infographics

How do we read graphs

Before you Begin

Underline key words. Write related words - turn nouns into verbs, verbs into nouns, adjectives into

adverbs, etc. Write opposite words, similar words, synonyms, etc.

Circle and highlight the graph. Use arrows. Make notes. Circle the biggest, the smallest. stable or unchanging parts, sudden increases, etc.

Identify trends. A trend is the overall idea of the graph

• what is happening/what happened

• the main change over time

• the most noticeable thing about the graph

• the pattern over time

• the pattern for different places or groups or people.

Most graphs will have two trends, or there will be two graphs with a trend in each. You could tell about the two trends in two separate paragraphs. Make sure you have identified the trends in the graph.

Introduction

• First sentence: Describe the graph. You can use some slightly different words or word

forms from those on the question paper, but be careful to give the full information. Start "The graph shows"

• Second sentence: This gives the trend or trends. You can put two trends in this sentence or only one - you could keep the other one for the conclusion. Start "Overall, ..."

Paragraph 1: Trend 1

• Start with a sentence with no number. “City size increased sharply over the period.” “The most obvious trend in the graph is that women are having fewer babies.” “Oil production has increased slightly in all the countries in the graph”

• Follow this sentence with an example (sentence with number) and perhaps another

example (another sentence with number). Keep alternating.

Paragraph 2: Trend 2

• Start with a sentence with no number. “City size increased sharply over the period.”

• Give an example (sentence with number) and perhaps another example

Finish by repeating the main trends, or identify a second trend. Use different vocabulary.

• Don't have any numbers in the conclusion (you could use words like "most", "the

majority" "a minority", "a small number").

• Don’t give an opinion.

While You Write: Some Don’ts

• Don’t describe the X and Y axis. Give the information.

• Don’t write about everything on the graph. Pick the biggest, the smallest, the main

points, the main trends. Group similar things together.

• Don’t write about the line or the bar: “The line went up,” “The bar went down.”

Instead, write about the idea. “The number of people going to work by train increased

gradually.” “Oil production shot up in 1965”

• Make sure you write about the idea. Don’t use shorthand: “Men went up.” “Women went down.” Instead, write about the real data: “The number of men at university fell dramatically,” “The percentage of female students getting a degree rose suddenly.”

• Don’t use “I feel”, “as I have written,” “as you can see,” etc. Keep it academic.

• Don’t start sentences with But, So, Also, And, For, Since, Because, Although

Useful introductory expressions:

The graph shows / indicates / depicts / illustrates From the graph it is clear It can be seen from the graph As can be seen from the graph, As is shown / illustrated by the graph, Example: The graph shows the percentage of children using supplements in a place over a year. Useful time expressions: over the next... / for the following... (for the following two months... over the next six months...) from ... to / between ... and (from June to August... between June and August...) during (during the first three months...) Warning! Per cent is the word form of the symbol %. We can write 10% or 10 per cent. Percentage is the noun form: The percentage of children using supplements. And Not The percent of children Note! You can use a combination of adjective + noun, or verb + adverb, to avoid repeating the same phrase. Example: There was a sharp decrease in the numbers. The numbers decreased sharply.

Vocabulary for describing graphs

GOING UP

- Verbs rise, increase, grow, go up, improve, jump, surge, shoot up , soar, rocket

- Nouns a rise, an increase, growth, an upward/rising/increasing trend, an improvement, a jump, a surge

GOING DOWN

– Verbs fall, decrease, drop, decline, go down, slump, plummet

– Nouns a fall, a decrease, a decline, a downward/falling/decreasing trend, a slump

NO CHANGE

– Verbs remain stable/constant, stay at the same level, stabilize

FREQUENT CHANGE Up and Down

- Verb fluctuate, zig-zagged, flutter

– Noun – fluctuation, zig-zag

AT THE TOP

Verbs reach a peak, peak., reach its/their highest point

AT THE BOTTOM

– Verbs reach/hit a low (point), hit/reach its/their lowest point

LOW POINTS

bottomed out, reached a low

CHANGE

Adjectives:

Big changes: dramatic, considerable, sharp, significant, rapid, sudden

Small changes: moderate, slight, steady, gradual, slow, gentle

Adverbs:

Big changes: dramatically, considerably, sharply, significantly, rapidly, suddenly

Small changes: moderately, slightly, steadily, gradually, slowly, gently

Prepositions:

a rise from £725 to £825

to increase by 2.1 %

an increase of 2.1 % in the crime rate

Useful phrases when describing  The slices of the pie chart compare the ...  The chart is divided into ... parts.  It highlights ...  ... has the largest (number of) ...  ... has the second largest (number of) ...  ... is as big as ...  ... is twice as big as ...  ... is bigger than ...  more than ... per cent ...  only one third ...  less than half ...  The number ... increases/goes up/grows by ...  The number ... decreases/goes down/sinks by ...  The number ... does not change/remains stable  I was really surprised/shocked by the ...  So we can say ...