ATILIM UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES
2022-2023 FALL
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.

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Exercise 1: Study the line graph and then read the statements below. Decide if they are true or
false and correct the false statements.

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.

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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.

The (1) _______________ illustrates the average (2) _______________ of (3) _______________
workers according to their level of (4) _______________ in (5) _______________. The (6)
_______________ axis reveals educational levels while the (7) _______________ axis presents the
salaries in U.S. dollars.
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 a general sentence without specific numerical details. “All educational degrees
increased the salary.” “The most obvious trend in the graph is that salary earned by a worker
with a master’s degree is by far the highest.” “The salaries showed a steady increase due to
extra education taken”
 Follow this sentence with an example (sentence with numerical details) to support the key point
given. “The highest difference in yearly salary is seen between a worker with a college degree
and a college dropout worker by $12000”. “The smallest amount of salary was earned by
workers without a secondary school diploma, which is $21000 a year”. “The highest amount of
salary was earned by workers with a master’s degree, which is $65000 a year”
 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.

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 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”.
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.
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This bar graph shows the populations of major European countries in 1996 and 2007. While the
horizontal axis gives six major European counties, the vertical one presents the populations of countries
in millions. In almost all countries, the population rose in this period. The largest rise was in Turkey,
where the population increased from over 62 to over 73 million. The smallest increase was in Germany
where the population of 82 million rose by a few thousand. Spain also had a fairly large increase from
39.4 million to 44.5 million, and France was not far behind with an increase of almost 4 million. In the
other two countries, Italy and the United Kingdom, population growth was more modest with increases
of about 2.3 and 2.8 million respectively. However, in Poland, the population fell by half a million.
Poland had the smallest population in both 1996 and 2007. Overall, there was a clear upward trend in
the population of all countries except for Poland with a slight population decrease.

Exercise 4: Fill in the blanks in the sample paragraph using the correct words from the box.

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 low / horizontal / illustrates / vertical / upward / level / sharply / between / decrease / fell
/ increased / levelled / grew / majority / overall

The bar chart _______________ the number of men and women studying engineering at Australian
universities _______________ the years 1992 and 2012 at 10-year intervals. While the
_______________ axis gives the years, the _______________ one presents the number of students
studying engineering. It can be seen that there is an overall _______________ in the number of male
students. It _______________ slightly from 14000 in 1992 to 12000 in 2002, and then remained
_______________ through the following decade. The number of female students was relatively
_______________, starting at 2000 in 1992. However, while the number of men decreased, the number
of women _______________. It _______________ 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 _______________ of students, the proportion of female students increased
_______________ 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. _______________, a clear _______________ trend in
the number of female engineering students in Australian universities can be seen while the number of
male students seems to have _______________ 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.

USEFUL WORDS AND STRUCTURES FOR GRAPH DESCRIPTION

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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
Percentage and numbers: 10% increase 25 percent decrease
increase by 15% drop by 10 per cent
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 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 5: 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. While the horizontal axis gives the summer months, the vertical one
presents the number of visitors. 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. Overall, there is a slightly upward trend in the number of visitors to
British and Science Museums, while the number of Natural History Museum visitors seems to have
slightly dropped.
Exercise 6: Put the following items into the correct category.

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rise recover pick up plummet drop
climb fall take off escalate stabilize
decline rocket dip zig-zag fluctuate
hold steady

Exercise 7: 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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