DESCRIBING DYNAMIC DATA

Exercise 1. Choose the correct answer

1. The number of cases increased very (slightly/sharply) in the first 5 years.

2. Between 1965 and 1970, the figure saw a (steep/steady) increase from 100 cases to
200 cases.
3. During the next 5 years, the incidents of X disease grew (significantly/ marginally)
before leveling out at 500 cases from 1975 to 1980.
4. The people contracting the illness decreased (dramatically/gradually) in the
subsequent 5 years (1980 – 1985).
5. At the end of 1990, X disease disappeared from Someland as the number of incidents
experienced a completely (considerably/ rapid) drop from roughly 350 to 0.

Exercise 2: Match the following descriptions with the corresponding graphs

…….1. Her blood sugar dropped significantly then increased steadily before a slight fall
…….2. Her reading speed increased gradually before flattening out.
…….3. The profit saw first a slight increase before climbing sharply.
…….4. The car price rose gradually in the first half of the year, then fell steadily during
the other half.
…….5. The number of juvenile delinquencies in Warabaqi grew progressively then
slowed down before a dramatic fall.
Exercise 3: Describe the following line graph using these words/ phrases:
sharp(ly), gradual(ly), decline, rise, increase, dramatic(ally), between …and …., from ….
to…….
Note: Be careful with the verb tenses.

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Exercise 3. Write sentences describing the following line graph:

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Ex 4: Complete the blanks with appropriate words/ phrases:

The charts below show the results of a questionnaire that asked visitors to the Parkway
Hotel how they rated the hotel's customer service. The same questionnaire was given
to 100 guests in the years 2005 and 2010.

The pie charts compare visitors’ responses to a survey about customer service at the
Parkway Hotel in 2005 and in 2010.
It is clear that overall customer satisfaction _________from 2005 to 2010. While most
hotel guests rated customer service as satisfactory or poor in 2005, a clear majority
described the hotel’s service as good or excellent in 2010.
Looking at the positive responses first, in 2005 only____of the hotel’s visitors rated its
customer service as excellent, but this figure rose to 28% in 2010. Furthermore, while
only ____ of guests described customer service in the hotel as good in 2005, almost
______ as many people gave this rating five years later.
With regard to negative feedback, the proportion of guests who considered the hotel’s
customer service to be poor ____ from ____ in 2005 to only 12% in 2010. Similarly, the
proportion of people who thought customer service was very poor dropped from 15% to
only 4% over the 5-year period. Finally, _____ in the number of ‘satisfactory’ ratings in
2010 reflects the fact that more people gave positive responses to the survey in that
year.
(193 words, band 9)