How to Write a Report

Based on Graphics
Noreen Shah
There are 5 steps to writing a good report on
an illustration:

1) Analyze the question

2) Identify the main features
3) Write an introduction
4) Write an overview
5) Write the details paragraphs
Ideally, your essay should have 4 paragraphs:

• Paragraph 1 – Introduction
• Paragraph 2 – Overview
• Paragraph 3 – 1st main feature
• Paragraph 4 – 2nd main feature
Practice Question:
The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross
domestic product from 1960 to 2000. Summarize the information by
selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant.
Contribution as % of India's GDP

Source: EPW Research Foundation

Step 1 – Analyze the question
Here is our practice question again with the words that will be included in all
questions highlighted.
• The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross domestic
product from 1960 to 2000. Summarize the information by selecting and
reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

• Every question consists of:

• Sentence 1 – A brief description of the graphic

• Sentence 2 – The instructions
• The graphic – chart, graph, table, etc.
Step 1 – Analyze the question
• Sentence 2 tells you what you have to do. You must do 3 things:
1. Select the main features.
2. Write about the main features.
3. Compare the main features.
Step 1 – Analyze the question
• All three tasks refer to the ‘main features’ of the graphic. You do not
have to write about every thing. Just pick out 2 or 3 key features and
you’ll have plenty to write about.
• Our practice graphic is a dynamic bar chart. That is, it includes a
timeline giving data from several different points in time.
• So, for this question, we need to identify the main trends (that is, the
general developments or changes in situation) in the three key sectors
of the Indian economy – agriculture, industry and service –
between1960 and 2000.
Alternatively, a bar chart may be static with the data coming from one
point in time, as in the example below. For this graphic, we would need
to compare the different variables, that is, the different leisure activities
favored by Canadian boys and girls.
Step 2 – Identify the Main Features
• The graphic questions should not be difficult to interpret. All you are
looking for are the main features. These will usually be the easiest
things to spot. As we’ve just seen, the type of key features will
depend on whether the bar chart is dynamic or static.
• There will be lots of information in the graphic to help you identify
them. Here are some useful questions to ask?
• What information do the 2 axes give?
• Is it dynamic or static?
• What are the units of measurements?
• What are the time periods?
• What can you learn from the title and any labels?
• What is the most obvious trend?
• Are there any notable similarities?
Step 2 – Identify the Main Features
• So, what main features stand out in our practice graphic?
• Contribution as % of India's GDP
Step 2 – Identify the Main Features
There are 3 main features/trends in this bar chart:

• Main feature 1: The contribution of the agricultural sector dropped steadily.

• Main feature 2: The contribution of the service sector increased each decade.
• Main feature 3: Industry remained static from1980 to 2000.
• The general trends you select will be the starting pointfor your essay.
You will then go on to add more detail.
Step 3 – Write an Introduction
• In the introduction, you should simply paraphrase the question, that
is, say the same thing in a different way. You can do this by using
synonyms and changing the sentence structure. For example:
• Question:
The bar chart below shows the sector contributions to India’s gross
domestic product from 1960 to 2000.
• Introduction (Paragraph 1):
The bar graph illustrates the relative percentage contributions made
by the agricultural, industrial and service sectors to the Indian
economy between1960 and 2000.
Step 3 – Write an Introduction

Ideally, key words such as ‘sector’ and ‘contributions’

should be replaced by synonyms but there aren’t any
obvious words that could be used instead so it’s fine to
repeat them. It’s important that your language sounds
natural so never try to force in synonyms that don’t
quite fit.
Step 4 – Write an Overview(Paragraph 2)
• In the second paragraph, you should report the main features you can
see in the graph, giving only general information. The detail comes
later in the essay. You should also make any clear comparisons you
spot.
• This is where we write about the general trends. Here are the ones
we picked out above.
• Main feature 1: The contribution of the agricultural sector dropped steadily.
• Main feature 2: The contribution of the service sector increased each decade.
• Main feature 3: Industry remained static from1980 to 2000.
Step 4 – Write an Overview(Paragraph 2)
• Now form these ideas into two or three sentences with a total of
around 40 words. State the information simply using synonyms where
possible. No elaborate vocabulary or grammar structures are
required, just the appropriate words and correct verb tenses. For
Example:
• Overview (Paragraph 2):
Over the whole time period, the significance of agriculture declined
steadily while services grew in importance decade by decade. A
different patterned emerged for industry, which initially showed a
slowly increasing percentage but then plateaued from 1980 onwards.
Step 5 – Write the 1st Detail Paragraph
• Paragraphs 3 and 4 of your bar chart essay are where you include
more detailed information about the data in the graphic. In paragraph
3, you should give evidence to support your first 1 or 2 key features.
Don’t forget to make comparisons when relevant.
• Here are our first 2 main features again:
• Main feature 1: The contribution of the agricultural sector dropped steadily.
• Main feature 2: The contribution of the service sector increased each decade.
Step 5 – Write the 1st Detail Paragraph
• And this is an example of what you could write:
• Paragraph 3:
In 1960, agriculture contributed by far the highest percentage of GDP,
peaking at 62%, but it then dropped in steady increments to a low of
12% in 2000. The service sector, on the other hand, had a relatively
minor impact on the economy in 1960. This situation changed
gradually at first, then its percentage contribution jumping from 28%
to 43% between 1980and 1990. By 2000 it matched the highpoint
reached by agriculture in 1960,showing a reversal in the overall trend.
Step 6 – Write the 2nd Detail Paragraph
• For the fourth and final paragraph, you do the same thing for your
remaining feature/s. We have one main feature left to write about.
• Main feature 3: Industry remained static from1980 to 2000.
Step 6 – Write the 2nd Detail Paragraph
• Here’s an example of what you could write:
• Paragraph 4:
Industry remained a steady contributor to India’s wealth throughout
the period. As a sector, it grew marginally from 16%in 1960 to exactly
a quarter in 1980 then remained static for the next two decades,
maintaining a constant share of the overall GDP.
Finished Bar Chart Report