Unit 2: Pie chart

1. Related verbs

be amount to stand at make up

account for record represent reach

The number of unemployed was 10% of the population

The percentage of women in the workforce was higher than in the previous year

The global death rate of coronavirus is about 4.4%.

Women made up a significant percentage of the workforce

Paper and cardboard amounted to 21% of the total household waste

The population of Alia stood at 21 million at the turn of the century

Fossil emissions accounted for the majority of greenhouse gases

The consumption of fossil fuels reached the highest levels in recent years.

2. Phrases

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

consumption stood at the same level in the following decade
the increase was very significant, at 50%
the number remained steady at 300 for the next year
in the annual increase was in the range of 10% and 20%
Exports doubled, to reach 80% of imports in 1990
There were three times as many users as in the previous year
with X was the largest producer, with 45% of the total production
by production increased by 20%
production decreased by 20%
fivefold The number of users increased fivefold.
 3. Using numbers/ fractions/ or percentages
Look at the following table that shows the number of confirmed infections in different dates

year 1995 2000

price 1200 1800

The number of confirmed infections rose to 97,689 on 29th, March 2020

The price of X went up by 600, from $ 1200 to $1800

The price of X went up by half, from $ 1200 to $1800

The price of X went up 50%, from $ 1200 to $1800

4. Using “double” “treble” “fold” and “time”

Look at some more examples here:

1992 1994 1996 1998

500 1000 3000 12000

The figure doubled between 1992 and 1994

The figure trebled between 1994 and 1996

The figure quadrupled /ˈkwɒdrʊpl/ from 1996 to 1998

There was a twofold increase between 1992 and 1994

The number went up sixfold between 1992 and 1996

The number in 1996 was six times more than the 1992 figure

The figure in 1998 was four times the 1996 figure.

double The number of unemployed people doubled between 2005 and 2009

twice as…..as There were twice as many unemployed people in 2009 as in 2005
Twice as many people were unemployed in 2009 compared to 2005
three times as…..as

compared to
twofold There was a twofold increase in the number of unemployed people between 2005
threefold and 2009.
The number of unemployed people increased twofold between 2005 and 2009.
5. Using “fractions”

1992 1994 1996 1998

1000 800 400 100
 Between 1992 and 1994, the figure fell by one-fifth

Between 1994 and 1996, the figure went down by a half

The figure in 1998 was one-tenth the 1992 total

6. Describe percentages

X1: Match these percentage (a-g) to the fractions (1-7)

1 two-thirds 50%
2 half 25%
3 a quarter/ one quarter 75%
4 two-fifths 33.3%
5 three-quarters 40%
6 one third 10%
7 one tenth 66.6%

 Alternative ways of describing proportions. Divide the list into four groups that each have similar
meanings.

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

X2: Write a suitable percentage for each of these descriptions

1 Just over three-quarters  76%

2 Nearly a third of girls said… ………….

3 Just under a quarter of people asked said ………….

4 Around a third of all passengers ………………….

5 Almost half of students …………………………..

6 Approximately two-thirds of parents said ………..

X4: Rewrite the sentences a-e , replacing the phrases in bold 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 10 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. 92 per cent of people surveyed felt that mixed sex schools were preferable.

X5: Create a sentence with these percentages

1 (32 smokers) Just under a third of all smokers said they smoked fewer than 20 cigarettes a day

2 (52% teenagers) ………………………………………………………………………………….

3 (74% household appliances) …………………………………………………………………….

4 (64% doctors) ……………………………………………………………………………………

5 (27% new roads) ………………………………………………………………………………..

6 (75% IELTS students) ………………………………………………………………………….

X6: Rewrite these key percentages using four ways.

10% a tenth of one in ten one out of ten one out of every ten
20%
25%
50%

X7: 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 of 85 per cent a mere twelve per cent the overwhelming majority

very big

very big (used before numbers)

very small

not very big

7. Using adjectives to modify numbers:

Adjective Usage Example

hefty use for big numbers a hefty 90 percent of…
staggering a massive 85 percent of
massive
modest use for percentages between 15 and 40% a modest 20 percent of….
mere use for small numbers a mere 10 percent of
tiny a tiny 10 percent of
overwhelming use with the word “majority” an overwhelming majority of…
small use with the word “minority” a small minority of…
tiny a tiny minority of….
8. Words family with “compare”
-The graph compares the number of males and females

-10% of males were unemployed, compared to only 8% of females

-The unemployment rate was high in 2008 compared with previous year

-The unemployment rate was high in 2008 in comparison with…

-By/ in contrast, the unemployment rate in 2008 increased to……

-The figure for females was comparatively low, at only 8%

 9. Quantities
IELTS Grammar: number, amount, proportion, figure
the amount of + uncountable noun
the number of + countable noun
the proportion of + plural noun
figure
a great deal of + uncountable noun
a number of + countable noun
All of the population
All of the people
The whole of the population
The whole of the production
9. Other measurements
rate  increase
level  rise
percentage
proportion
The amount of production increased in the last 20 years 
 (The quantity of production increased)   
The number of cars has increased
The number of unemployed people has decreased
While the number of Internet users was only 2.6 million in 1990, this figure
has more than doubled in the last two years.
The proportion of male students is higher than the proportion for female
students
the figure for visitors to the UK…
the figure for unemployment….
the figure for Canada ….
the figure for XXX rose to 10%
+ uncountable noun
There are a number of people who have asked for this book
+ countable noun / uncountable noun
+ uncountable noun
the rate of growth
the growth rate/ the birth rate/ unemployed rate/ divorced rate
the level of production
the level of expenditure
the level of unemployment
The percentage of women in the workforce has risen
The proportion of women in the workforce has risen
The two pie charts below show the percentages of industry sectors’ contribution to the economy of
Turkey in 2000 and 2016.

The two ………………….illustrate how different industry sectors contributed to the economy of
Turkey percentagewise in the years 2000 and 2016.

………………….., at the beginning of the period construction contributed the least to the economy
of Turkey and agriculture was the most significant economic sector. In …………., at the end of the
period healthcare and education became the largest economic segment and the lowest contribution
was made by financial, business and other services.

Construction sector accounted for 3% of Turkey's economy in 2000, and experienced a more than
……………… increase to one-tenth in 2016. Economic income from trade, utilities and transportation
was 14% in 2000 and experienced a slight …………. of 2% in 2016. At the beginning of the period,
manufacturing and finance, business and other services made up 8% and 5% of Turkey's economy,
respectively, and these figures rose to 12% and 8% in 2016.

Agriculture, which …………….almost a quarter of Turkey's economy in 2000, fell to 14% in 2016. In
2000 economic outputs from government and leisure and hospitality sectors were at 12% and 17%,
……………. , and both decreased by 3% after 16-year period. In contrast, contribution from
healthcare and education sector remained …………..in both years at 17%.

threefold comprised overall comparison

growth pie charts constant respectively
CAMBRIDGE 8 - Test 2 - Task 1

The pie charts compare the expenditure of a school in the UK in three different years over a 20-year
period.

It is clear that teachers’ salaries made up the largest proportion of the school’s spending in all three
years (1981, 1991 and 2001). By contrast, insurance was the smallest cost in each year.

In 1981, 40% of the school’s budget went on teachers’ salaries. This figure rose to 50% in 1991, but fell
again by 5% in 2001. The proportion of spending on other workers’ wages fell steadily over the 20-year
period, from 28% of the budget in 1981 to only 15% in 2001.

Expenditure on insurance stood at only 2% of the total in 1981, but reached 8% in 2001. Finally, the
percentages for resources and furniture/equipment fluctuated. The figure for resources was highest in
1991, at 20%, and the proportion of spending on furniture and equipment reached its peak in 2001, at
23%.

(158 words, band 9)

The chart show how much a UK school spent on different running costs in three separate years 1981,
1991 and 2001.

In all three years, the greatest expenditure was on staff salaries. But while other workers’ salaries saw a
fall from 28% in 1981 to only 15% of spending in 2001, teachers' pay remained the biggest cost, reaching
50% of total spending in 1991 and ending at 45% in 2001.

Expenditure on resources such as books had increased to 20% by 1991 before decreasing to only 9% by
the end of the period. In contrast, the cost of furniture and equipment saw an opposite trend. This cost
decreased to only 5% of total expenditure in 1991 but rose dramatically in 2001 when it represented 23%
of the school budget. Similarly, the cost of insurance saw a rising trend, growing from only 2% to 8% in
2001.

Overall, teachers' salaries constituted the largest cost to the school, and while spending increased
dramatically for equipment and insurance, there were corresponding drops in expenditure on things such
as books and on other workers' salaries.
The pie charts below compare water usage in San Diego, California and the rest of the world.

The pie charts give information about the water used for residential, industrial and agricultural
purposes in San Diego County, California, and the world as a whole.

It is………………that more water is consumed by homes than by industry or agriculture in the two
American regions. By contrast, agriculture ……………..the vast majority of water used worldwide.

In San Diego County and California State, residential water consumption accounts for 60% and 39%
of total water………….. By contrast, a…………….. 8% of the water used globally goes to homes.
The ………………..can be seen when we look at water consumption for agriculture. This accounts for
………….a 69% of global water use, but only 17% and 28% of water usage in San Diego and
California respectively.

Such dramatic differences are not seen when we compare the figures for industrial water use. The
same proportion of water (23%) is used by industry in San Diego and worldwide, while the figure for
California is 10% higher, at 33%.

accounts for mere noticeable usage massive opposite trend

The two pie charts below show the online shopping sales for retail sectors in Canada in 2005 and 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

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