GRAPH WITH A TREND

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Task 1 Writing: How to write about graphs with a trend

One type of question in Task 1 is to write about a graph which shows trends, which are
changes over time. You can be asked to write about different types of graphs, such as line
graphs, pie charts, tables or bar charts. For graphs with trends, you will see a time period in
the title of the graph (e.g. the annual earnings of three bakeries in London, 2000-2010).

1 Try writing an answer for the essay question below. You will need to:

• write an introduction to the topic of the graph in your own words (paragraph 1);

• give an overview of the main ideas in the graph (paragraph 2);

• describe the most important changes and numbers (paragraphs 3 and 4);

• write a minimum of 150 words.

In the exam, you have 20 minutes for Task 1.

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Model answer: Graphs with a trend

The graph shows information about the amount of money which was earned by three bakeries
in London, over a ten-year period between 2000 and 2010. Overall what stands out from the
graph is that there were considerable upward trends in the income of both Berne's Puns and
Robbie's Bakery, while the earnings of lovely Loaves saw a considerable fall over the period
in question. Another interesting point is that Lovely Loaves was the most popular bakery in
2000, but in 2010, Robbie's bakery earned more money than the others.

Looking at the details, as regards Bernie's Puns, income started at E20,000 in 2000, then there
was a fluctuation over the next three years, at which point it levelled off at just under E40,000
until 2006. Then the 'figure went up significantly, finishing at around £65,000 in 2010. If we
look at Robbie's Bakery, the trend was similar. Having remained stable at approximately
E55,000 in the first half of the decade, income then rose sharply, reaching nearly El 00,000 in
20OS. There was then a gradual rise to around El 05,000 in 2010.

By contrast, the income of Lovely Loaves went in the opposite direction. Takings fluctuated
around E90,000 until 2004. After that, despite falling sharply to just over E40,000 in 2008,
the figure then levelled off in the last two years.

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Spotlight 1: Rewording the introduction

1 Look at the extract from an essay question above. The topic is visitors to
Australia. Complete these two possible ways of rewriting it.

1 The graph shows information about how many p…………. v…………Australia, over
an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008.

2 The graph illustrates data about the number of p………..w. v……… Australia, over
an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008.

 The graph shows information about how much money was earned by three bakeries in
London, over a decade between 2000 and 2010.

The graph highlights data about the amount of money which was earned by three bakeries in
London, over a ten-year period between 2000 and 2010.

The graph shows informaiton about how much…

The graph highlights data about the amount of…../ the number of

Spotlight 2: writing an overview : The first thing you should write about in the over
view is the general movements/ the most noticeable trends of the lines over the whole
period. Do they go up, go down or fluctuate?

1 Look at the graph about bakeries on page 79 and discuss these questions.

1 What was the general trend for the earnings of the three bakeries?

2 Which were the most popular bakeries in 2000 and in 2010?

3 Is there anything else you could talk about in the overview?

2 Match the two halves of these phrases for describing general trends.

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If you don’t have much time, just describe the general trends in the overview. If you can,
write about another interesting idea, but make sure you give yourself enough time to finish
the whole task.

Read this overview and find synonyms for the phrases below.

Overall what stands out from the graph is that there were considerable upward trends in the
income of both Bernie's Buns and Robbie’s Bakery, while the earnings of Lovely Loaves saw
a substantial fall over the period in question.

1 in general overall

2 it can be seen that

3 the income of Bernie’s Buns and Robbie’s Bakery rose

4 whereas

5 the income of Lovely Loaves went down significantly

6 the time period covered by the graph

Spotlight 3: language to describe changes 1: verbs and adverbs

Increases Decreases Big increases Big decreases

Went up Declined Doubled Halved
Grew Decreased Jumped Plummeted
Improve Dropped Rocketed plunged
Rose Fell Shot up
Went down Soared
Surged
2 Which of the adverbs in the box below describe:

1 a big change? Drammatically

2 a small change? Slightly, marginally, negligibly

3 a medium-size change?significantly, considerably

4 a fast change? Sharply, rapidly

5 a slow change? gradually

6 a comment by the wTriter? Remarkable, strikingly

7 a consistent increase or decrease? Steadily

Linking phrases to introduce new sections of the graph

You can see that in the model answer, the writer uses the linking phrases as regards and If
we look at... to show that a new part of the graph is being discussed. This is a good way to
improve the organization and academic style of your answer.

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Similar phrases are Regarding, As for and With respect to.

When you use these linking phrases, you generally need to repeat the subject of the sentence.

Regarding the income of Bernie's Buns, it started at £20,000 in 2000, and then ..

With respect to theincome of Robbie’s Bakery,it began at just under 60.000 pounds.

Looking at the amount of money which was earned by Bernies Buns in 2000, it was 20000
pounds.

As for the earnings of Robbie bakery, they remianed stable during the first five years of the
graph.

Regarding the income for Lovely loaves, it fluctuated considerably between 2000 and 2005.

Exam skills1: joining two changes together

In paragraphs 3 and 4, you need to join changes together into longer sentences.

Income remained, stable between 2000 and 2004, and then there was a steady rise in the next
two years.

There are lots of ways you can join two ideas together in an interesting way.

1. Income began at justover 80000 pounds, and thenit went up slightly to 95000 pounds.

2. There was a steady fall to 80000 pounds, after which income recovered to 90000 pounds
in 2004.

3. Earnings dropped sharply to justover 60000 pounds. At this point, there was a slight dip.

4. Therewas a slight rise to juse under 60000 pounds. Subsequently, the figure went down
considerably.

5. Income fell significantly to 40000 pounds. Next, the number levelled off.

Despite….and Having……

You can also use these two structures to join together two changes. Make sure you study how
to use them carefully. Don’t forget: if you use the Having structure, you need the past
participle (e.g. Having fallen ...).

Eg: Despite falling / fell sharply to just above £40,000, the figure then rose in 2010.

Having remained / remaining stable at £55,000, income then rose sharply in 2008.

Despite declining steadily to 80000 pounds, income then recovered to 90000 pounds in 2008.

Having droppted sharly to just over 600000 pounes, earning then rose slightly

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Exam skills 3: commenting on the data in a graph

To take your Task 1 essay to the next level, try to comment on the data, rather than just give a
list of numbers. Add one or two comments to show that you understand and can interpret the
graph. Here are some ways you can do this.

• Compare the different parts of the graph, using a relative clause:

The income of Lovely Loaves fell significantly to around £40,000 in 2008, which meant that
it earned far less than the other bakeries.

• Comment on the peak:

There was a considerable rise in the takings ofRobbie's Bakery in the last two years to
£105,000\ this figure being the peak level of income during the whole period.

• Add an extra verb to give emphasis:

The income of Robbie's Bakery rose sharply in 2008, rocketing to just under £100,000.

• Add a superlative:

Lovely Loaves earned just over £80,000 in 2000. This meant that it had the highest income of
the three bakeries in that year.

• Group data into a period of time:

There was a significantfluctuation in the income ofLovely Loaves in the first half of the
decade.

1 The earnings of Bernie’s Buns were £20,000 in 2000, which was the lowest income of
the three bakeries.

2 The income of Lovely Loaves fell sharply in 2005, plummeting/plunging to just over
£60,000.

3 The income of Robbie’s Bakery remained stable in the first half/five years of the
period.

4 There was a sharp rise in the income of Robbie’s Bakery between 2005 and 2008,
which meant that it earned far more than the other bakeries.

5 Lovely Loaves’ income fell considerably to £40,000 in 2008. This meant that it had
the lowest income of the three bakeries.

Next steps 1: Writing about graphs with a future trend

Sometimes in the exam you can be asked to write about a graph with a future trend. You
should write your answer in the same way as before, but instead of using the past simple,
change the grammar and use future tenses.

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Tip

Try to use academic phrases for describing future trends to make your writing more
interesting. For example: It is estimated that the number of students of Spanish will rise
significantly.

Verb tenses:

Future: to be likely to do something/ is+verbing/ will+ verb(inf)

 Projections show that the number of Students of Spanish is likely to increase steadily
 The number of students of English is set to reach over 700 million

Future present:

 By 2030, the number of students of Manderin will have risen to over 500 million

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