Chapter 3: REPORTS

I. Introduction
Writing a report here means writing a report on a chart (bar chart, line graph, pie
chart, table, map, diagram/process)
You need to write a summary of at least 150 words in response to a particular chart.
This task tests your ability to select and report the main features, to describe and
compare data, identify significance and trends in factual information, or describe a
process.
Below are examples of some charts we to report. Match the chart with its name.
bar chart, line graph, pie chart, table, map, diagram/process
A. B

D
C .

F
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 E
1. Definition
A line graph or line is a way of plotting data points on a line. Often, it is used
to show trend data, or the comparison of two data sets. Therefore, in this type of
chart, you need to pay attention to the trend (the changes over time) and
comparison between different data sets.
When you report a line graph, you need to write it in 4 parts/ paragraphs
Paragraph 1: Introduction
You have to use your own words to write the introduction to the topic of the
graph.
Paragraph 2: Overview
Give an overview by describing the overall trend through time or the most
special features. Paragraph 3 & 4: Details
Describe the most important changes and numbers. (2 paragraphs)
2. Example analysis
The graph shows data about the annual earnings of three bakeries in
London, 2000-2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting
the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

A. Before you start, think about these questions -

What is the main topic of the graph?
 The main topic of the graph is a comparison of annual earnings for three
bakeries—Bernie’s Buns, Lovely Loaves, and Robbie’s Bakery—in
London from 2000 to 2010.
 How could you rewrite the introduction in your own words?
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  The graph highlights data about the amount of money which was earned
each year by three bakeries in London, over a decade period from 2000 to
2010.
-What are the general trends for the three bakeries over the whole period?
 Overall, it is evident that there were considerable upward trends in
the income of both Bernie and Robbie’s Bakery, while Lovely Loaves
saw a considerable fall over the given period. Interestingly, Lovely
Loaves was the most popular bakery in 2000, but in 2010, Robbie’s
Bakery earned more money than the others.
-Which numbers will you select to write about in paragraphs 3 & 4?
 4) As regards Lovely Loaves, income fluctuated around £80,000 and
£90,000 from 2000 until 2004. Despite falling sharply to just over £40,000 in
2008, the figure then leveled off in the last two years. By contrast, regarding the
income of Robbie’s Bakery, having remained stable at about £55,000 in the first
half of the decade, it then rose sharply, reaching nearly £100,000 in 2008. There
was then a gradual rise to around £105,000 in 2010. Bernie’s Buns saw a similar
trend. Starting at £20,000 in 2000, income then fluctuated over the next three
years, at which point it levelled off at just under £40,000 until 2006. Then the
figure went up significantly, finishing at around £65,000 in 2010.
-What grammar and vocabulary will you need to use?
 Describe increases: went up, grew, improved, increased, rose
 Describe decreases: declined, decreased, dropped, fell, went down,
reduced
 Describe big increases: doubled, jumped, rocketed, shot up, soared,
surged, leaped, hit / reached a peak
 Describe big decreases: halved, plummeted, plunged, sunk, slumped,
collapsed, worsened, hit a trough
 Describe no change: stabilized, remained constant, steady, static,
plateaued, levelled off
 Describe up and down: fluctuated, erratic, varied
Grammar: Use past simple to describe specific years (e.g., “In 2000, Bernie’s
Buns earned…”), present perfect for overall trends (e.g., “Lovely Loaves has
experienced a steady rise…”), comparatives (e.g., “higher than,” “lower than”),
and appropriate transition words (e.g., “meanwhile,” “in contrast”).
 Can you give your personal opinion about what happens in the graph?

B. It appears that Lovely Loaves made a strategic change around 2006 that dramatically boosted its
earnings, allowing it to overtake both competitors and secure the top position. Meanwhile, Bernie’s
Buns and Robbie’s Bakery either maintained or lost ground, potentially due to fewer business
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 improvements or market challenges. Overall, Lovely Loaves’ success highlights a potential
investment in quality, marketing, or customer outreach that the other bakeries might have lacked.
C. Are these sentences True or False about the graph? Use a
dictionary to help you.
1. There was an upward trend in the income of Bernie’s Buns over the period.
T
2. The earnings of Robbie’s Bakery fluctuated significantly between 2000 and
2005.
F
3. The income of Lovely Loaves saw a considerable decline over the decade.
T

C. Model answer

D. Writing the introduction

Look at the introduction of the model essay. Is this exactly the same as the
introduction in the question?
In the introduction paragraph, you only write one sentence which paraphrases
the introduction in the question.
In order to paraphrase, you have to use some synonyms:
- The line chart = the line graph.
- To show = to compare = to give information about = to illustrate.
Measurements
- The percentages of something = the proportions of something = the figures
for something

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 - Countable nouns: The number of = the quantity of = the figure of = how
many - Uncountable nouns: The amount of = the quantity of = how much
Time expressions:
Eg: The line graph compares the percentage of people in three countries who
used the Internet between 1999 and 2009
= (in) the period from 1999 to 2009
= (in) the period between 1999 and 2009
= in the first ten years of the 21st century
= over the period 1999 to 2009
= over a decade from 1999 to 2000
= over a ten year period
Eg: Write the introduction for the following task

- The graph gives information about how many people…….. visited………

Australia over an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008.
- The graph illustrates the number of peple……….. who………
visited……… Australia over an eight-year period between 2000 and
2008.

Write the introduction for the following topics:

1. Gas production in Russia (2003-2008)  The graph shows information
about how much gas was produced in Russia, over a five-year period
between 2003 and 2008.
2. Employment rates in the public sector, UK (2006-2010)
 The line graph compares the number of people who were employed in
the public sector, between 2006 and 2010

E. Write an overview

- Overall, + there was an upward/ downward trend in ….

- It is clear that + which line has the highest-lowest number/ which one
witnessed fastest growth?


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  1 and 2  Overall, it is evident that there were
considerable upward trends in the income of
both Bernie and Robbie’s Bakery, while Lovely
Loaves saw a considerable fall over the given
period. Interestingly, Lovely Loaves was the
most popular bakery in 2000, but in 2010,
Robbie’s Bakery earned more money than the
others.

1-c, 2-e, 3-a, 4-b, 5-d.

2 .what stands out from the graph is that

3.there were upward trends in the income of both Bernie's Buns and
Robbie's Bakery
1-b
4 .while
5. the earnings of Lovely Loaves saw a substantial fall 2-a
6. the period in question
is, period, saw, than, upward, was, what, while
Add the words from the box above to correct places in this sample overview.

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 upward

while Saw

Period Was

Than

F. Writing the details

Halved,
Went up, Doubled,
plummeted,
grew, rose , Decreased, jumped,
plunged
dropped,fell, rocketed, shot
improved, , up,soared,
went down
surged

2. slightly, marginally, negligibly

3 .significantly, considerably
4 .sharply, rapidly
5 gradually
6 remarkably, strikingly
7 steadily

1. Rose considerably
2. Went up slightly
3. 7 Fell sharply
3. Complete the sentences below basing on the graphs

1. Fluctuated: To change continually; rise and fall irregularly in amount or number.

2. Levelled off: To stop increasing or decreasing and become steady.
3. Hit/reached a peak: To reach the highest point or level.
4. Dipped: To decrease slightly before rising again.
5. Recovered: To return to a previous level or improve after a decrease.
6. Remained stable: To stay constant without significant change.
7. Increased: To become larger in quantity, size, or degree.
8. Hit a trough: To reach the lowest point or level.
9. Worsened: To become worse or decline in quality or condition.
Additional verbs and phrases related to changes:
 Surged: To increase suddenly and powerfully.
 Plummeted: To fall or drop straight down at a high speed.
 Declined: To decrease gradually.
 Rose: To go up or increase.
 Slumped: To fall or drop suddenly and heavily.
 Stabilized: To make or become steady.

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 A fluctuation

A fall A plunge
A levelling- A decrease
off
A Decline A dip
A soar Recovery

A plumet A jump

An Increase A surge

A drop Grow
drop
2. steady
3.considerable
4. negligible
5. remarkable

2. There was a sharp increase in

income
3. There was slight decline in income

2. fell significantly

3. grew steadily
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1.

2 There was a steady fall to £80.000, after which income recovered to £90,000 in
2004.
3 Eamings dropped sharply to just over £60,000. At this point, there was a slight
dip.
4 There was a slight rise to just under £60,000. Subsequently. the figure went
down considerably.
6 Income fell significantly to £40,000. Next, the number levelled off

2 grow
3 risen

1 Despite declining steadily to £80,000, Income

then recovered to £90,000 in 2004.
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2 Having dropped sharply to just over £60.000,
earnings then rose slightly.
 3.If we look at
Bernie's Buns,
income started at
£20,000 in 2000, and
then there was a
slight rise to £25,000
in 2001. At this point,
the figure fell back to
Between ,and
just over £20,000,
Between followed by a slight
increase to just under
£40,000. Earnings
then levelled off at
£39,000, and then fell
marginally to
£38.000, Income then
rose by £23,000,
from £38,000 to
£61,000. In the next
two years there was a
gradual rise to around
£62,000, and then the
figure peaked at
around £85,000.

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 1 If we look at....
2 around, approximately
3... despite falling sharply
NOTES
4 By contrast,...
5 earnings, takings

1 There was then a sharp

rise in income.
2 The figure then rose
gradually to around
£105,000.

1 With respect to the income of Robbie's Bakery, it began at just under £60,000
I. PRACTICE
2 If we look at the amount of money which was earned by Bernie's Buns in 2000, it was
£20,000.
Exercise
3 As for1:the
Analyse
earningsthe chart below
of Robbie's and
Bakery, theyfill in the stable
remained blanks.during the first five years
Theofchart
the graph.
shows Internet Users as percentage of population in USA, Canada
4 Regarding the income forthe
and Mexico. Summarise Lovely Loaves, it fluctuated
information considerably
by selecting between 2000
and reporting and
the main
2005.
feature and make comparisons where relevant.
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 Introduction:

Overview
- Is the trend upward/ downward? / Does the percentages of internet users
increase or decrease?
- Compared among three countries, which one had the highest proportion
in 1999, which one had the lowest percentage in 2009?

Details
1. How many percent of population used the internet in 1999 in the three
countries?

2. How many percent of population used the internet in 2009 in the three
countries?

Fill in the blanks

Compares, used, three countries, increased, access, fastest, 20%, lower, to, just, Canada,
compared to
The line graph (1)___ Compares ____the percentage of people in (2)____three
countries ____who (3)__used_____the Internet between 1999 and 2009.
It is clear that the proportion of the population who used the Internet (4)_____
increased ___in each country over the period shown. Overall, a much larger
percentage of Canadians and Americans had (5) ___ access _____to the Internet
in comparison with Mexicans, and Canada experienced the (6) fastest
_______growth in Internet usage.
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In 1999, the proportion of people using the Internet in the USA was about/stood
at (7)__ 20%_____. The figures for Canada and Mexico were__ lower _______,
at about 10% and 5% respectively. In 2005, Internet usage in both the USA and
Canada rose (8)__rose__to_around 70% of the population, while the figure for
Mexico reached (8)__just____over 25%.
By 2009, the percentage of Internet users was highest in (9)__Canada_______.
Almost 100% of
Canadians used the Internet, compared to _(10) about 80% of Americans and
only 40% of Mexicans.
Exercise 2: UK acid rain emission
The graph below shows UK acid rain emissions, measured in millions of
tones, from four different sectors between 1990 and 2007.

Fill the gaps using these words: produced, reaching, fell,

responsible, saw, considerably, terms, drop, dramatic
The line graph compares four sectors in __term____ of the amount of acid rain
emissions that they produced over a period of 17 years in the UK.
It is clear that the total amount of acid rain emissions in the UK ______ fell
considerably ______ between 1990 and 2007. The most ___ dramatic decrease
was seen in the electricity, gas and water supply sector. In 1990, around 3.3
million tones of acid rain emissions came from the electricity, gas and water
sector. The transport and communication sector was respondible for about 0.7
million tones of emissions, while the domestic ssectorp produced______
around 0.6 million tones. Just over 2 million tones of acid rain gases came from
other industries.

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Emissions from electricity, gas and water supply fell dramatically to only 0.5
million tones in 2007, a ___drop___ of almost 3 million tones. While acid rain
gases from the domestic sector and other industries fell gradually, the transport
sector ____saw__ a small increase in emissions, _reaching_____ a peak of 1
million tones in 2005.

Exercise 3:
The graph compares employment rates in the three sectors of the economy, in
the UK, 2000-2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the
main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph shows employment trends across three specific sectors of the UK economy
—public, private, and self-employed—from 2000 to 2010.

Overall, the data reveal that the public and self-employed sectors saw growth over the
decade, while private sector employment declined significantly.

In detail, public sector employment was steady at approximately 38% until 2002, then
began to rise, surpassing private sector employment in 2003 and reaching a high of 59%
by 2005. Though it dipped to around 45% in 2006, it generally experienced steady
growth, ultimately peaking at approximately 51% by the end of the period.

Self-employed sector employment began at around 18% and grew steadily to 30% by
2010, despite some fluctuations between 2002 and 2005.

In contrast, the private sector started with the highest share of employment at 48% in 2000
but declined steadily to 20% by 2010, representing the lowest level among the three
sectors by the end of the period.

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