Interpreting Graphs

& Charts
 Importance
• Tables and graphs are visual representations.

• They are used to organize information to show patterns and

relationships.

• Researchers and scientists often use tables and graphs to report

findings from their research.

• In newspapers, magazine articles, and on television they are often

used to support an argument or point of view.

• The data shown can be used to make inferences.

Types of graphs/charts

Bar graph Line graph

Combo chart Pie chart

 Scatter Plot Radar Chart

In this lesson we will discuss about;

✓ Bar graphs
✓ Line graphs
✓ Pie charts
 Match A and B.

01
A B
07
Legend 01

Dark line 02
02
White line 03
06
X axis 04

Y axis 05
03
05
Source 06

04 Title 07
 Format
• Introduction
• introduce the chart – Chart title Adjectives and Adverbs
• introduce the axes
• Sharp – sharply
• introduce the legend • Rapid – Rapidly
• Quick – Quickly
• Considerable – Considerably
• Body • Significant – Significantly
• Identify the trends (upward trends, Substantial – Substantially
downward trends, fluctuations, static • Steady – Steadily
trends) • Gradual – Gradually
• describe them • Slight – Slightly
• Slow – Slowly

• Conclusion
• Give the overall opinion about the chart.
 Introductory Expressions
Giving information Expressing time

• The graph shows / indicates / depicts / illustrates

• over the next... /
• for the following... (for the following
• From the graph it is clear that …
two months...
• It can be seen from the graph that … • over the next six months...)

• As it can be seen from the graph,

• from ... to (from June to August.)
• between ... and (between June and
• As it is shown / illustrated by the graph,
August...)
• during (during the first three months...)
Bar Graph interpretation

People Studying Engineering at Australian Universities

The bar graph given indicates the number of men and women
studying engineering at Australian universities between the years
1992 and 2012. The vertical axis (y) presents the number of
students while the horizontal axis indicates the years. In this
graph blue bars represent men and red bars denote women.
Trends in Graphs (Upward trend)
Verbs
• Rise – Rose
• Increase – Increased
• went up – Go up
• Grew – Grow
• Rocket - Rocketed

Adjectives and Adverbs

▪ The sales increased sharply. (adverb) • Sharp – sharply

▪ A sharp increase of sales can be seen. • Rapid – Rapidly
(adjective) • Quick – Quickly
▪ The sales went up by 20 from February • Considerable – Considerably
to April. • Significant – Significantly
▪ The sales rocketed by the end of the Substantial – Substantially
year. • Steady – Steadily
▪ The sales increased gradually and • Gradual – Gradually
reached 120 in December. • Slight – Slightly
• Slow – Slowly
 Downward Trend Verbs

Decrease – Decreased
Fall – Fell
Drop – Dropped
Decline – Declined
Plunge – Plunged
Reach - Reached its lowest point
Bottom out – Bottomed out-to
reach a lowest point

Adjectives and Adverbs

▪ The sales decreased rapidly. (adverb)
▪ A steady decrease of sales can be seen • Sharp – sharply
from 2000 to 2002. (adjective) • Rapid – Rapidly
▪ The sales dropped by 40 in 2002. • Quick – Quickly
▪ The sales reached its lowest point/ • Considerable – Considerably
bottomed out in 2004. • Significant – Significantly
▪ The sales decreased gradually and Substantial – Substantially
reached 19 in 2004 and that is the least • Steady – Steadily
number of cars sold during this period. • Gradual – Gradually
• Slight – Slightly
• Slow – Slowly
Static Trend (stable)
Verbs

Stay – Stayed the same

Remain – Remained constant
Level off – Leveled off
Stabilize – Stabilized
Remained unchanged, steady,
stable, constant fixed/static
Plateau – Plateaued –reached a
little or no change
Reach - Reached a plateau

▪ The sales remained steady for 7 months.

▪ The sales remained fairly static-to quite a large degree
▪ The sales plateaued for six months.
▪ During the first six months the sales remained unchanged and
increased rapidly during the second half of the year.
▪ The sales leveled of for six months and increased sharply.
Fluctuation Verbs

Fluctuate – Fluctuated
Flutter – Fluttered
Undulate – Undulated-up and
down shape or movement

▪ Sales fluctuated widely over the year.

▪ It undulated for ten months and started to rise gradually.
 • Body
Describe the trends.

According to the graph, in 1992 the majority of the students were male
students and the number is 14000. It can be seen that the number of
male students fell slightly from 14000 in 1992 to 12000 in 2002. Then
leveled off through the following decades. The number of female students
was relatively low, starting at 2000 in 1992. However, while the number of
men decreased, the number of women increased. Female students grew
steadily by 2000 each decade. This led to a rise in the total number of
engineering students from 16000 to 18000 in this period
 • Conclusion
Conclude the graph giving an overall idea about the graph.

Taken as a whole as the graph indicates, an upward trend can be

seen in the number of female engineering students while the
number of male students have reached a plateau.
• The investment level rose suddenly.

• The sales of our products fell slightly in the final

quarter.

• Fluctuations can be identified in the sales over

the year.

• At the end of the first year, sales stood at 50 per

cent of the present level.

• The price reached a peak before falling a little

and then maintaining the same level.

• There has been a steady increase in costs over

several years.

• The sudden collapse in share prices has

surprised everyone.

• The value of the shares has shown a steady

decline.
Line graph interpretation

Describe the graph,

y axis,
x axis and
the legend
In 2000 the total property crime rate was 2500 offences per 100 000 population. Then the rate
rose sharply and reached 3800 in 2001. After a moderate fall in 2002, the rate started to
increase again and reached a peak in 2003. However, after stabilizing for some months, the total
property crime rate dropped considerably throughout 2004 and the beginning of 2005. The rate
stayed at about 2400 offences from mid-2005 to mid- 2006 before decreasing again. In 2000 the
break and enter rate was about 760 offences per 100 000 population. From 2000 to 2003, there
was a steady upward trend in the B rate. The rate reached its highest point in 2003 and then
showed a significant downward trend until mid-2005. After being stable for a few months, the
rate continued to fall slightly, dropping to around 780 in 2007.
conclusion

The total property crime rate fluctuated from 2000 to 2003, whereas the
break and enter rate showed a general upward trend. Both rates peaked in
2003, fell significantly until mid-2005, stabilized for some months and fell
slightly during 2006 and 2007.
 In January, gold sales _____________about 200 million
dirhams per month. In February they _____________ to Dhs
220 million, _____________ to a peak of 350 million dirhams
in March. Over the next four months, sales _____________
steadily, reaching _____________ of 120 million dirhams in
July. In August, there was a_____________ increase. Sales
almost _____________, rising _____________ Dhs 120 million
in July to Dhs 210 million in August. This was followed by a
(a low point, declined, doubled, drop, from, _____________ in September to Dhs 120 million.
increased slightly, recovered, remained, rising From September to October, sales _________________ from
sharply, sudden, to, were) Dhs 120 million to Dhs 180 million. In October and November,
sales _____________steady, and there was a small increase in
December _____________ 190 million dirhams.
 Format
• Introduction
• Introduce the pie charts
• Introduce the areas considered

• Body
• Identify the striking features
• Highest values
• Least values
• Similarities
• Always highlight the largest and smallest
• Differences
portions
• Describe the chart
• if there are two pie charts in different
time periods, highlight the key changes/
• Conclusion trends
• Overview of the chart
• Use related vocabulary.
 Language Tips
WORDS/ PHRASES OF
Describing changes
• 2% = A tiny portion, a very small
APPROXIMATION -
• 10% increase, proportion. VOCABULARY:

• 25 percent decrease • 4% = An insignificant minority,

Approximately
• increased by 15% an insignificant proportion. Nearly
• dropped by 10 per cent • 16% = A small minority, a small Roughly
• fall at 50% portion. Almost
• reached to 75%
• 70% = A large proportion. About
• tripled, doubled
• 72% = A significant majority, A Around
• one-fourth, three-quarters, half, treble
significant proportion
• 5 times higher
• 89% = A very large proportion.
• 3 times lower

• declined to about 49%

• stood exactly at 43%.
Interpretation of pie charts

This pie chart shows the percentage of the people above 16 years
who use different devices to access to internet. The devices
preferred by the participants are smartphones, laptops, tablets
and desktop computers.
According to the pie chart it is clear that the majority of the participants
prefer to use smartphones and laptops, 33% and 30% respectively, with
just three percent difference between the two. Nearly a third of
participants prefer to go online with a smartphone. 30% like to use a
laptop. A desktop computer is the least preferred device and the
percentage is 14.

In conclusion since mobile and portable devices are the most popular
choices, it is clear that many participants are accessing the internet
outside their homes. Most of the people use smartphones to access to
internet.