Describing graphs

S. GUEDIOURA
2023/2024
Introduction:
• Today a lot of presentations, reports and newspaper articles
contain graphs, tables or charts.

• There are many different types of data charts and graphs, the
most popular ones being pie charts, line graphs, flow charts,
bar charts, diagrams, bubble graphs, column charts, etc. They
are used to visually represent data in the same proportion as
the numerical data in a table.

• During a presentation or even in a report, a graph or a chart is

normally accompanied by an explanation of how to interpret
the data.
Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:

Pie chart Table

Histogrm

• Graph line
• Table
• Pie chart
• Maps
• Flow chart
• Histogram
graph line Flow chart
Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:
• Pie chart:

Pie charts can be used to show

the sizes of various parts of the
results in relation to each other
and in relation to the whole
sample.
Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:
• Tables:
• are efficient, enabling
the researcher to
present a large amount
of data in a small space
• show exact numerical
values
• present quantitative
data - they need
interpreting
Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:
• Histograms:
• Histograms (or bar or
column graphs) can also be
also used to describe results.
• However, they more clearly
show the relationship of
different parts of the sample
to each other.
• They do not clearly show the
parts in relation to the
whole
Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:
• Graph line:

• Graphs are often used to

show the results of studies,
especially when they involve
some kind of change over
time. This usually involves
two groups of
measurements which are
known as variables.
 Different types of charts, graphs and
diagrams:
• Flow chart:

• A flow chart is a
diagram showing the
progress of material
through the steps of
a manufacturing
process or the
succession of
operations in a
complex activity.
 Are the
statements :

A) True
B) Incorrect
C) Cannot be
verified

1) The two pie charts tell us the number of vehicles being used
in the the Netherlands in 1975 and 2000. B
2) As many people travelled by train as by car in the A
Netherlands in 1975.
3) Fewer people travelled by train than by bicycle in
Netherlands in 2000.
B
4) In 2000, people in the Netherlands were making most of their
journey by car. A
5) A large percentage of people of people bought new cars in
2000 than in 1975. C
6) We can see from this information that travelling by train and
by bicycle was far less common in 2000 than in 1975. A
Presenting a graph

Graph

Present the graph Introduce the topic Circumstances

Presenting a graph
• In your introduction, present your graph, you can use one of
the following sentences:

This graph shows, indicates

The diagram outlines ...
This table lists ...
This pie chart represents….
This line chart depicts ...
This chart breaks down ...
Presenting a graph
• After the introduction, present the topic :

the results of our products ...

Rates of economic growth ...
the top ten agencies ...
the company's turnover...
the changes in sales ...
the sales of each salesman ...
Presenting a graph
• When you present your graph you have to talk also about
circumstances:

over 10 years.
between 1990 and 1996.
in the industrial world.
for this year in our sector.
over the past year.
during the past ten weeks.
Presenting a graph
Preposition of time:
• in [month / year / morning, afternoon etc]
• at [9 o’clock, 10.30 am etc]
• from..[a point in time]..to… [another point]
• between…[a point in time]..and… [another point]
• during [a period of time]
• before [a point in time or a period of time]
• after [a point in time or a period of time]
• by [a point of time arrived at, no sooner than]
• until [a point of time reached]
• since [from a point in the past until now]
Presenting a graph
Preposition of quantity:

• to rise from $1m to $2m

• to increase by 100%
• a decrease of 50%
• to fall from $2m to $1m
• to fall by 50%
• to remain (stable)/stay (stable)/stabilize at 2%
Exercise: fill in with the correct
preposition
• 1………
in January there was a noticeable rise in the number of people
taking sick leave from work.

• 2. From 1996 ………

to 2006 there was a steady increase in sales of
organic produce.

• 3. ………
In June sales figures had been low, but later they began to
increase rapidly.

• 4. From November ………

to the end of the year energy consumption
continued to rise.

• 5. There has been a marked decrease in road accidents ………

since the
new laws were introduced in 2005.
Exercise: fill in with the correct
preposition

• [Link] price of the oil rose sharply ………

By/to nearly $11 per barrel.

• 7. The price remained ………

at $11 or $13 per barrel until 1979.

• 8. For the next few years the price fell ………

by about 5%.

• 9. In 2000 there was an increase ………

Of/by 10%
Basic trends in a graph:
• There are four basic trends:

Upward;
Downward;
No movement;
Change of direction.

• To talk about trends we use verbs and nouns, adverbs and

adjectives.
Describing upward movement
• To go up ( a little):
Describing upward movement
• To go up ( a lot):
Describing Downward movement
• To go down ( a little):
Describing Downward movement
• To go down ( a lot):
Describing Downward movement
• No change:
Describing Downward movement
• Change of direction:
Indicating the degree of change:
Indicating the speed of change:
 Exercise: Verbs or nouns?

• be constant /climb/ collapse/

• Expansion/ extension/ fall/ go down
• growth /improvement/ level off/ push down
• Reduction/ rise/ shoot up/ soar
• Stability/ stagnation/ stand at /stay at
 Exercise:
Put the following verbs in the correct box, depending on
whether they express a rising or a falling trend: decline, tumble,
increase, surge, plunge, plummet, lift, rise, climb, decrease,
rocket, slump, crash, take off, soar, jump, drop, improve, slide,
fall.
increase , take off
Surge, soar, improve
Lift , jump
Rising trend: Rise
Climb
rocket

decline, drop
Tumble, slide
Plunge, fall
Falling trend: Plummet
Decrease
Slump
Crash
 Describing trends or movement:
• There are two useful sentence structures for describing
increase and decrease:

V E R B S + ADVERBS : A D J E C T I V ES + NOUNS:
 Degree Of Change:
 Degree Of Change: There was a sharp increase
The oil prices rose sharply. in the price of gold.

 Speed Of Change:
 Speed Of Change: The stock markets saw an
In November the oil prices abrupt decrease in the
started falling abruptly. ratings.
Exercise: rewrite each sentence below so that it
means the same as the one given.

• 1. The price of oil rose sharply.

• 2. There is a noticeable increase in temperature from May onwards.
• 3. The number of people attending the theatre has fallen
dramatically.
• 4. There has been a steady rise in DVD sales for the first six months
of the year.
• 5. There has been a rapid growth in the use of alternative energy
sources.
Exercise: rewrite each sentence below so that it
means the same as the one given.
• 1. The price of oil rose sharply.
 There was a sharp rise in the price of oil.
• 2. There is a noticeable increase in temperature from May onwards.
 Temperature increased noticeably from May onwards.
• 3. The number of people attending the theatre has fallen dramatically.
 There has been a dramatic fall in the number of people attending the
theatre.
• 4. There has been a steady rise in DVD sales for the first six months of the
year.
 DVD sales have risen steadily for the first six months of the year.
• 5. There has been a rapid growth in the use of alternative energy sources.
 The use of alternative energy sources has grown rapidly.
Exercise: Read the report and find phrases from
the text which mean the same as these:

• 1. go up and down a lot

• 2. go down a lot
• 3. go up a lot
• 4. go down a little
• 5. don’t change
Exercise: Read the report and find phrases from
the text which mean the same as these:
The line graph shows the US inflation rate from 1929-2000. It is
clear that the inflation rate fluctuated a lot during this time.
There was an abrupt drop in 1930 and 1931, when prices fell by
about 9%. A few years later inflation rose significantly to 3%.

There was a big surge in inflation in the beginning of the 1940s,

followed by an equally sharp decrease. Inflation soared again in
the second half of the 1940s. Then it stabilized at about 1%
during the early 1960s. There was a substantial rise during the
second half of the 1970s but then inflation tumbled in the early
1980s, from 12% to 1%.
Exercise: Read the report and find phrases from
the text which mean the same as these:

• 1. go up and down a lot = fluctuate a lot

• 2. go down a lot = abrupt drop, sharp decrease, tumble
• 3. go up a lot= rise significantly, a big surge, soar, substantial
rise
• 4. go down a little= fall
• 5. don’t change= stabilize (at)
Exercise: Choose the correct words in italics to
complete the report

Sales began the year at 30,000 units in January and increased

(slight / slightly) to 32,000 units in February.

There was a (sharp / sharply) rise to / by 38,000 in March due to

the introduction of a new price discounting scheme. This was
followed by a (slight / slightly) fall in April when sales dropped to
36,000 units.
Exercise: Choose the correct words in italics to
complete the report
But we ran a summer advertising campaign and sales increased
(steady / steadily) (to / by) 2,000 units a month throughout June,
July and August until they stood (in / at) 33,000 in September.

The (dramatic / dramatically) rise to 45,000 in October resulted

(in / from) the launch of our new autumn range.

But then we experienced problems meeting demand and sales

fell (sharp / sharply) in November and remained (steady /
steadily) (at / by) 39,000 in December.
Describing the elements of a graph
 Describing the elements of a graph
• On a graph, this ' _____ ' is called a …………………
Line

• A graph/chart is made of a vertical axis and a ……………………….

horizontal axis

• The place where the details of where the data/information in

the graph comes from, is called the ……………… source

• In an axis title, this '(in millions)' is called the ……………………..

unit of measure

• On a graph, this type of line '-----' is called a …………………….

Dashed line
Describing the elements of a graph
• Extra information about the data in a table or chart, is written
in the………………….
footnotes
• The name or label of an axis, is also called the ………………axis title

• A section in graphs/charts that inform you what the lines

mean/represent, is the ………………………
key

• The name of the table/chart, is the……………………..

title

• A graph/chart is made of a horizontal axis and a ………………

vertical axis

• On a graph, this type of line '·····' is called a ……………………

dotted line
Elements of a table: