UNIT 10

PARAGRAPH WRITING:
DESCRIBING GRAPHS/CHARTS OR TABLES

Objectives :
By the end of the unit, you are expected to be able to:
1. use appropriate vocabulary to describe trends,
2. write a paragraph of introduction for the graph/chart/table
3. write a paragraph of comment for the graph/chart/table.

Presenting information can be in a variety of forms. One of them is using illustrated information. This
unit is discussing how to present information in the form of graphs, charts, or tables and how to
describe them.

There are four types of illustrated information: a line graph, a bar graph, a pie graph, and a table. 1.
A line graph

2. A bar graph
3. A pie graph

4. A Table
The language of change
To describe a graph, you need to use language expressing change and appropriate tenses. When
describing information in a graph, for example, it is important to look for significant trends and to
make comparisons between categories.

Two common patterns are used when describing changes in academic English.

1. noun + verb + adverb

2. There + be + adjective + noun + in + noun

Example: The number of IPB University students has increased gradually.

There has been a gradual increase in the number of IPB University students.

Exercise 1

1. The amount of money spent on education facilities rose significantly last year.
There ________________________________________________________________
2. There will be a dramatic rise in the price of fuel in Indonesia next year.
The price of fuel _______________________________________________________
3. The number of domestic violence in some big cities has declined significantly.
There _________________________________________________________________
4. There is a sharp fall in the number of employees who work for XYZ company.
The number of employees __________________________________________________ 5.
The equipment expenditure increased by 25 percent last year.
There ____________________________________________________________________
6. There was a slow fluctuation in the consumption of supplements.
The consumption of supplements ___________________________________________
7. The use of digital technology is rising rapidly in big cities.
There ___________________________________________________________________
Using the language of trends
To describe the information in line graphs, tables, and charts, you need to be familiar with the
vocabulary used to describe trends.

Direction of trend Verbs and verb phrases Nouns and noun phrases

1. remain stable, remain no change, leveling off

constant, level off

fluctuate, move up and a fluctuation

2. down

fall to a low point a low point, a low

3.
reach a peak, reach a high a peak, a high
4.
rise, increase, go up a rise, an increase
5.
fall, drop, dip, decrease,
decline
6.

To describe trends in more detail, you also need to say how much something goes up or down. You
can do this by using adverbs to describe verbs, or adjectives to describe nouns.

Words for describing graphs

Nouns Adjectives Verbs Adverbs

an increase gradual to shoot up dramatically

a decrease steady to fall to sharply
a sharp increase to gradually
reduction rapid decrease to rapidly
a peak a dramatic fluctuate steadily
decline

Although the information contained in charts and diagrams is normally clear, it usually requires some
written comments. Not all the information should be described. It is usual to introduce the information
with a general comment and then describe or comment on the most significant or important
information.

Look at the following chart carefully and then read the paragraphs below.

Chart 1: Distribution of the world’s population by continent

 Note: Oceania – sometimes called Australasia – comprises Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
and South Pacific islands.

Introduction
Chart 1 (a bar chart or histogram) shows the distribution of the world’s population by continent. The
vertical axis shows the percentage of the world population and the horizontal axis compares the six
continents listed, divided into a comparison of three years: 1800, 1900, and 1997.

Comment
As can be seen from the chart, by far the largest percentage of the world’s population lived in Asia
compared with any other continent in 1800. In fact, Asia accounted for as much as 65% of the world’s
population. On the other hand, North America and Oceania together accounted for only 1% of the
total.

You can refer to data in tables and diagrams like this:

- Table 1 shows the estimated number of visitors to the UK between 1982 and 1987.
- Expenditure has been adjusted to take account of inflation during the period concerned, taking 1982 as a
base.

You can comment on data like this:

As can be seen, there was an 85 percent increase in real expenditure during this period.

You can use the following patterns:

According to
Table 1, the table, Table 1,
As is shown in Figure 2

the graph, the diagram,

As can be seen in

Figure 1, the figure,

 table
graph
It can be seen from
diagram that
the
figures
statistics

slight
small rise
increase
slow
fluctuation
steady
There was a decrease
marked decline
(very)
large reduction
steep fall
sharp drop
rapid

Table 1 seen
table concluded

figures shown
From the data it can be estimated that
results may calculated
information inferred

Describing graphs
Examples of phrases that may be used in describing a graph that illustrates past events are shown
below.

4
2
5

1. increased gradually
rose climbed slowly slightly

2. leapt shot up soared

rocketed
increased sharply rapidly
rose climbed dramatically
 3. slumped plummeted

dropped sharply rapidly

fell dramatically
declined
4. Stabilized, leveled off,
remained constant/steady/stable

5. dropped slightly gradually

fell minimally
declined

When discussing the future, the following expressions would be useful:

• … is projected to rise sharply
• … is forecast to drop slightly
• … is expected to fall dramatically
• … is predicted to decline steadily

When describing graphs or tables, you also need to use prepositions correctly. Here are some
prepositions commonly used in describing trends.

1. from…….to……..
2. between…….and…….
3. Increase/decrease/fall by…
4. A decrease/increase of…..
5. A peak of……..

Exercise 1
Choose an appropriate preposition to complete the sentences. You may use it more than once.

between at by in of to from during

1. The number of televisions sold fluctuated ………….5 and 7 a month last year.
2. ………. 2010 to 2015 there was a 20% increase ………. the fuel consumption.
3. The percentage of men and women employed in the oil company increases ……… 10 percent
every year.
4. Her body temperature remained …………. 25 degrees Celsius.
5. Computer sales reached a peak ………. 125 in 2010.
6. The company’s profits rose from 3 billion in 2017 …………. 3.5 billion in 2020.
7. There has been a decrease …………. 5 cm of water levels in this river.
8. In 2020 the number of visitors to the Botanical Garden stood ……….. 2300.
9. The consumption of fruit increased ………… 2021 and 2022.
10. The number of people who visited the Central Library declined dramatically …….…. the
pandemic.

Example:
 Energy units: 1 unit = 100 billion mega joules

8 ---Energy demand - - - - Energy available

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1985 1990 1995 2000 *) 2005*)
(*projected)

The graph shows the relationship between the demand for energy and the energy available from
fossil fuels in Freedonia since 1985, and it gives projections for the year 2005. The energy in the graph
is measured in units, each of which is equivalent to 100 billion megajoules.
The demand for energy dropped between 1985 and 1990 from 5 units of energy to approximately
2 units. From 1990 until about 1995, energy demand appeared to level off and remained constant at
about 2 units of energy. From this time onward energy demand increased from 2 units of energy in
1996 is projected to reach 7 units in the year 2005. Furthermore, the forecast is for energy demand to
continue to rise in the future.
In contrast, the amount of energy available from fossil fuels rose quite rapidly about 3.5 units in
1985 until it reached a peak of 6.5 in 1995. From this point onwards it is projected to decline
dramatically until it remains constant at an availability level of around 2.5 from the year 2000.
The energy demand and energy available from fossil fuels resulted in an excess amount of energy
available in the 1990s in Freedonia, which perhaps was due to the availability of alternative sources of
energy. On the other hand, an energy gap that continues to widen is forecast, beginning in the late
1990s. In the future, Freedonians will have to enforce energy-saving measures or look towards the use
of alternative sources of energy.

Exercise 2
Write a paragraph of introduction and a paragraph of comment to describe the following table.

Secondary School Attendance

2010 2015 2020
Specialist Schools 12% 11% 10%
Grammar Schools 24% 19% 12%
Voluntary-controlled schools 52% 38% 20%
Community Schools 12% 32% 58%
Exercise 3
Write a paragraph of introduction and a paragraph of comment to describe the following pie graph.

activity % / day

meals 5

piano practice 7

homework 11

play/sports 12

school 25

sleep 40

meals
piano practice
homework
play/sports
school
sleep

Exercise 4
Write a paragraph of introduction and a paragraph of comment to describe the following pie graph.

Figure 2 International Plastic Consumption in 1998 (million metric tons & percentages)

Latin America 5% Western

(8.5 M m tons) Europe 38%
(30 M m
ton s)
Eastern Europe 7%
(11 M m tons )
North
America 25%
(25 M m tons)
Asia/Oceania 25%
(25 M m tons)
Exercise 5
Look at the graph below. Write a paragraph of introduction and a paragraph of comment.