Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

UNIT 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL DATA

ANALYSIS REPORT
Getting started:

When starting to write any type of essay, it is important to ask yourself several
questions:

 WHO AM I WRITING TO?

 WHAT WRITING STYLE IS NEEDED?

 WHAT INFORMATION DO I NEED TO INCLUDE?

When we think more specifically about statistical data report, the obvious answer to the
first question is for my teacher. However, it is better to answer for my professor at
university. This helps you to understand that, by studying this type of writing, you are
also beginning to prepare yourself for your future studies at a university in a foreign
country.

Then, knowing that your writing/report is going to be read by a professor, you have to
use a formal/ academic style. Do not worry if you are not sure what this means. As you
continue to read this book and do the exercises provided, you will find that your writing
style changes and becomes more formal as well as more academic.

Finally, you need to decide what information you want to put into your writing.
Remember, a well-written essay is not just an essay with perfect grammar and spelling.
It has to contain information that is relevant to the type of article being written as well.
Not enough information or the wrong type of information in your report writing will
dramatically lower your chances of getting a good score in the examination. However, at
university it can mean being handed back your essay and being asked to write it again.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
I. BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT

The basic paragraph structure of the data report writing is quite simple:

1. Introduction: Explain in your own words what the graph(s), table(s), or diagram(s)
is showing

2. Overview: In general terms, tell what main/interesting features are.

3. Detailed description: Explain these features in detail. If you have numbers, this is
a good place to include them. Use two body paragraphs if you have two
graphs/tables/diagrams.

Let’s have a look at the following example:

1. Introduction: The bar chart compares the enrolment of men and women in full-time
and part-time British further education programs in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 school
years.

2. Overview: Overall, part-time education was several times more popular than full-time
education throughout the entire period. In addition, while men had larger initial
enrolment numbers in both part-time and full-time programs than women, by the end of
the period women had surpassed men in part-time study and matched them in full-time.

3.a. Detail 1: In regards to part-time education, male enrolment started in the 1970
school year at one million before dipping by about 150,000 in the 1980 school year and
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then making a slight recovery to around 900 thousand students in 1990/91. In contrast,
females started lower at about 775 thousand and rose steadily, finally surpassing males
in the 1990 school year for a total of approximately 1,100,000.

3.b. Detail 2: The trend for full-time education was only slightly different. Female
numbers again started lower in the 1970 school year at under 100,000 students but had
already surpassed male totals by 1980. While male enrolments grew faster in the
subsequent period, the final totals for both males and females in full-time education was
more or less identical at around 220 thousand students in the 1990-91 school year.

II. WRITING AN INTRODUCTION

2.1. Understanding different types of Graphs and Tables

We now need to look more closely at what graphs and tables show, and the differences
between them.

a. What features do the following graphs have in common?

b. What features do the following graphs have in common? How are they different from
the previous ones?
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
c. What about these graphs?

d. What kind of information do the following tables provide? How does this differ from
the graphs?

 Understanding graphs and tables involves understanding the following details:

1. What is the information or data in the graph or table about? (This information is
normally supplied with the graph or table)
2. What are the units of measurement used?
3. What is the area (place) involved?
4. What is the time-scale involved?
5. What is the purpose of the graph or table?

Let us look at the graphs and tables shown above once more, and answer the following
questions:
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
1. What are the units of measurement used?
2. What is the area (place) involved ?
3. What is the time-scale involved ?
4. What is the purpose of the graph or table?

After examining the graphs and tables above you will have noticed the following:

In the case of a line graph, the horizontal and vertical axes provide most of the
information. Usually trends over a specific period of time are shown in this way.

A bar graph shows the same kind of information but with the units presented as bars or
columns. Another kind of bar graph (also called a histogram) may show numerical
distributions rather than changes.

Pie graphs show proportions, normally represented as percentages.

Tables give detailed data and may be used to display changes over time or they may
show distributions of variables according to place, or type. They usually require more
interpretation than graphs do.

2.2. How to write an introduction

Although you might think that bar charts, line charts and tables look very different from
one another, they all present information in a similar way. Indeed, it is often possible to
display exactly the same information using all three types of chart. The main differences
you are likely to see are: some charts have a time period and others do not. Realising
these similarities will help you to develop your speed when writing the introduction, the
general statement, and when analysing the diagram.

2.2.1. Diagrams with a time period

A typical statement looks like this:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows time spent watching TV', by age and gender, in the
UK in 1993 and 1999.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

 It tells you the recommended amount of time needed to write the essay, 20 minutes,
and that you need to write at least 150 words. It also gives you the introduction
sentence, and instructions on writing the main facts. Many candidates rewrite the
statement by replacing a few words with synonyms but fail to add extra information to
the sentence. This often results in an introduction that has copied too much of the
original sentence and lacks detail. By studying both the diagram and the statement, it is
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
always possible to write a more detailed introduction than the original. Before writing
your introduction, always look for the following six pieces of information: type of chart,
what is being measured, units, categories, years, time period. This will not only help you
to analyse the diagram but also add extra information to your introduction. You might
notice that some of these items may already have been listed in the given statement. If
this happens, simply collect the remaining data from the diagram.

The golden rule for data analysis is not to include opinions in any part of the essay.
Never put in your opinions about the diagram and the information it contains. If you add
your ideas, for example, about why you think certain changes have happened, you will
almost certainly get a lower score.

 Look at Exercise 1 and complete the table by adding the extra six pieces of
information.

Exercise 1.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows information about student attendance in various
schools.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Extra information
1 Type of chart
2 What is being measured
3 Units
4 Categories
5 Years
6 Time period

 Look carefully at Exercise 2, collect the six pieces of information, and then complete
the table.

Exercise 2.

The diagram below shows information about the quarterly revenue of several
technology companies from 2004 to 2006.

Extra information
1 Type of chart
2 What is being measured
3 Units
4 Categories
5 Years
6 Time period
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
By adding this information, you can then start to rewrite the introduction.

E.g. The diagram below shows information about the quarterly revenue of several
technology companies from 2004 to 2006.

 The line chart below shows information about the quarterly revenue of three
technology companies over three years from 2004 to 2006.

This introduction is certainly better than the original - it contains more information - but
shows little attempt to change the overall structure. The sentence structure, and
therefore the level of writing, is rather simple and the length (21 words) is a little short.
To improve it, you can use two useful techniques:

1. Replace one word (or a short phrase) for another with the same meaning
2. Rearrange the order of some words or phrases

You may not have to, or be able to, use both methods when rewriting the introduction
sentence, but it is always good to look for the opportunity to do so. Now look at the
statement for Exercise 2 again. Try to see how the introduction can be improved even
more by using synonyms and rearranging the order of certain phrases.

a. Using Synonyms

Look at the following examples to see how the introduction can be improved.

Original phrase:

- shows information  compares and contrasts data on the changes in the

amount of

An important grammar point here is that you will have to decide if you need to use one
of the following expressions:

1. changes in the amount of (used for non-count nouns, e.g. money)

2. changes in the number of (used for count nouns, e.g. students)
3. changes in ... levels (used for changes in population, pollution, etc)

Original phrase:

- several technology companies  three different hi-tech companies

You would not write the three different hi-tech companies because by using the article
“the”, you are suggesting that the names of the three companies are already known to
the reader.

- 2004 to 2006  over a three-year period from 2004 to 2006

 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Do not write “shows that/provides data that” or indeed any phrase that includes the word
“that”. This suggests you are going to provide information explaining what has
happened in the diagram. However, this is the purpose of the general statement and
body. The introduction only answers the question: What is it?

Also, you do not need to include the word below, or a synonym of it, because this would
not be true. Remember that you will be writing on the answer sheet, and this has no
diagram on it. Notice that 2004 to 2006 is a three-year period, not a two-year period.
You have data for the whole of 2004, 2005 and 2006. This makes it three years in total.

b. Rearranging the order of information

A phrase can often be rearranged, but the original information is kept the same.

- quarterly revenue  revenue per quarter (or use a synonym - income)

You could also add the phrase “earned by”.

If you now put all of these changes together, you end up with:

The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the amount
of income per quarter, earned by three different hi-tech companies over a three-
year period from 2004 to2006.

 The length of this introduction is 30 words, equal to 20% of your essay.

ADDING CATEGORY NAMES

If you wanted to, you could also list the names of the items, or categories, in the
diagram. However, it is not a good idea to add them to the example above because the
introduction would become too long. Ideally, the combined length of the introduction and
general statement is between 50 and 60 words. This means that the introduction can
sometimes be a little longer if more information needs to be added. However, the
general statement would then need to be a little shorter. A good rule to remember is: do
not list the names of the categories if there are more than four of them. For instance, we
do not want to have an introduction that looks like this:

The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the population
levels of eight different countries, for example, Switzerland. Belgium, France, Germany,
Holland, Italy, Greece and Norway over a six-year period from 2001 to 2006.

Also, if you do decide to include the name of each item, make sure that this is done in
the correct way.

Look at the following examples and see which sentences list the items correctly.
Discuss your answers with a classmate and see if you both agree.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
1. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, namely Paris, New York and Tokyo, over a
12-year period from 1996 to 2007.
2. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, including Paris, New York and Tokyo, over a
12-year period from 1996 to 2007.
3. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, for instance, Paris, New York and Tokyo,
over a 12-year period from 1996 to 2007.
4. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, Paris, New York and Tokyo, over a 12-year
period from 1996 to 2007.
5. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, like Paris, New York and Tokyo, over a 12-
year period from 1996 to 2007.
6. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, such as Paris, New York and Tokyo, over a
12-year period from 1996 to 2007.
7. The line chart compares and contrasts data on the changes in the GDP
levels of three different cities, for example, Paris, New York and Tokyo,
over a 12-year period from 1996 to 2007.

Only two of these examples are correct. You have to remember that you are listing the
names of all of the categories - Paris, New York and Tokyo — and so you cannot write
“including, for instance, like, such as, for example”. These imply that other cities are
also in the diagram, and the three you listed are only some of them. In other words,
these sentences suggest the three cities are only examples of a longer list. Only 1 and 4
are correct styles for including a list of items in the introduction.

2.2.2. Diagrams with no time period

Although many diagrams have a time period, many do not. This obviously changes what
you can write about in each paragraph. An introduction, for example, can no longer
state compares and contrasts data on the changes in the amount of. If there is no time
period, nothing can change. One way of altering this phrase is by writing compares and
contrasts data on the differences in the amount of.

Introductions also tend to be shorter, when there is no time period, because there is no
need to put in a phrase like over a ten-year period from 1996 to 2005. This might give
you more opportunity to list the category names, and still only write between 50 and 60
words for the introduction and general statement. Remember, this should only apply if
the lists are up to four items in total. The examiner does not want to see long lists.
Alternatively, you could add extra information about the units used in the diagram.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Now look at Exercise 3 about the sale of various products in Japan in 2004. Collect the
six key pieces of information.

Exercise 3.

Extra information
1 Type of chart
2 What is being measured
3 Units
4 Categories
5 Years
6 Time period

Original: The diagram below shows information about the sale of cosmetics and
toiletries in Japan in 2004.

 The table below shows information about the sale of 12 cosmetics and toiletries in
Japan, in billions of US dollars, in 2004.

Now try to change the basic, revised sentence by using synonyms and/or rearranging
the order of information.

- shows information  compares and contrasts data on the differences in sales

of
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
- There is no time period so you cannot write “changes in”. However, you can
write: differences between ... and …

- 12 cosmetics and toiletries  12 types of cosmetic and toiletry products

- in billions of US dollars  measured in billions of US dollars

Having done this, you should be able to write an introduction similar to the following
example:

The table compares and contrasts data on the differences between 12

types of cosmetic and toiletry products in Japan, measured in billions of US
dollars, in 2004.

ADDING UNITS

You do not always have to include the units like billions of dollars or kilograms in your
introduction. This is a decision that you need to make when writing. They were not
added in the introduction for Exercise 2 because it would have made the sentence too
long. However, it is possible to put this information in Exercise 3. The total length then
becomes 27 words - an ideal sentence length for the introduction.

Remember, even if the introduction includes the units, the body must still clearly state
what the units are when you put in figures from the diagram.

Now look at Exercises 4 and collect extra information from the given diagrams. When
you have done this, try and write their introductions by using synonyms and rearranging
the order of information.

Exercise 4.

a.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows information about wiretap authorisations between
1997 and 2007.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

b.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below gives the results of a survey showing the distribution of
foreign ladies' wear bought in New York in 2007.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

c.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the number of students living in the UK gaining English
language teacher training qualifications in 2007/8 and 2008/9, and the proportion
of male qualifiers.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Qualifications for English Language Teachers obtained 2007/8 and 2008/9, UK

Total Female Male % Male

2007/8 Total 32,930 23,842 8,165 24.7%
TEFL 25,446 18,460 6,870 26.9%

Cambridge UCLES
CELTA & other 7,484 5,382 1,295 17.3%
degrees

2008/9 Total 32,945 24,324 7,511 22.7%

TEFL 24,917 18,446 6,545 26.2%
Cambridge UCLES
CELTA & other 8,028 5,878 966 12.1%
degrees
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
d.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie charts below show the average household expenditures in Japan and
Malaysia in the year 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Average Household Expenditures by Major Category

III. WRITING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The next part of the essay to concentrate on is the overall description. This can be
included in the first paragraph directly after the introduction, or put into a separate
paragraph. This part, as the name suggests, is an overview of the diagram. It must not
contain information that is too specific or be too long in length. Although it is a surprise
to many, it is perfectly acceptable to have a one-sentence paragraph.

3.1. Diagrams with a time period

The mistake a lot of students make, however, is to try to be too accurate in describing
what happens in the diagram.

E.g. The number of cars exported to Japan increased over the first three years
and then dropped a little but then rose for the next five years and then dropped
dramatically for eight years before rising again at the end.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
 This is far too much information. It is also too long at 39 words. Remember, you are
writing an overview of the information. No detailed data should be given, and certainly
no figures can ever be included. Although easy to write, there are several different
styles that can be used. This depends on whether or not the diagram has a time period.

* Look at the diagram from Exercise 2 again and try to decide what kind of information
can be put into the general description:

The diagram below shows information about the quarterly revenue of

several technology companies from 2004 to 2006.

There is usually no need for you to look at any data between the start and the end of the
time period. This will make the information too specific for a general statement.

This diagram has three categories - Windows, Google, and iPod - and, therefore, three
trends. Despite obvious fluctuations, if we look at the revenue for each company in the
first quarter of 2004, and then in the fourth quarter of 2006, we can see that the revenue
rose for all three technology companies. The trend is, therefore, increasing for all three
categories.

Take a look at the following examples of general statements, and decide which ones
you think could be used for this diagram.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
1. Generally speaking, the three lines in the diagram fluctuated a lot.
2. It can be clearly seen that, while sales for all categories rose over this time
period, figures for Windows were usually higher than the other two.
3. In general, all three categories went up over this time period.
4. Revenue for Windows was nearly always higher than the other two
categories, Google and iPod, over a three-year period from 2004 to 2006.
5. An overview of this diagram shows that Windows climbed gradually and
fell at the end, Google went up dramatically and iPod fluctuated a lot.
6. A closer look at the diagram highlights the fact that the revenue for all
three categories, Windows, Google and iPod, rose over this period of time.

Now try to explain why you made the choices you did, and try to suggest ways to
improve some of the sentences. Notice the different ways of starting each sentence.

 The table below explains which of these six general statement sentences are
suitable for a data report writing.

YES/NO
1 NO This is too general and you should never use the
word line/lines.
2 YES This is a good general statement showing trends and
which category was higher.
3 NO This shows a trend but uses the word up which is
seen as too informal.
4 NO This focuses on one category having a higher
revenue than the other two but repeats information
contained in the introduction.
5 NO This is too general.
6 YES This is a good general statement that explains the
trend of three categories.

VOCABULARY

An important vocabulary point to note is: when writing about trends, certain words are
considered more academic than others. For instance, do not use the words up and
down in any part of your data report writing. They are regarded as too informal. Look at
the list of vocabulary given here and put them into the correct column.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
UP DOWN

GRAMMAR

It is obvious that grammar is a very important part of achieving a high-quality data

report. However, it is also true to say that your grammar need not be perfect to get a
reasonable score. Although the purpose of this book is not to focus on improving
grammar skills, certain grammatical problems must be mentioned.

VERB TENSES

When writing an overall description, both the simple present and simple past verb
tenses can be used. However, it is more usual, for diagrams with or without a time
period, to use the simple past.

Adjectives/Adverbs

One common mistake, when writing either a general statement or body sentence,
is to use words like dramatically or dramatic. Do not think this will help you get a high
score in the test.

E.g. Generally speaking, the three lines in the diagram fluctuated a lot.

 This sentence is descriptive but missing both a trend and figures.

Equally, a sentence in the body that states:

Sales grew dramatically from US$10,000 in 1987 to US$35,000 in 2007, a climb

of US$25,000.

 The sentence fails to state why the information is important. So, although the
sentence itself is well written, it is still quite descriptive. This can be improved by adding
the reason why these particular figures have been quoted. A better sentence, stating
the importance of the data, would be:

The biggest overall increase in sales was in Brazil where figures grew
dramatically from US$10,000 in 1987 to US$35,000 in 2007, a climb of US$25,000.

Look at these two sentences and decide if they are correctly written. Then study the
tables below.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
1. There was a dramatically rise in sales ...
2. Sales rose dramatic...

Exercise 5. Write the introduction and overall statement(s) for the following diagrams
with time periods.

a.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows information about UFO' sightings in Great Britain from
1997 to 2007.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

b.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows information about the CO, emissions from energy
production in several regions around the world and their ranking from 1985 to
2005.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

1985 1995 2005

Gt* Rank Gt* Rank Gt* Rank
US 5.8 1 6.4 2 6.9 2
China 5.1 2 8.6 1 11.4 1
Russia 1.5 3 1.8 4 2.0 4
Japan 1.2 4 1.3 5 1.2 5
India 1.1 5 1.8 3 3.3 3
*Gt = Gigatonne (1Gt = 1,000,000,000,000kg)

3.2. Diagrams with no time period

As you already know, some diagrams have no time period. This makes it impossible to
write about trends because nothing changes. However, a general statement can still be
written by referring to the category with the largest figure and the category with the
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
smallest figure. This is certainly the easiest way of writing a general statement, but you
must try not to mention these two important points again when you write the body. Just
imagine writing something like:

In general, the city with the largest population was Beijing whereas the city with
the smallest population was Berlin.

More specifically, the city with the largest population was Beijing with 10.1 million
people whereas Berlin had the smallest population with 3.4 million.

Certainly, it is possible to change the structure of these two sentences and make them
look a little less alike. The information, however, would still be the same. This
information is important and should really be in the body, but it now seems rather
repetitive. A useful tip is to look at the categories a little more closely and then, if
possible, divide them into different groups. This new way of looking at the diagram
might lead to a different general statement. For instance, if the diagram looked like this:

City Population
New York 8.3
Beijing 10.1
London 7.5
Hong Kong 6.9
Berlin 3.4
(measured in millions)

 You can write as follows:

In general, the city with the largest population was in Asia, whereas the
smallest city was in Europe.

More specifically, Beijing had the largest population with 10.1 million
people, making it just under three times larger than the smallest city, Berlin, with
3.4 million residents.

This has made the general statement quite different from the information that follows in
the body. Notice that the body sentence has also been written in a different way from
the first example. This has been done by including information on how much bigger one
city is than the other. Now look at the different categories on the next page and see if
you can either:

1. divide all of the categories into two or three new groups, or

2. put a few categories into a new group.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Exercise 6. Write the introduction and overall description for the following diagrams.

a.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the results of a questionnaire showing how many
times teenagers in Australia use an iPod in a week to play videos in 2009.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

b.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the percentage of deaths from heart disease and
cancer, and calories consumed from unrefined plant foods.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

MANAGING YOUR TIME

It is suggested that you spend about 20 minutes writing the data analysis (at least 150
words).

Number of Words Time Spent

Introduction: 25-30 words 3 minutes
General statement: 25-30 2 minutes
words
Body: 90-100 words 15 minutes
TOTAL: 150 words TOTAL: 20 minutes

Some people like to write a conclusion, but a general statement is not needed if you do.
This is because, for this type of writing, general statements and conclusions are very
similar and repetition of information is often difficult to avoid.

It is suggested that you only look for enough information from the diagram to allow you
to write the introduction and general statement. Then, move to the body and start to
analyse the diagram. There are always too many important points to mention, so only
pick a few key points and then look for them.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
UNIT 2. WRITING A REPORT: CONTRAST, TRENDS, AND
CORRELATIONS
I. LANGUAGE FOCUS

1.1. Introductory expressions

The graph / table shows / indicates / illustrates / reveals / represents

It is clear from the graph / table
It can be seen from the graph / table
As the graph / table shows,
As can be seen from the graph / table,
As is shown by the graph / table,
As is illustrated by the graph / table,
From the graph / table it is clear
Notice that it is best to avoid using personal pronouns. Instead of saying “We can see
from the graph....” it is better to use the passive or impersonal constructions, as above.

Exercise 1. Which is the best introductory sentence for a description of this graph from
the following?

1. This graph shows the changes in world meat production between 1950
and 1990.
2. From this graph we can see that most meat production is a lot higher in
1990 than in 1950.
3. Between 1950 and 1990 meat production in the world rose significantly for
all kinds of meat except sheep and goat meat.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
4. The graph shows that in 1950production of poultry and sheep and goat
meat was less than 5 million tons, while production of pork and beef and
buffalo meat was around 20 million tons.

1.2. Time expressions

As you can see in the above exercise, you can start your description with a time phrase
in some cases:

E.g. Between 1950 and 1990 production rose significantly...

Even if you do not begin your sentence with a time expression, in many cases,
particularly those involving line graphs, the time frame is given and is an important
element of the visual and will need to be mentioned. For this reason it is important that
you know how to use the common expressions of time, and that you revise them from
any normal grammar book if they cause you difficulties.

Here are the common ones:

in for during from - to / until

between -and before after

in: In 1999... In the 20th century... In the first ten years...

E.g. In the 20th century, there was a significant increase in production

for: For the first six months... For twenty years...

E.g. For the last six months, the number of employees remained the same.

during: During the first six months... During the first half of this century...
During the remainder of the year...

E.g. During the first half of the century, production was slowing down, while
imports increased.

from - to / until: From August to/ until November... From 1950 to 1960...

E.g. From January to March, there was no change in energy use.

between -and: Between 1950 and 1960...

E.g. Between 1950 and 1960, there was no change in the rate of fuel
consumption.

before / after: E.g. Before 1960 the number remained small, but after 1965 there was a
sudden increase.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
around / about: E.g. Around / about 1980 there was a change in the number of female
part-time employees.

by: E.g. By the late 19th century the rural workforce had declined significantly.

at: E.g. At the end of the last century there was a sharp increase in manufacturing.

since: E.g. Since the 19th century there has been a steady decline.

Other useful expressions are:

(in) the period from…to…

(in) the period between… and…
in the first/last three months of the year
over the period…to…
over the next years/ decades/ quarter of a century etc.
over a ten year period
throughout the 19th century
from that time on
after that
then
in the 1980s

Note that you can refer to a decade as the 1980s. There is no apostrophe before “s”.

1.3. Expressions of Measurement

Since graphs and tables show measurements, it is necessary for you to have
knowledge of the most common terms used to describe quantity and related
expressions, and, as always, to know how to use them CORRECTLY. The following
lists are there to act as a reminder for you of nouns that you are probably already
familiar with, and to show you the verbs that they are associated with, and the typical
phrases used to describe visual aids.

QUANTITIES

amount quantity number

figure the total the total amount
the total quantity the total number all of the
the whole of the the whole amount the full amount
the majority the greatest amount the greatest number
the maximum the minimum
It is best to use amount and quantity for uncountable nouns, although both are used for
countable nouns as well, particularly quantity. However, number can generally be
safely used for all countable nouns.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
E.g. The amount of production increased in the last 20 years.
The number of cars on the roads increased in the last 20 years.

However, you cannot write: “The quantity of production increased”. This is because
quantity is only used for items that can actually be measured or counted (e.g. iron ore,
shares, weapons), not for abstract terms. Since amount can be used more widely (e.g.
the amount of wealth / experience / waste) it is generally safer to use this word if you
are not certain.

For number you must of course have a plural, countable noun following: the number of
cars; the number of unemployed people.

There is some confusion about whether the verb following these phrases should be in
the singular or plural. Strictly, it should be singular, because the noun number is itself
singular, so we should write: The number of cars has increased. The number of
unemployed people has decreased.

But you may also come across this kind of sentence: There are a number of people who
have asked for this book. This is because in this case we are thinking about the people
rather than the number.

The word figure refers to the actual number itself, not the thing that the number refers
to: While the number of Internet users was only 2.6 million in 1990, this figure has more
than doubled in the last two years.

Note the combinations given in the table above (e.g. the total amount). A more simple
and idiomatic way of expressing the whole / total amount is to say all of the or the whole
of the. However, note that all of the can be used with both countable and uncountable
nouns (e.g. all of the population; all of the people), while the whole of the can only be
used with uncountable nouns (e.g. the whole of the population; the whole of the
production for that year). It is clearly safer to use all of the.

Warning! A common error is to omit the after expressions like all of or the whole
of. Do not write: “All of population” or “the whole of energy used”.

 It must be: All of the population; the whole of the energy used.

OTHER MEASUREMENTS
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Rate is defined in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as:
a quantity such as value, cost, or speed, measured by its relation to some
other amount.

The Cambridge International Dictionary gives this definition:

a level of speed with which something happens or changes, or the number
of times it happens or changes within a particular period.

So we can talk about the rate of growth, or, more commonly, the growth rate of the
population; the birth rate; unemployment rate; divorce rate etc. These are all
measurements considered in relation to the rest of the population, or involving changes
over time.

Level indicates height, as in the level of water in a glass, but it also has the meaning of
amount. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines it as:
a point or position on a scale of quantity, strength, value etc.

Collins Co-build English Language Dictionary gives this definition:

the amount of something at a particular time;

Thus we can talk about the level of production; the level of expenditure; and also the
level of unemployment.

In all the examples given above, the word level could be replaced by the word rate. (i.e.
the rate of production; the rate of expenditure; the rate of unemployment (or the
unemployment rate). In most cases it is probably safer, therefore, to use the word rate
unless you especially want to refer to a particular point, rather than to make a
comparison.

If you think of level being represented by a bar graph, and rate by a line graph, it is
easier to remember that level goes with the verb rise and rate goes with the verb
increase.

Most of the other words in the list are not quite so common, and you should not use
them unless you are confident that you know them well. However, another very
common and important term is percentage. While percent means literally for every
hundred, the word percentage is used more broadly to mean proportion. Thus we can
say that the percentage/proportion of women in the workforce has risen.

The term proportion is also used to compare two things:

The proportion of women to men in the workforce increased.

RELATED VERBS
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
be make up consist of
constitute comprise amount to
equal account for represent
include record reach
stand at become

MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSIONS

PHRASES

Note especially the use of the prepositions at, in and with in some of the following, and
try to learn these phrases, as they are very useful:

Production rose at a rate of 20% per year / per annum /p.a….

Consumption stood at the same level in the following decade…
The annual increase was in / within the range of 10% and 20%...
Production increased / decreased by 20%...
The increase was very significant, at 50%...
X was the largest producer, with 45% of the total production…
The number remained steady at 300 for the next year…
Exports doubled, to reach 80% of imports in 1990…
There were three times as many users as in the previous year…
The number of users increased fivefold…

Exercise 2. Make all the possible matches between the words in the first column and
those in the second.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Note: Be careful to use measurement terms to avoid mistakes like the following:
In the past 10 years the cars rose
instead of:
In the past 10 years the number of cars rose.

COMMON ADJECTIVES

These are some of the more common adjectives, with examples of appropriate
collocations:

high / low: a high / low percentage

large: a large number
great: a great number
significant: a significant number/percentage / amount
considerable: a considerable amount / increase
substantial: a substantial increase / decrease
major: a major increase / decrease
remarkable: a remarkable increase
steady: a steady decrease
widespread: the widespread consumption

COMMON ADVERBIALS

Adverbs and adverbial phrases are also widely used to modify adjectives or numbers in
order to express precise meaning. Here are some examples:

over: over 20%

under: under 5000
just over / under: just over / under 50,000people
around / about: around / about 50%
approximately: approximately 25%
slightly: slightly more than half; slightly over 40%
marginally: a marginally smaller percentage
significantly: significantly fewer women
close to: close to half
considerably: considerably more exports
substantially: substantially less traffic
almost: almost exactly twice as many

Exercise 3. Fill the gaps in the following description of the table by selecting any
appropriate expression from those given. Note that more than one choice may be
correct.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

Of all the waste reported in the UNSW survey in 1966, it was found that 1________was
paper which 2_______ 52% of the waste found in buildings. Both in outside eating
areas and in skips 3_________ of waste 4__________compostable materials, which
5_______ 40% of the total. Considering the 6__________ of waste collected in the
university, it is clear that 7_________ could be recycled or re-used in some way.

1. a) the largest amount b) the greatest proportion c) the majority

d) the biggest number
2. a) made up b) included c) accounted for d) was
3. a) the most significant proportion b) most c) the highest level
d) the greatest percentage.
4. a) consisted of b) was c) amounted to d) accounted for
5. a) represented b) was c)accounted for d) stood at
6. a) whole percentage b) total amount c) full number d) majority
7. a) the majority b) practically all of it c) nearly the whole amount
d) most of it

Exercise 4. Read the following description of the bar graph given underneath, then
cover the description and try to fill the gaps in the version below. You do not need to
use exactly the same expressions as those given, but the meanings and grammar must
be accurate.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

Nine of the ten top rice producing countries in the world in 1999 were in Asia. As one
would expect, China was the greatest producer of rice, with nearly 193 million tonnes. It
was followed by India, which produced over 122 million tonnes, while the third largest
producer, Indonesia, was responsible for about one third of that amount, at just over 46
million tonnes. Bangladesh, Viet Nam and Thailand had similar levels of production, i.e.
between 20 and 30 million tonnes each, while Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines
ranged between 16 and 10 million tonnes. The only non-Asian producer on the list, the
USA, accounted for just over 8 million tonnes.

 Nine of the ten top rice-producing countries in the world in 1999 were in Asia. As one
would expect, China was …………… of rice, …………… tonnes. It was followed by
India, which …………… tonnes, while the ……………, Indonesia, was responsible for
……………, at just over 46 m. tonnes. Bangladesh, Viet Nam and Thailand had similar
…………… , i.e. between 20 and30 million tonnes each, while Malaysia, Japan and the
Philippines …………… tonnes. The only non-Asian producer on the list, the USA,
…………… 8 million tonnes.

II. WRITING A REPORT: COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Graphs and tables are generally intended to show comparisons, contrasts or

correlations. In some cases a variety of things are compared or contrasted, while in
other cases the same items are compared at different times. This is done to show
movement or trends. This section will deal with comparisons of different items, while the
next section, on trends, will deal with changes over time. We will then look at how
correlations are used and interpreted.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Note that the verb to compare means to show both the similarities and the differences
between two things, while to contrast means simply to reveal the differences. It is
therefore enough to use compare for both purposes. There is, however, a significant
difference in looking at correlations because they may show a relationship between two
things happening at the same time -often a cause and effect relationship. This will be
discussed further below.

There are many ways of expressing comparison.

2.1. Implicit Contrast

In some cases a contrast is implied because of the way the ideas are juxtaposed, that
is, placed next to each other. For example:
Alia is a republic with a popularly elected president. Betastan is a military
dictatorship.

In this case it is not necessary, or even desirable, to use a connector such as By

contrast, because the contrast is so obvious. The style of writing is improved if
connectors are not overused, so implicit contrast is worth using at least from time to
time.

2.2. Explicit Contrast

Contrast is shown explicitly by using various parts of speech, particularly connectors.

The most simple comparisons are expressed with the words:

more less fewer greater

larger smaller higher lower

To use these correctly you need to consider the nouns they are used with. Look again
at the common measurement terms we have studied:

amount number quantity degree

rate level size proportion

percentage

greater amount
a larger quantity
smaller size
greater degree
a higher rate
lower level
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
greater
larger number
a higher proportion
smaller percentage
lower

1. More, less and fewer do NOT combine with any of the nouns listed above.
2. More, greater, higher and less are used with uncountable nouns and the
singular verb: There is more / greater / less growth in GNP p.a.in Alia than
in Bestastan.
3. More and fewer are followed by countable nouns in the plural: There were
more / fewer accidents last year than the year before.

Exercise 5.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar graph below shows the number of television receivers per 1,000
inhabitants in the world in 1970 and 1990.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

a. In 1970 the number of TV receivers per 1000 inhabitants in the world was
much less than in 1997.
b. In 1997 the number of TV receivers in the world was much greater than in
1970.
c. There were nearly three times as many TV receivers in the world in 1997
as in 1970.
d. There were far more TV receivers in the world in 1997 than in 1970.
e. The ownership of TV receivers in 1997 was 200% (three times) higher
than in1970.

 Which of the above do you think are the best descriptions for the bar graph below?
Why? Then try to describe the rest of the graph using the most appropriate expressions
you can, and avoiding repetition.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

LANGUAGE FOR COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Similarity can be shown by using:

Contrast, which is more common, can be expressed by using:

Exercise 6. Which of the above are used to start a new sentence? Some are
prepositions and must be followed by nouns. Which are these?

Contrast can also be shown by using specific verbs, adjectives and nouns:
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

WARNING!!!

Compared and comparing are often used incorrectly. Look at these sentences:

a. Compared with x, y is more efficient.

b. Comparing x with y we find that x is more efficient.
c. Comparing with x, y is more efficient.

 Two of the above are correct and one is incorrect. Can you see which is which?

People compare things (or people). If the active voice is used (comparing) then it must
refer to someone doing the comparing i.e. people. So we say:
Comparing x with y we find that...
Comparing x withy, it can be seen (by us) that....

If the person or people doing the comparing are not relevant to the sentence, then the
passive form (compared) must be used. So the first two sentences are correct, but not
the last one.

NOTE: Compared with X, Y is more efficient is grammatically correct, but it is not a very
good sentence stylistically. For a comparison within a sentence, the use of an explicit
expression of comparison is not usually necessary and actually makes the sentence
clumsy. Such expressions should only be used in more complex comparisons, between
sentences, or longer sections of text. Within a sentence, it is normally enough to say:
Y is more efficient than X.

Exercise 7. Fill in the gaps in the following description, using expressions from the
above lists. Try to vary the expressions you use, to avoid repetition.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

In 1920, 75% of the labour force in Alia was employed in agriculture ………………only
10% worked in business and trade. At the same time ………………the manufacturing
sector ………………the professional sector constituted just 2% of the workforce each.
This situation changed only very gradually over the next 20 years, ………………the
professional workforce, which increased more than threefold. ………………by 1970
there had been a significant change in the pattern of employment. ………………the
agricultural employees had declined in number to 40% of the workforce, manufacturing
employees ………………professionals had increased their share to 13% and 10%
respectively. ……………… the business sector did not increase until 1970. The most
dramatic ………………could be seen by 1990, when the proportion of agricultural
workers was reduced to just 10% ……………… the three other major sectors had all
increased to over 20% of the workforce.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
World production increased in all types of meat ……………… sheep and goats between
1950 and 1990. There was a slow rise in the production of pork and beef buffalo meat
up to 1980, ………………after this pork production increased more rapidly. Poultry
production showed a ………………trend. Starting from a low base of just 5 million tons,
it increased relatively slowly for the first 20 years of the reported period. ………………,
after that it increased sharply, until by 1990 it had reached over 30 million tons.
………………, the production of sheep and goat meat remained steady throughout the
period at around 5 million tons.

Exercise 8. The expressions i-vi are useful for describing quantity. Match them with the
percentages a-f below.

Exercise 9. The bar chart below shows the results of a survey of how people felt about
examinations. Complete the sentences 1-6, which describe the chart, using the
expressions i-vi from Exercise 8.

1 _______ of those surveyed said they found the challenge exciting.

2 _______ of respondents said they felt anxious.

 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
3 _______ said they felt more competitive.

4 _______ of those surveyed replied that they felt more focused.

5 _______ indicated that examinations made them lose interest in their studies.

6 _______ of those who responded said they felt motivated to work harder.

Exercise 10. Complete the sentences 1-6 with a comparative or superlative form.

1. Nearly …………….many students sat the Art and Design exam …………….did
the Chemistry exam.
2. The percentage of students gaining top marks in Art and Design was slightly
…………….than the percentage of students achieving top marks in Chemistry.
3. The …………….popular subjects were Physical Education, Health and Food
Technology, and Computing.
4. The HFT examination was taken by …………….students than the PE
examination.
5. However, a …………….percentage of students taking the HFT exam gained top
marks.
6. The …………….percentage of students gaining top marks was in Media, Film
and Television Studies.

Exercise 11. Read the sentences 1-4 below. Write S if the sentence expresses
similarity and D if it expresses difference. Underline the words which helped you decide.

1. The percentage of top marks was quite high in subjects such as

Mathematics, which are traditionally regarded as difficult. On the other
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
hand, the percentage of top marks was relatively low in subjects such as
HFT, which are commonly regarded as ‘soft’.
2. Whereas 45 per cent of Mathematics candidates gained top marks, only
12 per cent of Media, Film and Television candidates gained top marks.
3. Similar numbers of students sat examinations in Art and Design and in
Chemistry.
4. Sixteen per cent of students gained top marks in both Physical Education
and Computing.

Exercise 12. Re-write the sentences 1-5 using the words in brackets.

1. More girls than boys passed their English examinations. (fewer)


2. The same number of boys and girls achieved a passing grade in Mathematics.
(as... as)

3. The same number of boys and girls achieved a passing grade in Mathematics.
(as... as)

4. The number of passes in Religious Studies was higher for girls than for boys.
(lower)

5. Nearly as many girls as boys passed the Economics exam. (similar)

 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
EXAM PRACTICE

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different
types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
III. WRITING A REPORT: TRENDS

In statistical data analysis you may have to describe trends. This may come up in a line
graph, bar chart or when comparing more than one chart.

There are two main grammatical structures we can use to describe trends.

1. There + be + adj. + noun + in + noun phrase

E.g. There was a gradual rise in the price of oil.

There has been a sharp drop in the price of oil.

2. Noun phrase + verb + adverb.

E.g. The price of oil rose gradually.

The price of oil has risen dramatically.

3. Using fractions

E.g. The price of oil halved in less than a year.

The price of oil has halved since July.

3.1. Verbs

3.2. Usage

WARNING: Please do not confuse fall with fall down! The latter is only used for
physical falls. In other words, a person or a vase can fall down, but not the value of the
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
dollar! Also do not confuse grow with grow up! Only a person can grow up to become
an adult, but not a whole population or an economy!

You must know the verb forms of the irregular verbs in the above list: rise; fall; shrink. In
particular, do not confuse rise (rose; risen) with raise (raised; raised). The other two are:
fell; fallen and shrank; shrunk although you can really forget about the last one because
it is hardly ever used in the past or present perfect tense.

Note that arise has the same forms as rise, but a very different meaning!

Remember that it is very important to know which verbs are transitive and which are
intransitive, since only transitive verbs can be used in the passive.

Exercise 13. Mark those verbs in section 3.1. which are transitive with tr. and the
intransitive ones intr. Some can be both!

Check your answers in your Learner’s Dictionary.

Exercise 14. Identify which form of the verb should be used in the following:

Note that in those cases where the verb can be both transitive and intransitive, the
choice depends on whether the action itself is stressed (intransitive) or there is the idea
that someone was responsible for the action.

1. The number of workers in manufacturing increased / was increased between

1950 and I960.
2. The total professional sector expanded / was expanded throughout the last 80
years.
3. The business sector also grew / was grown after 1980.
4. The number of manufacturing employees rose / was risen / raised / was raised
significantly between 1950 and 1970.
5. The agricultural workforce has steadily decreased / has been steadily decreased
over the last 80 years.
6. Other kinds of employment remained / were remained fairly steady throughout
the period.
7. The agricultural workforce reduced / was reduced quite sharply after 1960.

3.3. Nouns
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Exercise 15. Note that it is very important to combine nouns and verbs correctly.
Combine as many of the followings as is possible:

Exercise 16. The verbs a-h can all be used to describe line graphs. Match each
expression with the part of the graph it best describes.

a. rise (rose, risen)

b. fall (fell, fallen)
c. peak (-ed, -ed)
d. reach (-ed, -ed) its lowest point
e. level (-led, -led) off
f. dip (-ped, -ped)
g. remain (-ed, -ed) the same
h. fluctuate (-d, -d)
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
Exercise 17. The adjectives a-g can be used to describe the degree of change
represented in a line graph. Adjectives are placed before the noun.
E.g. There was a sharp rise in fast food consumption.
Match each adjective with the line that it best describes.

a. gradual
b. moderate
c. modest
d. sharp
e. dramatic
f. slight
g. steep

Exercise 18. Adverbs can also be used to describe the degree of change. Adverbs
come after the verb.
E.g. Fast food consumption rose sharply.
The sentences 1-5 on the left describe trends using there be +adjective + noun.
Complete the sentences on the right using the corresponding verb + adverb.

Exercise 19. Complete the passage below using verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns.
Make sure you use the correct verb tenses. The first one has been done for you.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

The percentage of malnourished elderly people in the EU fell gradually between 1970
and 1978. Over the following seven years, it (1)…………………….. (2)
…………………….., until 1990, when it (3) ……………………..at 16 per cent. After
falling slightly, the rate of malnutrition (4) …………………….. for a decade. Since 2000,
there (5) ……………………..a (6) ……………………..fall. Over the next ten years, it is
(7) ……………………..to (8) …………………….. (9) ……………………..

Exercise 20. When describing a line graph, you should also indicate precisely the time
you are referring to. Use the expressions a-e to complete the passage below.

a. over the next... / for

the following ...
b. thereafter
c. from ... to / between
... and
d. until
e. in (x2)

The percentage of children using supplements is at its highest level (1)…………....

January…………....March. It then falls sharply and fluctuates (2) …………....two
months. Supplement use continues to fall gradually (3) ………….... it reaches its lowest
point (4) …………....August. (5) …………...., it increases gradually during the autumn
months and more sharply (7) …………....December.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
EXAM PRACTICE

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph shows the percentage of UK adolescents following a vegetarian diet.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
IV. WRITING A REPORT: CORRELATIONS

One of the most interesting ways to use graphs and tables is to place two together that
show a connection, or a correlation. In this case it is necessary to understand what the
link is that connects the two.

Correlations can often show an indirect causal link. For example, it has not been
possible to say that smoking causes illness in the same way that one can say that a
poison causes illness, because many people smoke without becoming ill. Nevertheless,
as the example below shows, a strong correlation between smoking and death from
certain illnesses can show that tobacco is an indirect cause of illness and death.

Correlations can also be used to show economic or other activity where there is no
causal link, or where the cause is a separate one (as in the example about tourism
below). These are often interesting because they can indicate trends and perhaps
suggest future actions to be taken. In data analysis it is necessary to understand why
the two visuals have been placed together, but you are not expected to discuss the
implications in any detail.

4.1. Vocabulary and Usage

There is no special vocabulary to be used for describing correlated graphs and tables.
There are two grammatical forms which are more likely to occur in this context: the
superlatives of quantity, such as the greatest number, the lowest incidence / occurrence
etc. and the comparative form: the greater the..... the greater the....etc.

Exercise 21. In the following description, underline all the useful expressions you can
find and use them in your own description of the correlation of the graphs that follow.

There is a clear correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked per capita and
the number of tobacco related deaths. The table shows that the greatest consumption of
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
cigarettes in 1995 was to be found in Europe, China and the Western Pacific, and that
each of these regions also had by far the largest number of tobacco related deaths in
1998. Europe, with the greatest consumption per head of cigarettes, namely over 2000
for 1995, also experienced well over 1 million tobacco-related deaths by 1998. The
region with the second highest consumption of cigarettes was the Western Pacific, with
nearly 2000per head, and it also recorded the second highest number of tobacco-
related deaths, namely 1.185 million.

In all regions except Southeast Asia it can be seen that the higher the consumption of
cigarettes, the higher the tobacco-related mortality rate. It is interesting that in
Southeast Asia, with the lowest level of cigarette consumption, at 415 per capita, the
mortality rate was as high as in the Americas, namely 0.58 million, although in the latter
the consumption level was nearly three times as high. Clearly other health or economic
factors must be involved. It is also interesting to note that in each case the number of
female deaths was significantly lower than that of males, which seems to be a reflection
of the fact that in general far fewer women than men smoke.

EXAM FOCUS

Data analysis sometimes requires you to describe two figures. Before writing your
response, it is important to ask yourself the following:

1. What do both figures relate to?

2. What kind of relationship is evident?

a. a similarity c a cause and effect relationship

b. a difference d. some other type of relationship

Once you have answered these questions, you are then in a better position to answer
questions 3 and 4:

3. Which aspects of each figure should be highlighted?

4. a) Should the figures be described in separate paragraphs or b) should different
aspects of the figures be compared within a series of paragraphs?

Exercise 22. Answer the questions 1-4 above in relation to the two figures below.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

Exercise 23. Read the response below and answer questions 1-6.

The line graph shows average disposable income for three different age groups from
2000 to 2010. The table gives the percentage increase in sales for six different products
at three-year intervals from 2001 to 2010. Seen together, the figures suggest a link
between the disposable income of different age groups and how well certain products
sell.

The disposable income of young people in the UK between the ages of fifteen and
twenty-four peaked in 2006 and reached another high point in 2007 before falling
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
sharply. Sales of products typically enjoyed by young people, trainers and video games,
showed a similar pattern with sales of both products increasing sharply by 2006 (5%
and 6% respectively).

The disposable income of the 35-66 age group peaked in 2008 after reaching its second
highest point in 2006. Sales of business suits, books and children's toys – all items that
people of this age group might be expected to buy - also peaked in the third quarter of
the decade, with particularly strong growth in sales of toys (8%).

For people aged 65-76, disposable income remained roughly constant. Not surprisingly,
sales of reading glasses also remained steady throughout the period.

Overall, the figures show that the sales performance of different types of products may
be influenced by the disposable income available to different sectors of the population.

1. Look at the three sentences of the introduction. What information is given in each
of them?
2. What type of relationship between the two figures is identified and how is this
expressed?
3. How is each of the three body paragraphs structured?
4. What specific information has the writer chosen to highlight? Why?
5. What expressions has the writer used to highlight the similarities in the trends
represented?
6. What expression is used in the conclusion to express the relationship between
the two figures?

Exercise 24. Look at the two figures below. The two italicized expressions in sentences
1-2 can be used to describe relationships between data sets. Indicate what each of
them means by rephrasing the sentence.

1. The two figures show that there is a positive correlation between the availability
of cheap credit and levels of consumer spending.
2. The two figures show that the rate of taxation correlates negatively with levels of
consumer spending.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4

Now rephrase each sentence in three different ways using the expressions a-f below.

a. inversely proportional d. when ... falls, ... appear to...

b. proportional e. the less ... the more ...
c. when ... rises, ... also appear to ... f. the more ... the more ...

Exercise 25. Write a description of the two figures in Exercise 24 using the following
prompts.

Introduction:
 State what figure 1 shows.
 State what figure 2 shows.
Body paragraph 1:
 Describe the overall relationship between the availability of credit and consumer
spending using one of the phrases from Exercise 24.
 Give a more detailed description of the trends.
Body paragraph 2:
 Describe the overall relationship between taxation and consumer spending using
one of the phrases from Exercise 24.
 Give a more detailed description of the trends.
Overall description:
 Rephrase the relationship between credit, taxation and spending.

*Remember the Overall description can be placed before the 2 body paragraphs.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
EXAM PRACTICE

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The figures give information about economic growth and household expenditure
across a range of categories.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
 Writing Term 4: Week 1-4
REFERENCES
Writing exercises are taken from the following sources:

1. Biggerton, P. (2013). The Complete Guide to Task 1 Writing with model answers.
Vietnam: Nhan Tri Viet, Co. Ltd.

2. Duigu, G. (2001). Writing about Graphs, Tables and Diagrams. Australia: Academic
English Press.

3. Williams, A. (2011). Writing for IELTS. London: HarperCollins Publishers.

 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

UNIT 3: DESCRIBING CHARTS (LINE/ BAR CHARTS)

Exercise 1:
Match each graph (a-h)with the most appropriate description below (1-10).

1 Sales of audio cassettes fell steadily. .

2 iPod sales rose gradually. .
3 Plasma TV sales fluctuated wildly, but the trend was upward. .
4 Sales of video cassettes fluctuated wildly, and the trend was downward. .
5 Total digital camera sales dropped slightly. .
6 Sales of audio cassettes fell and then levelled off. .
7 The sales of MP3-players rose gradually and then climbed sharply. .
8 Purchases of video cassette recorders declined dramatically. .
9 Sales of games consoles decreased and then levelled off. .
10 CD sales dropped suddenly. .
Exercise 2:
Underline the verbs in exercise 1 used to describe trends.
Example
1 Sales of audio cassettes fell steadily.
Exercise 3:
The verbs in 2 are modified by adverbs such as steadily. Find the adverbs and decide
whether they mean slow or fast changes. Complete the lists below.
slow steadily,
fast

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 4:Understanding data

I. Read the graph and the question below. What was the income in dollars for:
a. The Tea Room in January?
b. Internet Express in July?
c. Wi-fi Café in Novermber?
d. Café Cool in December?
e. The Tea Room in February?
The graph shows the income of four cafes in New York over the last year.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting, and make comparisons where
relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

II. Answer these questions about the graph.

a. What do the letters J, F, M, etc. along the bottom of the graph mean?
b. What does 000s mean?
c. What patterns can you see?
d. What comparisons can you make?
Exercise 5:
Read the model text and match options a-g with gaps 1-7 in the model text.
a. steadily
b. then rocketed
c. doubled
d. significantly
e. also ended the year up
f. a steady fall
g. a rise
Model text:

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

The graph provides information about the income increase to $120,000. Furthermore, the income
trends of four cafes over the last year. for both Internet Express and the Wi-fi Café (3)
………………. In December. The former
There are two basic general trends: downward and experienced (4) ………………. to June, but after
upward. As regards the first, the earnings for the that, income rose (5) ………………. ending the
Tea Room, were down over the year, falling (1) year at approximately $130,000. Likewise, the
………………. from almost $160,000 earnings a trend for Wi-fi was upward. Between January to
month to just under $50,000 in December. July, earnings (6) ………………. from $50,000 to
nearly $100,000 and (7) ………………. to around
By contrast, the income for the other three cafes $190,000.
went up by varying degrees. There was (2)
………………. in Café Cool’s sales over the first ten It is noticeable that income for The Tea Room is
months, followed by a sudden lower in the winter months than for the other three
cafes.

Exercise 6:
Sentences containing verb phrases such as fell steadily can often be rewritten using the
correct form of there is/ are and a related noun. Read the examples. Then rewrite sentences
a-j below.
Example:
The consumption of chocolate fell steadily. (verb + adverb)
There was a steady fall in the consumption of chocolate. (there + be + a + adjective + noun)
There has been a dramatic rise in the production of films. (there has been a + adjective +
noun)
The production of films has risen dramatically. (verb + adverb)
a. Spice exports from Africa fluctuated wildly over the period.
There were

b. The development of new products fell gradually.

There was .

c. There has been a noticeable decrease in research investment.

Research ..

d. The purchases of tickets dropped significantly next month.

There was ..

e. On the Internet, the number of sites rose significantly.

There was ..

f. There was a sudden decrease in the sale of mangos.

The sale ..
g. At the theme park, there were very slight fluctuations in the number of visitors.
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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

The number

h. There was a gradual decline in sugar imports.

Sugar ..

i. The quality of food in supermarkets has increased slowly.

There has ..

j. The number of air travelers fluctuated remarkably.

There ..

Exercise 7:
Complete the sentences with correct words from the two lists below. Choose one word from
each list for each sentence. Check word form carefully.
• Slight, steady, sudden, significant, dramatic, moderate
• Rise, drop, fall, climb, increase, decrease

a. The price _______________ ________________ from 100 dollars to 102 dollars.

b. There was a _______________ _______________ in the cost of oil from 95 dollars to
75 dollars over one month.
c. The price _______________ _______________ over three years, increasing by five
dollars each year.
d. There was a _______________ _______________ from 102 dollars to 100 dollars.
e. The cost of oil _______________ _______________ from 75 dollars to 90 dollars over
seven years.
f. There was a _______________ _______________ in the price over three years,
increasing by five dollars each year.
g. There was a _______________ _______________ in student enrolments last year,
from 20,000 to 12,000.
h. The average population of major cities in the USA has _______________
_______________ from 4 to 4.2 million.
Exercise 6:
Look at the graph below, which shows the number of visitors to Tabard Towers Theme
Park each month last year. Following the graph, there are 15 statements about the data.
Decide which sentences are true or false according to the diagram. More than one
sentence may describe the same data.
Note that the sentences are not in any particular order and that they do not form a full
text.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

1. In the last three months of the year, attendances were off their September peak, falling
back by 30,000 visitors a month till the end of the year.
2. During last year, the trend was obviously upwards.
3. Numbers picked up in June, rocketing by almost 400%.
4. There was a marked improvement in July with the number of visitors surging 500%.
5. From May through to September, the number of people visiting the theme park
monthly rose by approximately 70%.
6. During the first four months, visitor numbers rose gradually.
7. The gradual rise in visitor numbers from 30,000 to approximately 45,000 in the first
four months was followed by a sharper increase in May.
8. Between April and May, the increase in the number of visitors was at a much slower
pace than in the previous three months.
9. It is clear that for most of the year, monthly attendances were above trend.
10. In July, the number of visitors shot up dramatically.
11. In July, there was a dramatic increase in visitor numbers to just short of 140,000
people, followed by a sudden decline in August.
12. In July, visitor numbers soared and then suddenly fell back again the following month.
13. August saw a sharp turnaround in attendances with numbers leaping from just under
80,000 to 140,000.
14. The period between May and September saw a steady growth in the number of
visitors from 70,000 to 140,000.
15. Attendances at the theme park can be divided into three distinct periods: January to
May, June to September and October to December.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 7: Graph jumble

Read the text below carefully, then look at the 10 mini line graphs A – J and decide the
sequence of the graphs. Note that there are 11 mini graphs in the sequence, and that
there is one mini graph which you will not use. You may use any graph more than once.
The first graph in the sequence is A.
Text:
(1) The number of books sold was fairly steady over the first few weeks of the year with a
slight rise to 200 per day. (2)After that sales went up and down wildly, first doubling to 400 units,
and (3)subsequently falling back erratically again to 200 books. (4)These fluctuations were
followed by a period of stability as sales hovered around the 200 mark. (5)Book purchases,
however, proved very erratic again, but the trend was upward this time, reaching the 400 per day
level. (6)The number of books sold then plunged dramatically, hitting a low of 100, only to
bounce back to 500 books a day. (7)The recovery was short-lived, however, as sales fell back
again to 200(8) around which they remained for a short time (9)before climbing again, albeit
fitfully to 400. (10)Book sales then plummeted to a new low of 50 a day where they stabilised for
a period before shooting up again to the 600 mark. (11)This was followed by a sharp drop of
approximately 80% in the number of books purchased.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 8:

The graph below shows the amount of money spent on books in Germany, France, Italy and
Austria between 1995 and 2005.

7
 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Read the following sample answer. Complete the answer by filling the gaps with the words in
the box.

biggest sharp least dramatically

much less more three times

The line graph compares the amount of money spent on buying books in Germany, France,
Italy and Austria over a period of ten years between 1995 and 2005.

In 1995 Austria spent the (1) ........... amount of money on books, while Italy and France spent
about as (2) ........... as each other. However, by 2001, the gap in spending between these
two countries had widened and considerably (3) ........... money was spent in France than In
Italy.

As can be seen from the graph, the amount of money spent increased in all four countries but
rose the most (4) ........... in Austria. The period between 2000 and 2005 saw a
(5) ........... growth and in 2005 the Austrians spent (6) ........... as much money as they did in
1995.

However, during this ten-year period, Germany remained the (7) ........... spenders on book,
with all three other countries spending much (8) ........... on them.

Exercise 9:

The graph below shows the pollution levels in London between 1600 and 2000.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Rearrange the sentences from 1 to 10 to make a paragraph which summarises the

information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.

a. In 1600, pollution levels were low, but over the next hundred years, the levels of sulphur
dioxide rose to 700 micrograms per cubic metre, while the levels of smoke rose
gradually to about 200 micrograms per cubic metre.
b. Smoke levels increased a little more sharply during this time and peaked in 1900 at
about 500 micrograms.
c. Clearly air pollution was a bigger problem in London in the early 20th century than it is
now.
d. The graph shows pollution levels in London between 1600 and 2000. 2. It measures
smoke and sulphur dioxide in micrograms per cubic metre.
e. They reached a peak in 1850.
f. During the 20th century, the levels of both pollutants fell dramatically, though there was
a great deal of fluctuation within this fall.
g. According to the information, the levels of both pollutants formed a similar pattern during
this period, but there were always higher levels of sulphur dioxide than smoke in the
atmosphere.
h. Over the next two hundred years the levels of sulphur dioxide continued to increase,
although there was some fluctuation in this trend.
i. It measures smoke and sulphur dioxide in micrograms per cubic metre.

Exercise 10: Missing data

The bar chart below shows the number of houses built per decade in two neighbouring
towns, Farkletown and Newtown, during the last century. Look at the chart and then study the
text which follows. Some information (A-S) has been left out of the text. Can you add it in the
correct place? You may use each item ONCE only.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Missing information

A. 350 houses H. three decades O. only 10

B. only 20 I. erratic P. 60s
C. 40 new houses J. the 80s Q. 10 years
D. the last two decades K. over 200 houses R. first two decades
E. over the next 40 years L. practically to zero S. a rise of more than 2600 %
F. 280 M. 120
G. 70s N. 1920s

The bar chart shows the number of houses built per decade in two villages, Farkletown and
Newtown, in the last century.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Overall, the number of houses that were erected in Farkletown exceeded the quantity
constructed in Newtown. The trend for the former was decidedly upwards, with Farkletown
experiencing a steady rise from (1) in the first (2) of the century, to just
under 120 during the Thirties. (3) , new house construction in Farkletown
remained constant at just under (4) . This is in sharp contrast to (5)
of the century when the number of houses that went up in Farkletown leapt, first to (6)
and then to (7) .

House building in Newtown, by comparison, was much more (8) . In the (9)
of the century, more houses were erected in Newtown than in Farkletown. During
the (10) .., however, construction declined to (11) . Over the next (12)
, house numbers rose steadily, only to drop (13) in the (14)
. There was then a dramatic surge in the (15) with (16)
being built. While (17) saw house building in Newtown plummeting to (18)
, in the 90s the number of new houses rocketed to 270, (19) on the
previous decade.

WRITING PRACTICE

Task 1:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows population figures for India and China since the year 2000 and
predicted population growth up until 2050.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Task 2:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows the changes in the share price of Outokumpu companies in
euros between January 2006 and December 2010.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Task 3:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the monthly expenditure of an average Australian family in
1991 and 2001.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

1991 2001

Australian Dollar Per Month

Food 155 160

Electricity and Water 75 120
Clothing 30 20
Housing 95 100
Transport 70 45
Other goods and services* 250 270
Total 675 715

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

UNIT 4: DESCRIBING CHARTS (BAR CHARTS)

Exercise 1:
The chart shows the results of a survey about the most important inventions in the last 300
years. Answer the questions.
a. What is the most striking feature of the chart?
b. What voting patterns can you see for females?
c. What voting patterns can you see for males?

Exercise 2:
The bar chart describes the results of a survey carried out on a sample of 1,000 adults aged
25+ to assess what makes modern life stressful.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Questions:

1. What makes the nature of the presentation of the data different from a graph?
2. What is the relationship between the horizontal and vertical axes?
3. Why does the scale only go up to 80 per cent?
4. What possible groups could you put the factors into?
5. Why would you use these groupings?
6. How would you compare Moving house with the other factors?
7. How would you compare Problems with neighbors with the other factors?
8. What other synonyms could you use for the factors?
9. Look at the following sentences:
a) Worries about own future cited by just less than 20% of those sampled as a
contributing factor to stress.
b) Thirty percent of the sample gave Work related worries a factor contributing to
their stress.
c) According to the bar chart, Getting to work induced stress in 40 per cent of
sampled.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

What is missing in each sentence?

10. What are the differences in the three sentences below?

a) According to the bar chart, 30% of those questioned cite worries about the
future of their children as a cause of stress.
b) According to the bar chart, worries about the future of their children caused
stress to 30% of those questioned.
c) According to the bar chart, 30% of the sample suffered stress as a result of
concern about the future of their children.
11. Complete the following sentence:
According to just under 30% of the sample, concerns about their children’s future
.. .
12. When you describe bar chart like this, what makes them more difficult to describe
graph?

Exercise 3:
The bar chart contains information about the amount of money spent on different types of
advertising by two companies.

Language practice 1:
Complete the following sentences, using the words in the box below.

advertising currency percentage

billboard promotion (in) relation (to)
budget dominate respective(ly)
category type sponsorship
charity

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

• Decide whether you will need to use the singular or plural form of the nouns.
• You may need to use some words more than once.

a. This chart shows advertising in four ______________, or types

b. There are many different ______________ of media, such as TV and newspapers.
c. One form of ______________ is newspaper advertising.
d. ______________advertising is seen by motorists on the main routes into and out
of the city.
e. Most companies have a ______________ for advertising each year.
f. The British pound sterling and the euro are two of the world’s ______________.
g. This chart shows money spent ______________ the type of advertising for two
companies.
h. Acme and Famous spent $250,000 and $200,000 ______________ on TV.

Language practice 2:

A useful word for describing graphs is ‘respectively’. You use ‘respectively’ to show that you
have written a list of names and numbers in order.
Example:
Acme spent the second highest amount on newspaper advertising, at $125,000, whereas
Famous spent only $75,000 on this type. In contrast, Famous spent twice as much on the
Internet as Acme, at $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.

Complete these sentences, using respectively and the sentence structures from the sample
answer above.

a. Microsafe/ Applex/ $2 million/ $3 million/ TV advertising

b. Acme/ Famous/ 33%/ 25%/ budget/ Internet promotion
c. Nyke/ Cougar/ $800,000/ $700,000/ billboard advertising
d. Awesome/ Best/ a quarter/ a half/ of the budget/ magazine advertising
e. Kayfes/ McDonells/ $2 million/ $1 million/ newspaper advertisements

Language practice 3:
Fill in the gaps, using comparatives and superlatives and the words in brackets.
a. Acme spent $250,000 on TV advertising. Famous spent $200,000 on TV advertising.
Therefore, Acme spent .. Famous on TV advertising. (money)
b. Awesome spent 150 hours doing market research. Best spent 500 hours doing market
research. Therefore, Awesome spent .. Best doing market
research. (time)
c. Acme’s budget is .. than Famous’s. (big)
d. Awesome spends .. on sports scholarships, because it wants to
encourage young people to do sport. (money on charities)
e. In general, small companies advertise .. in the newspaper
.. on the net, because they have ..
money. (more, less)
f. The .. form of promotion worldwide is TV. (effective)
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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

g. The .. type of advertising is the free local newspaper.

(expensive) Another way of saying this is it is the .. type.
(cheap)
h. Acme has ten billboards. Ace has eleven. Bazic has five billboards. In other words,
Bazic has .. billboards. (few)

Language practice 4:
Complete the sentences below. Use the number given in brackets plus the phrase as much
(as) or as many (as).
a. Best spent money on charities as Awesome.
b. Older people spend time watching television as younger
ones.
c. There were younger viewers of Internet advertisements as
there were older ones.
d. people see newspaper advertisements as billboards.
e. There is TV advertising as magazine promotion.

Language practice 5: Linking ideas – contrasting ideas

• While, whereas (used to link two sentences together)
• Conversely, In contrast (used at the beginning of the second sentence)
Examples
Acme spent most of its budget on in-store promotions, while Famous spent most of its money
on television commercials and competitions.
Acme changed its style of advertising, whereas Famous kept with the old style.
Acme increased the amount of money it spent on advertising. Conversely, Famous reduced
its advertising budget.
Sports sponsorship was a popular type of promotion for the larger companies. In contrast,
charities did not get so much money.
Rewrite these sentences, using linking words that show contrast. Try to use all of the linking
words given above at least once.
a. TV advertising reaches large numbers of viewers. Advertisements on the Web do not
seem to reach as many customers.
b. Acme has a large advertising budget. The budget for Famous is a lot more modest.
c. Newspaper advertisements tend to target adults. Many TV advertisements target
children and teenagers.
d. Cinema advertisements have a captive audience. It is easy to turn down the sound on
television advertisements.
e. Motorists are likely to notice billboard advertisements during peak-hour traffic jams.
They are less likely to notice these when traffic moving smoothly.
f. Awesome spends a large amount of money on television and newspaper advertising.
It does not spend very much on sponsorship.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 4:
The chart shows the results of a survey in percentage terms comparing the
participation in various home activities among young people aged 11 to 16 in four
countries.
Study the chart and match the items in the left-hand column (1-11), which are in
the correct order, with those on the right (A-K), which are jumbled, in order to
create a text. The first two items (1 and J), which continue the opening sentence,
are given to you in bold. The closing part of the text is also given after the two
columns.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Jumbled text

The bar chart shows the results of a survey on the number of young people aged
11 to 16 in

1. England, Scotland, Ireland and A. England and Ireland, the

Wales who percentage involved in Reading
2. Computer Games, reading, B. In England at 60% with Reading
watching TV the lowest
3. As can be seen clearly, the most C. TV at 30%. Computer Games
striking feature of the chart is that come top in
in all D. Four countries playing Computer
4. In England, for example, more Games have the highest
young people participation rate.
5. Than any other activity with 20% E. (50% of the sample) play
of young people participating in Computer Games
Reading, F. And Board Games.
6. A similar pattern is repeated in G. Involvement of Reading was the
Ireland lowest of the
7. Playing Computer Games is H. 25% in Board Games and 30% in
higher than Watching TV.
8. At 10%, Board Games at 20%, I. But here the percentage of those
and Watching J. Take part in four indoor activities,
9. Scotland as well with a 40% namely:
participation rate, but, unlike K. Respectively. In Wales,
10. is greater at 25% as opposed to Computing Games
20% and 10%
11. come out first at 50%, but

7 four countries at under 10% with Watching TV and Board Games equal at 30%.

Exercise 5:Guided writing

The bar chart below shows the results of ‘360-degree testing’ as part of a performance
assessment carried out by colleagues and subordinates of four managers. Those who
participated in the assessment were asked to rate the performance of the four managers on a
percentage scale. Below the chart is a model answer.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Model answer:
Study the chart as quickly as you can and add the relevant percentages to the model below.
The bar chart shows the results of a performance assessment by the colleagues and
subordinates of four managers. In the assessment, the performance of the four managers
was rated on a percentage scale.
One of the most striking features of the chart is the ratings scored by Mr Chandra, who
consistently achieved (1) . or above in all categories with the highest
being the Ability to command respect at (2) . And the lowest,
Management flair, at (3) . . Mr Chandra also came out top in seven out of
the eight categories.
Mr Forrest, however, was at the opposite end of the scale. Out of the eight categories, he
scored only (4) . In five, managing to gain higher ratings in only three
categories, of which the top was (5) . For General appearance. For the
other two, Punctuality and Staff management, Mr Forrest gained (6) .
And (7) . respectively.
Of the two managers, Mrs Monroe’s scores ranged from (8) ., her
highest rating, for Punctuality to (9) . for General Appearance, the lowest
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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

of all four managers in this category. Likewise, Mrs Whitbread scored in the range of (10)
. for Organisational ability to (11) . For Staff
management.
Exercise 6:
The bar charts show the results of a Greek survey from two selected age groups in 2003 on
the relative importance of five factors in choosing a career.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

a. What does each chart refer to generally?

b. What do the items along the bottom of the bar charts refer to?
c. How do the bar charts relate to each other?
d. What are the most noticeable features of the first bar chart?
e. What are the most noticeable features of the second bar chart?
Reorder the words in italics in the model text below.
Model text
The bar charts provide information from a (4) teachers/ as/ regards/ role/ and/ models,
Greek survey about (1) reasons/ the/ for/ the relative importance of each was again
main/ career/ a/ choosing among two age the other way round: (5) nine/ fifteen/ and/
groups, 20-35 and 40-50. respectively/ group/ per/ cent/ for/ younger/
the, and fourteen and eleven per cent for
It is clear that the two groups (2) the/ the older.
influenced/ were/ various/ by/ factors to
different degrees with the most influential (6) similarity/ only/ the/ the/ two/ groups/
factors which contributed to career choice between/ age was that friends had less
for the 20-25 age group being money influence over career choice for the
(approximately 27 per cent) and then younger and older groups (7) factors/ than/
parents (23 per cent). However, the factors any/ other, seven and ten per cent
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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

(3) the/ age/ were/ for/ reverse/ group/ the/ respectively.

40-50, with parents affecting them most at
30 per cent.

Exercise 7:
Six of the sentences a-h contain a word in the wrong place. Correct each sentence by
moving the word to the right place.
Example
Traveller numbers have decreased over period in the question.
Traveller numbers have decreased over the period in question.
a The specialist sales of tours have fallen recently.
b In 2006, more males than females took up individual sports rather than team
activities.
c As can be seen, more people from the younger age group travel on their own, in
sharp contrast to those over sixty.
d It is clear that the number of flats by single people in occupied major cities in the
West is putting pressure on housing.
e From the graphs, it can be conducted that are young people much more mobile than
previous generations.
f The noticeable pursuit of a professional career among both men and women has led
to a reduction in the birth rate.
g There are similarities in the presentation of the several data.
h Overall, the chart shows that the media people are responsible for turning into
celebrities.
Exercise 8:

The charts give information about two genres of TV programmes watched by men and
women and four different age groups in Australia.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Fill in the gaps in the model answer.

The charts give information about the genres of TV programmes that Australian men and
women and different age groups watch. It is clear from the charts that women tend to
watch (1) ...........television than man overall, although they watch slightly (2) ........... game
shows. The people who watch the (3) ........... television are in the 45+ age group.

Nearly 70% of women watch reality shows, which is almost (4) ........... as many as the
percentage of men who choose this genre of programme. Nevertheless, most age groups
watch (5) ........... reality shows than game shows revealing that game shows are
generally (6) ........... popular than reality shows.

The percentage of people watching reality shows increases steadily from ages 16 to 45 with
the (7) ........... percentage of viewers, at just over 50% of the age group 16-24 and the (8)
........... percentage, at 68% of the over-45s.

However, the pattern is different for game shows. The number of programmes watched by
25- to 44-year-olds is (9) ........... lower than the number watched by 16- to 24-year-olds and
those over 45. Just over 50% of 16- to 24-year-olds watch game shows, but this share is
not (10) ........... high as the share of people aged 45 and over watching game shows, at
nearly 70%. Only 41% of 35- to 44-year-olds watch game shows, and the share of 24- to 34-
year-olds is (11) ........... lower at 38%.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

WRITING PRACTICE
Task 1:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The bar chart below shows the percentage of people in Great Britain living alone by
age and sex in 2004/2005.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Task 2:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the contribution of three sectors – agriculture, manufacturing,
and business and financial services – to the UK economy in the twentieth century.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Task3:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The charts below show how selected age groups purchased concert, cinema, and
theatre tickets online over the first three months of 2006 in three countries and how
the Internet was accessed.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Task4:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below shows the percentage of male and female teachers in six different
types of educational setting in the UK in 2010.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

UNIT 5: DESCRIBINGCHARTS (TABLE AND PIE)

Exercise 1:
Look at the pie charts and the Task 1 question. Answer questions a-e below.
The pie charts below illustrate the number of journal articles read per week by all students,
PhD students, and junior lecturers at an Australian university.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

a. What does each pie chart describe?

b. What do the numbers on each pie chart represent?
c. What does the box at the bottom of the pie charts refer to?
d. What noticeable feature can you see in each chart?
e. What general statements can you make about each chart?
Exercise2:
Complete sentences a-g using the phrases below.
that respectively for example how but
which meanwhile whereas and

a The three pie charts illustrate . many articles from academic journals
are read weekly by PhD students . Junior lecturers compared to other
students at an Australian university.
b. . The overwhelming majority of those studying doctorates read at least
twelve articles per week in comparison with the average student.
c. The figures were 80 per cent and twelve per cent ..
d. Furthermore, only five per cent of PhD level students read between one and five
articles, . The average for all students in this category is a hefty 67 per
cent.
e. ., for junior lecturers the pattern appears to be slightly different.
f. Most read six or more articles per week (99 per cent), . Out of this total
24 per cent read twelve or more, . Is almost a third of the
corresponding figure for PhD level students.
g. It is clear . Those students who are researching for a PhD read more
articles than either junior lecturers or other students.

Exercise 3:
The sentences in 2 form a model text. Group the sentences into four paragraphs.
Paragraph 1: ..............................
Paragraph 2: ..............................
Paragraph 3: ..............................

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Paragraph 4: ..............................
Exercise 4:
Descriptions contain general and specific statements. Specific statements contain reference
to data, whereas general statements do not. Which statements in 3 are general? Which are
specific?
Exercise 5: Divide the following sentences into general and specific statements.
Examples
General: Postgraduate students tended to be better off than other students.
Specific: Seventy-five per cent of school children read comics each week.
a Far fewer female lecturers as opposed to male lecturers are employed at the
university, 25 and 75 respectively.
b We can see that there are considerable differences in the proportion of
nationalities in each course.
c Only ten per cent of students preparing for their Masters attended taught
classes.
d Overall, women were more likely to read novels than men.
e Students preparing for their doctorate read the greatest number of journal
articles.
f The sales for all four companies showed similar trends.
g The pattern for senior lecturers was very different.
h The vast majority of those students preparing for PhDs read twelve or more
journal articles each week.

Comparing information
Exercise 6:
Rewrite the following sentences using the given words so that the meaning is the same.
a Far more PhD students read over twelve articles a week compared with junior
lecturers.
Far fewer .
b The average student reads fewer journal articles than the average junior lecturer.
The average junior lecturer ..
c The other students at the university do not read as many articles as the average
PhD student.
The average PhD student .
d Junior lecturers do not have as much time to read articles as those students who are
researching for a PhD.
Those students who are researching for a PhD .. .

Describing proportions
Exercise 7:
The phrases in the list are alternative ways of describing proportions. Divide the list into four
groups that each have similar meanings.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8
three quarters almost half one third 75 per cent one in three

nearly half 26 per cent 48 per cent about one in four 33 per cent

three out of four just under one half just over a quarter close to one half

Exercise 8:
These adjective-noun collocations can also be used to describe proportions. Write the
adjectives next to the correct meaning in the table.
the vast majority a tiny minority a massive 85 per cent
a modest twelve per cent a hefty 85 per cent
a mere twelve per cent the overwhelming majority

Very big
Very big (used before numbers)
Very small
Not very big (used before numbers)

Exercise 9:
Rewrite sentences a-e, replacing the phrases in italics with an alternative expression.
a We see from the chart that 23 per cent of students failed to finish their university
degree.
b In 1990, nine out of ten engineering students were male, but by 2000 this figure
had fallen to exactly three quarters.
c In 1960, 34 per cent of science graduates went into the teaching profession but in
1970, the figure was just ten per cent.
d Exactly one half of the student population were members of the union in 2001, but
five years later the figure was 64 per cent.
e Ninety-two per cent of people surveyed felt that mixed sex schools were
preferable.

Exercise 10:
Read the Task 1 question below. Then answer questions a-e.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

The chart above shows sources of funding for research and development (R&D) in the UK
from 1999 to 2001. The table below shows the percentage of national income spent on
R&D for a range of countries.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

a What general trend can you see in the chart?

b What general pattern can you see in the table?

c Which is clearly the main source of funding in the bar chart?

d Which piece of data in the table can you use as a standard for comparison?

e Which pieces of information in the table are significant?

Exercise 11:
Complete the model text below with verbs from the box.
Rose contributed (x2) was overtook
was spent is shown came shows
Model text:
The chart (1) shows information about the main the last two years it (6) ……………. government
sources of funding for scientific research and spending in this area.
development (R&D) in the UK. The proportion of
national income spent on R&D by country (2) As regards the proportion of national income
……………. in the table. allocated to R&D, the highest percentage (2.9 per
cent) (7) ……………. by Japan, followed closely by
Between 1998 and 2001, the amount of funding the USA (2.5 per cent). By contrast, Italy (8)
allocated from each source (3) ……………. very ……………. The smallest amount of national
slightly. Approximately half of all investment income to R&D, only 1.1 per cent, significantly
throughout the period (4) ……………. from below the EU average of 1.81 per cent.
business, while the government consistently (5)
……………. around seventeen per cent. It is also It is interesting to note that although the UK’s
noticeable that in 1998 and 1999 overseas spending on R&D (9) ……………. Above the EU
spending on R&D in the UK was comparable to the average in 1998, it is considerably behind other
government’s, at around seventeen per cent. But close trading partners France and Germany.
for
 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 12:
Complete the description of the table using an appropriate word, words or number.

reasons for shopping at ASDA supermarket no. of men no. of women

close to home 25 20
good reputation 17 22
o24-hour shopping 4 0
parking facilities 21 20
friendly staff 6 6
competitive prices 14 17

The table shows the main reasons why ASDA is a popular supermarket for shoppers. The
top three reasons are its (1) ...................., its reputation and its parking facilities. Of these,
the most important reason why men shop at ASDA is that the shop is close to their home
– (2) .................... men rated this as an important factor (3) ...................., however, prefer
ASDA to other supermarkets mainly because (4) ..................... They rated the location of
the supermarket second. A significant number of both men and women also choose to
shop at ASDA because (5) .................... good parking facilities.

The women (6) .................... this was as important as the location of the supermarket. On
the other hand, the attitude of the staff does not seem to be an important factor (7)
.................... only six women and six men rated this highly. Surprisingly, almost no one
said they prefer (8) .................... at ASDA because it is open 24 hours a day.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

UNIT 6: DESCRIBE DIAGRAMS

The purpose of a diagram is normally to show a process, how a piece of equipment
works, or the operational structure of a system.
6.1 Vocabulary and Grammar
The vocabulary will mostly be closely related to the special subject matter being shown,
and so you cannot prepare for that. There are, however, two aspects of the language that
you will require for describing most diagrams and you should make sure that you know
how to use them well:
a) The verbs will normally be in the present tense and the passive form.
b) Where a process or structure is being presented, you will need a variety of connectors
showing stages or time.
6.2 Using a good style
a) Do not attempt to describe the diagram in colourful or ‘interesting’ language. There
is no need for adjectives or adverbs.
b) Avoid repetition and try to vary your language.
c) Do not simply use firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc. or then to link different stages.
Here are some other possibilities:
• In the first/ second/ etc. stage
• Next
• The process continues with
• After this
You can also use then after the subject of your sentence, instead of at the beginning: e.g.
The water is then transported.
d) Vary the use of nouns and verbs: e.g. instead of:
The water is then purified
Write:
The purification of water is the next stage etc.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 1:
Natural processes are often described using the active form, whereas manufacturing
processes are usually described using the passive. Read the examples. Then complete 1-6
with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets.
Examples:
A river flows from its source to the ocean. (active)
Many electronic goods are manufactured in Japan. (passive: be + past participle)

Limestone is the main ingredient of cement. Firstly, it (1) .. (extract) from

the ground. Then, at the factory, it (2) .. (heat) to a high temperature with
other ingredients. After this, it (3) .. (cool) with blasts of cold air. When
warm air (4) .. (reach) high ground, it is forced to rise, and, as a result, it (5)
.. (cool). Moisture in the air (6) .. (condense) to form rain.

Exercise 2:
When describing processes, make sure the subject and verb agree. Read the example, then
complete 1-8 with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets.
Example:
The sun shines and the temperature rises.
Some rock formations (1) . (hold) large amounts of water. When it (2)
. (rain), the tiny spaces in the rock gradually (3) . (fill) with
water so that the rock (4) . (become) saturated. The top of this saturated
zone is called the water table. If long periods of rain (5) . (occur), the water
table (6) . (rise). If there is no rain, the rock (7) . (begin) to
dry out and the water table (8) . (fall).

Exercise 3:
Use the notes below to write short paragraphs about production processes.
Example:
The production of a car involves various stages. Car/ design; prototype/ make; car/ mass-
produce; car/ distribute; car/ sell
After the car is designed, a prototype is made and the car is mass-produced. The car is then
distributed and sold.
a The production of a motorcycle involves various stages. Motorcycle/ design; prototype/
make; prototype/ test; motorcycle/ manufacture; motorcycle/ export; motorcycle sell.
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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

b The diagram shows the various stages in the production of bread. Wheat/ plant; crop/
harvest; wheat/ transport to the mill; wheat/ make flour; flour/ buy/ baker; bread/ bake; bread/
sold.

Exercise 4:
Some diagrams require descriptions using past tenses. Complete the paragraph with the
verbs from the box.

A died and dropped B was formed C lived D was covered

E was trapped F turned G is now mined H built up

The diagrams shows the process by which coal

(1) ………….. over a period of millions of years.
First of all, large plants (2) ………….. in enormous
swamps a long time ago. These (3) ………….. to
the bottom of the water. Over the years, the dead
plants formed a layer, which became deeper and
deeper. More and more earth and dirt (4)
………….. on top of this layer. Subsequently, this
layer (5) ………….. by rocks and dirt, and so the
energy of the dead plants (6) …………..
underneath. As the pressure and the heat grew
over time, the layer of dead plants (7) …………..
into coal. Seams of coal were formed, and coal
(8) ………….. .

Exercise 5: Sequencing
The diagram shows how energy is produced from coal. Answer the questions.
a How is the coal carried to the power plant?
b What is added to the furnace in addition to coal?
c What gas is produced when coal is burnt in the furnace?
d What do you think is removed from the gas?
e What is the gas called following this process?
f What do you think the gas does in the turbine?
g What does the turbine do to the generator?

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

h Where do the hot exhaust gases come from?

i What happens to the gases?

Exercise 6:
Complete the model text below by choosing the correct alternative in each case.
Model text

The diagram shows the various stages in the production of clean energy from coal.
1First of all/ At first/ One, the coal is minedin deep pits underground and then carried to the surface.
2Furthermore/ After that/ As a result, it is carried along a conveyor belt to a power plant, 3when/ then/
where it is burned in a large furnace to which oxygen is added. 4Otherwise/ From this/ Therefore, raw
syngas is produced. At the next stage of the process, harmful substances like carbon dioxide,
mercury, and Sulphur are removed. 5Following that/ Following/ Subsequent, the purified gas is used to
drive a gas turbine. The turbine 6in turn/ afterwards/therefore powers a generator, producing electricity.
The gas turbine also produces hot exhaust gases. These are 7then/therefore/consequently piped to a
heat recovery steam generator, which converts the heat into steam. The steam is 8consequently/
subsequent/ subsequently used to power a steam turbine, which again is used to generate electricity.
The energy is clean because harmful products are removed, and the coal is not transported to another
site to produce electricity.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Exercise 7:
Connect the sentences below. Use the linking words in bracket in each case.
Example
The parts of the car are assembled. The cars are exported. (after)
After the parts of the car are assembled, the cars are exported.
a The snow falls. It covers the ground with a protective layer. (when)
.
b Her cubs are born. The lioness licks them all over. (as soon as)
.
c The paper is collected. It is sent for recycling. (once)
.
d Volcanoes erupt. They send huge amounts of smoke into the air. (before)
.
e The plants perspire. The air becomes humid. (when)
.
f The trees are cut down. The forest is gradually destroyed. (and)
.
Exercise 8:
Connect these sentences using your own words.
a The food is processed. It is packaged. It is distributed.
.
b The cycle is completed. It repeats itself all over again.
.
c The rubbish is collected. It is sent to a centre for sorting. It is recycled.
.
d A new model of the bicycle is developed. The bicycle is tested.
.
e The TV is assembled. It is sent to the shops.
.
f The water is purified. It is bottled.
.
g The data about the weather is collected. The information is then broadcast.
.
h The prototype is tested. It is modified.

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

.
Exercise 9: A life-cycle
Look at the text and the jumbled pictures (A-J) below about the life-cycle of a ladybird. In the
text, there are seven places where you have to choose one correct alternative to continue the
text. Once you have done this, put the jumbled pictures in the order they are mentioned in the
text. The first picture is J.

The diagrams

1. (A) show the life (B) lists the life cycle of a (C) show life cycle of
cycle of a ladybird from ladybird from the time of insects
the time of mating mating

through to adulthood.

2. (A) At the beginning (B) In the beginning of (C) In the life cycle’s
of the cycle, the ladybirds the life-cycle, ladybirds beginning, ladybirds mate
mate for mated for for

approximately two hours. The female ladybird

3. (A) As a result lays (B) consequently lays (C) then lays up to a

up to a dozen eggs on a up to a dozen eggs in a dozen eggs in a nettle leaf
nettle leaf and after all nettle leaf and then left before leaving them to
that leaves the little eggs the eggs to come out on hatch on their own.
to hatch on there own. their own.

Above a week after the ladybird has laid its eggs, depending on the temperature they
become darker and larvae hatch.

4. (A) The bodies of (B) The bodies of the (C) Bodies of new-born
the new – born larvae new-born larvae darken larvae darken and eats
darken. They eat its own and they eat their own own egg shells.
egg shells. eggshells.

The larvae feed on aphids, which are their favorite prey. After a period of

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

5. (A) three to six (B) three to six weeks (C) three to six weeks,
weeks , during this time during this time insect during which time the
the ladybird larvae grow, larvae grow, ladybird larvae grow,

the fully-grown larvae turns into pupae.

6. (A) A week or two later, ladybird (B) A week or two later, the ladybird
emerges out of a pupa then emerges from the pupa

with unspotted yellow wing cases. The fully- grown adult mate and female ladybirds both
have spots and look similar.

7. (A) The ladybirds mate and the (B) Ladybirds mate. Life cycle of the
life cycle of the ladybird then repeats ladybird repeats itself.
itself.

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Writing term 4: Week 5-8

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

WRITING PRACTICE
Task 1:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the production of electricity using a system called Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Write at least 150 words.

How Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) works

Source: Daily Telegraph - 8th Jan 2008

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 Writing term 4: Week 5-8

Task 2:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows the production of steam using a gas cooled nuclear reactor.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Task 3:

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The following diagram shows how greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.

Write at least 150 words.

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Writing term 4: Week 5-8

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