Concession Generalising Conclusion
 Firstly,…  If…  Admittedly,…  In general  In conclusion,…
 First of all,…  Unless…  Even though…  Generally  To conclude,…
 To start with…  On the condition  Although…  Usually  In the end,…
 Secondly,… that…  Despite…  In most cases  Finally,…
 Next,…  Provided that…  In spite of…  On the whole  To
 Thirdly/fourthly/ As long as…  As a rule summarize,…
etc.,…  Supposing that…  As far as the system is  To sum up,…
 Lastly,…  Otherwise…
 Finally,… 

A Graph Report Sample

The charts below show the reasons why people travel to work by bicycle or by car in the UK.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.
 Sample Answer

The first chart shows the reasons why some people in the UK prefer to cycle to work. Conversely, the second
chart gives reasons for those who choose to go to work by car.

The highest number of the employees who favour cycling reports that this is because riding a bicycle to work
is healthier than driving. 30% of them show this as a reason. Similar percentage of people (30%) say that
they cycle to work because it causes less pollution. 13% of people cycle to work because it is cheaper than
driving. Surprisingly, a similar percentage of people claims that they cycle to work because it is faster than
travelling by car. In contrast to this, the percentage who prefers to travel by car because it is more
comfortable is 40%. The two least important reasons for going to work by car, are that people need to carry
things to work (14% ) and that it is safer than cycling to work (11% ). Finally, 16% opine that they prefer
driving because it is faster than cycling. This contrasts with the cyclists who ride to work because it is faster
than driving.

In general, it seems that the majority of people who cycle to work do this for health and environmental
reasons. By contrast, those who travel by car want to have a more comfortable journey over longer distances.

A Bar Graph Description Exercise

The bar chart below shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different types of
educational setting in the UK in 2018. Fill in the blanks of the description of this chart with
suitable words from the box.

secondary, outnumbered, percentage , reverse, female, twice, proportions, institutions,

higher, information, primary, dominated

The bar chart gives i) ____________ about the gender of teachers in six types of educational ii)
___________ in the UK in 2018. It shows what iii) ____________ of teachers was male and what percentage
was female.

Women iv) __________ the teaching profession in primary education, but less so at lower and upper v)
__________ education. It was particularly true of nursery school, where the share of vi) __________
teachers was above 95%. Similarly one-sided was the situation in vii) __________ school, where over 90%
of teachers were also female. At secondary and upper secondary level this pattern was less pronounced,
where there were nearly equal viii) __________ of male and female teachers. On the other hand, male
teachers ix) __________ female teachers in tertiary level education, where the proportion of men (70%) was
more than x) ____________ the percentage of women (30%).

Overall, the xi) ____________ the level of education, the more male teachers dominated, and the xii)
____________ occurred with respect to female teachers.

Use of Tenses
Mind the correct use of tenses when describing a chart. If the chart deals with facts in the present, use the
Simple Present, if the facts are the past, then use the Simple Past. If there is a connection between the past
and the present, use the Present Perfect.

Another Exercise
Look at the single line graph below and fill in the blanks with the given words. The report only shows
the body paragraph, i.e. the introduction and concluding paragraphs are missing. After filling in the
blanks, write how the introduction and conclusion should look like.
Scanning Reading Exercises