INTHIS UNIT YOU WILL

LEARN HOWTO
• select and compare key features of charts,
graphs and tables
• structure an answer which compares
information from charts, graphs and tables
• revise the form and use
of comparatives.

I LEAD-IN I
[QB Discuss these questions with a partner.
1 Have you ever watched the Olympic Games, either live or on television? If so, which
sports did you enjoy watching the most?
2 Do you prefer the winter or summer Olympics? Give reasons for your answers.

Study the chart and graph and answer the questions which follow.

Winter Olympics - highest ranking medal Summel!' Olympics - highest ranking

winners of all time medal winners of all time
350

300
Ill 250 • Bronze -;;
� 2,000
a, • Silver
E 200 ....E0

r---��liiiii--��;::::�;:::::0
I.. 150 • Gold I..
a,
a, .Q

� 1.000
.Q
E 100

50

0
Norway USA Germany USSR Canada USA USSR Great Germany France
Britain
Countries
Countries

1 Which countries (or former countries) were successful in both the winter
and summer Olympics?
2 Which country (or former country) won the most gold medals in
the winter Olympics?
3 Which country (or former country) won the fewest medals in the summer Olympics?
I STRUCTURING YOUR ANSWER I
� Read this sample answer, which describes the chart and graph in exercise 2.

SAMPLE ANSWER
the most medals in
The bar chart shows which countries have won
y gold , silver an�
the winter Olympics. It also states how man 1 ______
In cont rast, the line
bronze medals each country has achieved.
the mos t med als in the
graph shows which nations have won
summer Olympics.
er Olympics, Norway
Overall, the bar chart shows that in the wint
l number of gold,
has gained the most medals, winning an equa
three hun�red
silver and bronze medals. It has won just over
won approximately
medals, whereas Canada, in fifth place, has
150 medals.
different, however,
The results of the summer Olympics are quite
Overall, the USA has
with the USA having won the most medals.
er number �han the other
won just under 2,500 medals, a much high
second highest,
four countries on the graph. The USSR is the
winning approximately a thousand medals.
h illust�ate how many
To summarise, the bar chart and the grap
won m the su�mer and
medals the highest-ranking countries have
pics are very.different,
winter Olympics. The results of each Olym
g successful m both.
with the USA, the USSR and Germany bein

Label the paragraphs of the sample answer 'Summary', 'Main body'

or 'Introduction'. The sample answer describes a
graph and a chart, as you may be
� Answer these questions, which deal with some minor differences between asked to do in the Writing test.
discussing one graph and comparing two or more graphs. Although this may look difficult,
the structure is similar to
1 Did the writer introduce both graphs in the introduction? describing just one graph.
2 Did the writer discuss the details (main body) of both graphs in the same
paragraph or separate paragraphs?
3 Did the summary include both the bar chart and the graph or just one?

Complete the gaps with 'main body', 'summary' or 'introduction'.

The 1 should state what the graph is about. Do not copy the Sentences should be
wording of the question. You should paraphrase the question using synonyms, simple and easy to
e.g. illustrates/ shows. understand, not long
The 2 should discuss the general trends in the graph, supported and complicated.
by the relevant data, e.g. dates or numbers. Identify the most important features - do
not try to include everything.
The 3 should provide an overview of the key points made in the
'Main body'. Do not include new information or your own opinion.

UNIT02f WRITING
� Study these two charts.

Country medal leaders of all time_ Badminton Country medal leaders of all time_ Rowing

•
30

•
...!!?
25

-...
"tJ
Gold
Cl.I
20 • USA

•
Silver
15 • Great Britain

•
Cl.I
10 Bronze
E • West Germany
5 Total medals
z
0 • East Germany
China South Indonesia Denmark Malaysia • Italy
Korea
Countries

� Read and order the sample answer describing the two charts.

AO rent that China has been significantly mor

e
Looking at the bar chart it is easily appa h eved f r more go ld
inton. They have i a
succ essful than any other country in badm
ac

ries but h ve g ed only slightly more silver and bronze

medals than other count a ain

medals.
sO ate the countries (or former
countries)
To summarise therefore, both char ts illustr t
bar char t indicates that China is the mos
with the grea test number of medals. The mos t
pie chart shows that the USA is the
successful country in badminton and the
successful in rowing.
cO al leaders in ba dminton an
d also the
The bar char t illustrates the country med pie chart,
number of gold, silver and
bronze medals won by each c ountry. The
most successful in rowing.
however, shows which countries are the
oO at the USA won the most med
als in
The pie char t , on the other hand, shows th i , how ever . The other
ul than Great Brita
rowing. They were a little more successf
n

the same number o meda ls e a ch.

three countries represented won roughly
f

I GRAMMAR FOCUS: COMPARATIVES I

� Read this �entence from the sample answer and underline the
comparative form. @ Comparative forms are often
needed when comparing data,
Looking at the bar chart it is easily apparent that China has been significantly either in one graph or two, so it is
more successful than any other country in badminton. important to become familiar with

rn
their structure.
Underline all the comparative forms in the sample answer.
� Complete the sentences with the correct comparative form of an adjective
or adverb from the box.

cold far gracefully interesting often old slow successful well

1 In the triathlon he swam much _______ than he cycled.

2 In the ski-jumping event, participants were required to go much
_______ than ever before.
3 Generally, countries with a _______ climate are _______
in the Winter Olympics.
4 Spectators found this ice-hockey game _______ than the last one.
5 He ran well: _______ than last year.
6 Before the Games she practised than her team mates.
7 The oldest recorded male medallist was 72 years old, making him 62 years
_______ than the youngest-ever medallist.
8 He accepted defeat with grace: _______ than the rest of his team.

� The sample answer includes the sentence 'China has been significantly more
successful than any other country in badminton.' What other modifiers are used in @ In this sentence from the
sample answer the word
the answer?
significantly is used to

I I
modify the comparative.
In other words, to say
COMPARING DATA: CHOOSING THE RELEVANT INFORMATION how big or small the
comparison is. Here, the
word significantly is
� Study this table and graph, then answer the question which follows.
called a 'modifier'.
Top medal winners of all time - athletes
Athlete Country Sport Total
Michael Phelps USA Swimming 22
Larysa Latynina USSR Gymnastics 18
Nikolai Andrianov USSR Gymnastics 15
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen Norway Biathlon 13
Borys Shakhlin USSR Gymnastics 13

Medals won In all Olympics

3,000

2,500
E
2,000

E
1,500

1,000

500
USA USSR Germany Great Italy
Britain
Countries

UNIT 02 / WRITING
 Which of this information would you include in your answer?
1 The most successful athlete is Michael Phelps from the USA, who has won the most
medals for swimming.
2 The chart also shows that three of the top five athletes were gymnasts from
the USSR.
3 Michael Phelps won 22 medals, Larysa Latynina 18, Nikolai Andrianov 15,
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen 13 and Borys Shakhlin 13.
4 The sports which the athletes achieved medals in were swimming, gymnastics
and the biathlon.
5 In summary, both charts illustrate that the two most successful countries in
the Olympics were the USA and the USSR.

[Jia Now, study the line graph again and write three statements similar to those
in exercise 13.
Try to group important
information together.

EXAM SKILLS]
rn Use the information and language from this lesson to answer this Writing Part 1 task.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The chart and graph below give information about participants who have entered
the Olympics since it began.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting on the main features,
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Number of male and female participants in the Olympics

6,000
....
IU
5,000
·u
·..::; 4,000
�
3,000 • Men
0
� 2,000 • Women
..c
1,000
z
0
1924 1952 1984 2012
Year

Number of participants
12,000
10,000
.... 8,000
VI

IU
6,000
:g
IU
4,000
2,000
0
1924 1952 1984 2012
Year