Graphs – Flat Trend

2016 Sales
30.6

30.4

30.2
Sales (In Millions Of $)

30 2016 Sales
29.8 2016 TREND

29.6

29.4
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What is a trend? It is the general direction of something over a period of time. The dashed
line above shows the trend for 2016. Notice that sales have not changed very much. This is
still a trend. This trend can be positive, negative or neutral.

Phrases To Describe This Graph

 Positive
◦ Sales were stable during the year
◦ Sales were steady during 2016
◦ Sales were consistent during the year with only minor fluctuations
◦ Sales were consistently above 30 million this year
◦ There was no noticeable decrease in sales this past year
◦ Sales stabilized between April and June due to...
 Neutral / Factual
◦ There was little variance in sales during 2016
◦ Sales averaged 30.2 million this year with no significant increase or decrease
◦ Sales floated around 30 million during 2016
◦ The 2016 sales were predictably around 30 million each month
 Negative
◦ Sales were consistently below 35 million this year (negative)
◦ There was no noticeable increase in sales this past year
◦ Sales during 2016 were flat with little or no increase
◦ Sales growth during 2016 was disappointing despite being stable
◦ Sales plateaued between April and June because...

Notice that adjectives and adverbs can be used to describe the level trend in a more positive
or negative way. This can include: imperceptible, flat, disappointing, stable, consistent, etc.