UNIT 2 LINE GRAPHS WITH TRENDS

AIM: This unit is aimed at providing students with

- an overview of line graphs with trends,
- the vocabulary and sentence structures to describe trends,
- the use of prepositions and articles, and
- the way to group the information in the body paragraphs.

Try it first
1. Study the following question for Task 1.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph shows the income of four cafes in New York over last year.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

Changing trends in cafe income

200

180

160

140
000s Dollars

120 The Tea room

100 Internet Express
80 Wi-fi Cafe

60 Cafe Cool

40

20

0
J F M A M J J A S O N D

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2. Think about these questions before you start.

a. What is the main topic of the line graph?

b. What are the trends for the four cafes’ sales over the whole period?

c. Which numbers will you select to write about the trend of each café?

d. What tense will you use?

e. What sentence structures and vocabulary will you need to use?

f. Can you give a comment on a special feature shown in the line graph?

3. Are these sentences about the line graph TRUE (T) or FALSE (F)?

a. There are two basic general trends: downward and fluctuation.

b. The earnings for the Tea Room were down over the year, falling significantly from
almost $160,000 a month to just under $40,000 in December.

c. There was a rise in Café Cool’s sales over the first ten months, followed by a sudden
increase to $120,000.

d. The income for Wi-fi Café was upward, doubling from $50,000 to nearly $100,000
between January and June, and then rocketed to around $190,000 in December.

e. The income for the Tea Room was lower in the winter months than for the other three
cafes.

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 Language notes
1. Verbs and nouns used in describing trends
The following vocabulary is useful when writing a report describing trends.
MEANING VERB NOUN
go down decrease(-d) same
fall (fell / fallen) same
drop(-ped) same
decline(-d) same
dip(ped) down and up /
plunge(-d) (big change) /
plummet(-ed) (big change) /
slump(-ed) (big change) /
go up increase(-d) Same
rise (rose / risen) same
grow (grew / grown) growth
rocket(-ed) (big change) /
leap(ed) (big change) leap
shoot up (shot up) (big change) /
soar(-ed) (big change) /
surge(-d) (big change) same
double(-d) /
treble(-d) /
increase threefold / fourfold /
no change level(-ed)off a leveling off at
remain(-ed) the same /
remain(-ed) stable /
remain(-ed) constant /
remain(-ed) unchanged /
stabilize(-d) a period of stability
constant change fluctuate(-d) fluctuation
vary (varied) variation
be erratic /
position peak(-ed) at
reach(-ed) a peak of
reach(-ed) a high of
reach(-ed) a low of
stand at (stood/stood)

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2. Adjectives and adverbs for degrees used in changes over time

MEANING ADJECTIVE / ADVERB

small change steady / steadily
slight / slightly
gradual / gradually
minimal / minimally
marginal /marginally
fractional / fractionally
moderate change moderate / moderately
large change sharp / sharply
steep / steeply
considerable / considerably
significant / significantly
dramatic / dramatically
substantial / substantially
exponential / exponentially

- The earnings for the Tea Room fell significantly from almost $160,000 a month to just
under $50,000 in December.

- There was a steady fall in the income of the Internet Express to June, but after that, the
figure rose steadily to approximately $130,000.

- Between January and July, the earnings of Wi-fi doubled from $50,000 to nearly $100,000
and then rocketed to around $190,000.

3. Sentence structures used to describe changes

The flowing are two typical sentence structures to describe trends and facts.

 Adverb patterns
Subject + verb + adverb

- The number of students increased substantially.

- The income of the Tea Room fell sharply.

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 Adjective patterns

There + be + (a/n) + adjective + noun in __

- There was a substantial increase in the number of students.

- There was a sharp fall in the income of the Tea Room.

Subject + experience/witness/see (a/n) + adjective + noun in __

-

- School ABC experienced a sharp fall in the number of students.

- Company ABC witnessed a significant rise in the sales of computers.

4. Prepositions and articles

In Task 1, prepositions play an important role in illustrating time expressions or incorporating data,
so you are highly expected to use them precisely. Otherwise, there is a likelihood that a great
amount of information will be delivered in an incorrect way.

It decreased from 10 to 2 It started at 2 It dropped by 8

It peaked at 10 There was a drop of 8

It finished at 2

The following are the other versions of the Adverb Patterns and Adjective Patterns shown.

Subject + verb + by ______ from _____in _____ to _____ in

- The number of students increased by 1,000 from 1,000 in 2009 to 2,000 in 2012.

- The income of the Tea Room fell by about $11,000 from almost $160,000 in January to
just under $50,000 in December.

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 There + be + (a/n) + noun of ______ in _____ from ___ in ____ to ___ in ____

- There was an increase of 1,000 in the number of students from 1,000 in 2009 to 2,000 in
2012.

- There was a fall of about $11,000 in the income of the Tea Room from almost $160,000 in
January to just under $50,000 in December.

Similarly, articles do need to be employed accurately in your answers.

- The line graph provides information about the income trends of four cafes in New York
over a period of one year.

- It is noticeable that the income for the Tea Room is lower in the winter months than that for
the other three cafes.

5. Grouping data

Read the following sample report describing the line graph given TRY IT FIRST and make a
brief outline of the main features shown.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph shows the income of four cafes in New York over last year.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

Changing trends in cafe income

200

150
000s Dollars

The Tea room

100 Internet Express
Wi-fi Cafe
50
Cafe Cool

0
J F M A M J J A S O N D

31
 The line graph illustrates how much money was earned by four cafes in New York during
12 months last year. It can be clearly seen that there are two basic general trends:
downward and upward.

As regards the first, the earnings for the Tea Room were down over the year, falling
significantly from almost $160,000 a month to just under $50,000 in December.

By contrast, the income for the other three cafes went up by varying degrees. There was a
rise in Café Cool’s sales over the first ten months, followed by a sudden increase to
$120,000. Furthermore, the income for both Internet Express and the Wi-Fi Café also
ended the year up in December. The former experienced a steady fall to June, but after
that, income rose steadily, ending the year at approximately $130,000. Likewise, the trend
for Wi-fi was upward. Between January and July, earnings doubled from $50,000 to nearly
$100,000 and then rocketed to around $190,000.

It is noticeable that the income for the Tea Room was lower in the winter months than for
the other three cafes.

(Adapted from Improve your IELTS writing skills by Sam McCarter and Norman Whitby)

It can be seen from the sample report that there are two trends: the downward trend for the income
of the Tea Room and the upward trend for the sales of Café Cool, Internet Express and Wi-fi Café.
In the body of the above report, there are two paragraphs: the first describes the downward trend
and the second describes the upward trend.

Grouping the data into different body paragraphs based on the trends shown in the graphs with
trends is the most common way. The number of paragraphs you have in the body depends on how
many trends you identify from the graph and how complex the information is. If there are three
trends, for example upward, downward and stability, you may want to have one paragraph
describing the upward trend and downward trend and the other paragraph for the stability.
Otherwise, you can combine the upward trend and stability in one paragraph and the downward
trend in the other paragraph. In case there is one trend, you can group the information by
describing the items with the same or different levels of increase or decrease.

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Look at the following line graph and think about the best way to group the data.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The line graph describes the number of people attending the cinema once a month or
more by age in Britain from 1984 to 2000.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

As can be seen, one effective way is to group the data into two body paragraphs. The first
paragraph is to describe the data of the people aged 15-24 and those aged 35 and over because they
are different in the level of increase (the former had the strongest rise while the latter had the
lowest rise). The second paragraph focuses on the data of those aged 7-14 and 25-35 because they
had somehow the same increasing level of rise. In a word, the way you group the information in
the body paragraphs varies, mainly depending on the trends shown in the graph.

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Read the following sample report to see how the data is grouped and make a brief outline for the
main features shown.

The line graph shows the percentage of people who went to the cinema once a month in
Britain from 1984 to 2000. Generally, cinema attendance increased significantly over the
period though the number of people watching films at the cinema varied with age.

From 1984, cinema attendance rose considerably across all age groups, but the increase was
the greatest for the 15-24 age group, which rose substantially from about 18% in 1984 to over
50% in 2000. Though the figure fluctuated between 1990 and 1995, this age group still went
to the cinema most frequently. Meanwhile, although older people (35 plus) were the least
frequent cinema goers, their cinema attendance also experienced a considerable rise with the
figure increasing from about 2.5% to over 10%.

Cinema attendance of 7 to 14 and 25 to 35-year olds followed a similar pattern from 1984 to
about 1997, which was characterized by a gradual increase to an average of 30% in 1994
followed by a decline after this date. However, from 1999 the trends differed in that 7 to 15
year olds went to the cinema less frequently while cinema attendance of 25 to 35 year olds
rose.

Overall, the most regular cinema goers were aged from 15 to 24 while the least frequent ones
were from 35 years old onwards.

(Adapted from IELTS Masterclass by Simon Haines and Peter May)

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 Practice

Practice 1: Match the parts of the graph 1 – 10 with the verbs a – j.

1. A – B a. hit a low
2. B – C b. fell and then leveled off
3. B – D c. remained flat/stable
4. D – F d. plummeted
5. F e. rose gradually
6. F – H f. fell gradually
7. G g. soared
8. I – J h. dipped
9. J – K i. fluctuated
10. L – M j. hit a peak

For sentences 1 – 10 below, use the verbs in the above exercise to replace the underlined text.

1. The price of computers dropped, followed by a period of stability.

2. The quantity of goods transported by road reached a peak in the year 2009.

3. The amount of money spent on books fell slightly and then quickly recovered.

4. The number of visitors to the website plunged in the first half of the year.
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5. The purchase of book increased slowly but surely over the years.

6. The number of students majoring in Language Studies stabilized over the decade.

7. Attendance at the meeting decreased steadily last year.

8. The population growth rate was erratic during the previous year.

9. The number of members in the club reached the lowest point in March.

10. Car sales rocketed in December.

Practice 2: Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first
sentence.
Example:
There has been a substantial rise in the amount of money spent on fast food.
The amount ___________________________________________________________________
→ The amount of money spent on fast food has risen substantially.
→ The amount of money spent on fast food has shown a substantial rise.

1. Spice exports from Africa fluctuated slightly over the period.

There were ________________________________________________________________

2. The production of films has risen considerably.

There _____________________________________________________________________

3. There has been a marked decrease in research investment.

Research __________________________________________________________________

4. The purchases of online tickets dropped dramatically last month.

There _____________________________________________________________________

5. On the Internet, the number of sites rose substantially.

There was _________________________________________________________________

6. There was a sudden decrease in the sale of apples.

The sale ___________________________________________________________________

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7. At the theme park, there were wild fluctuations in the number of visitors.

The number ________________________________________________________________

8. There was a gradual decline in rubber imports.

Rubber _____________________________________________________________________

9. The quality of food in supermarkets has increased fractionally.

There has _________________________________________________________________

10. The number of air travelers remained unchanged during the period.

There _____________________________________________________________________

Practice 3: Choose one preposition from the box to go into each of the gaps in the sentences
to describe the graphs that follow.

at in to of by from

1. There was an increase ____________________ 50,000 between 1990 and 1992.

2. ___________ 1994 ________1997, sales rose steadily _____________ over 20,000.

3. Overall, sales peaked _____________ nearly 60,000 _______________ 1992, but then
plummeted ______________ about 10,000 over the next two years.

4. In the year 2000, sales started ________________ around 10,000. In the first month, there
was a rise ___________________ around 2,000.

5. After some fluctuations, sales in 2000 reached their peak __________________ just over
15,000, a rise ___________________ 5,000 since the beginning of the year.

6. Sales increased __________________ over 10,000 between 1994 and 1997, but then
dropped ______________ more than 10,000 between 1997 and 1999.

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Practice 4: Study the following line graph and write sentences describing the trends shown.
Example:
0-1
- The sales increased steadily from 10% in 1990 to 15% in 1992.
- There was a steady increase in the sales from 10% in 1990 to 15% in 1992.

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 _________________________________________________________________
1. 1 – 3
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
2. 3
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
3. 3 – 4
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
4. 4
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
5. 5 - 7
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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Practice 5: Study the following line graph and the report. Then, fill in the report with the
right words.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph shows the number of hours children aged 10 – 11 spend on watching TV
and computers from 2000 to the present.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

The line graph shows (1) _____________ the hours children aged 10-11 spend on computers and
watching television have changed over the past few years. (2) _______________ in the past,
children spent more time watching televion and less time on computers but now this trend (3)
______________

Between 2000 and 2003, the time children spent on watching televison remained (4) _________, at
an average of 21 hours per week. Then, this figure (5) _________________________, reaching a
low of 15 hours per week by 2004. Since then, apart from a slight fluctuation, the figure (6)
__________________ at this level.

Computer use, on the other hand, (7) _____________________ a different trend, starting in 2000
at 3 hours per week and rising to a weekly figure of 10 hours in 2003. This was then followed by
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(8) ______________ which reached 15 hours per week by 2004 and approximately 20 hours by
2007. Currently, this trend seems (9) __________________

Clearly, computer use is becoming (10) _________________________ TV viewing.

Practice 6: Study the following line graph and the sentences. Then reorder the sentences to
form a report.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the number of members taking part in different sports
activities at Santon Sports Club from 1990 to the present day.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

1. In 1990 it was the third most popular activity, but it now is the most popular with almost 300
using the gym regularly.
2. It can be clearly seen that over the past 20 years some sports at the club have become more
popular, while the others have become less popular or have remained at virtually the same
level.
3. This number has fallen from almost 275 in 1990 to approximately 140 in the present day, with
the steepest decline occurring between 1990 and 1995.
4. There has been a steady rise in the number of club members regularly doing circuit training.

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5. The line graph presents the number of people who play four different sports at Santon Sports
Club from 1995 up till now.

6. It is noticeable that circuit training has attracted most members in the present year.

7. Meanwhile, the number of people who go swimming has fluctuated over the period – 250 in
1990, falling and then rising by a small amount before falling back to 250 in the current year.
8. Fitness classes have also grown in popularity with the number rising from approximately 130
in 1990 from 230 in the present year.
9. On the other hand, there has been a decline in the number of club members taking part in
racquet sports over the period.

Practice 7: Study the following line graphs and make a brief outline grouping the main
features into different paragraphs for each graph. Then, write a report on one of the line
graphs.

Line graph 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the differences in wheat exports over three different areas
from 1985 to 1990.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

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Line graph 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph below shows the unemployment rates in the US and Japan between March
1993 and March 1999.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

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 THINGS TO REMEMBER
Assessment criteria
1. Line graphs with  Trends - Task achievement
trends - Upward - Coherence and
- Downward cohesion
- Stable
- Fluctuate (upward, downward)

2. Verbs/Nouns of - Upward - Lexical resources

movements - Downward - Grammatical range
- Stable and accuracy
- Fluctuate (upward, downward)
3. Adjectives/Adverbs - Large change - Lexical resources
for degree - Moderate change - Grammatical range
- Small change and accuracy

4. Sentence structures  Adverb patterns - Grammatical range

- S + V + Adv and accuracy
 Adjective patterns
- There + be + Adj + noun
- S + V + Adj + noun
5. Prepositions and  S + V + Adv from …. to - Grammatical range
articles  S + V + Adv by … from …. to and accuracy
 S + V + Adj + noun of … from - Lexical resources
…. to
 S + starts/begins/ends/finishes
at …
6. Grouping data  Upward and downward + - Task achievement
Stable/Fluctuate - Coherence and
 Downward + upward cohesion
 Downward (biggest→ smallest)
 Upward (biggest → smallest)
 ……..

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