ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH WRITING

What is an analytical paragraph?

Analytical Paragraph writing – An analytical paragraph is a form of descriptive writing
which is written on the basis of a given chart, graph, data, outline, cues, table, etc.
When writing an analytical paragraph, one should remember to describe the facts in
the best possible manner and to cover the information provided.

Features of an analytical paragraph writing-

1. It describes the given chart, table, data, graph, cues etc.

2. It should be brief and comprehensive (include complete information) at the same

time.

3. It should state facts that are provided by the chart.

4. It is necessary to make use of simple and accurate language.

5. It should mention figures and quantities appropriately.

6. It is appropriate to use the same tense throughout the analytical paragraph.

7. No personal observation or response should be provided.

Analytical Paragraph Writing Format

An analytical paragraph shall be divided into three parts-
1. Introduction
2. Body of the paragraph and;
3. Conclusion

Introduction
(explain in one or two lines the subject of the graph given)

Body
(explain in detail what the graph is about, use relevant figures, explain trends, make
comparisons and contrasts)

Conclusion
(conclude the paragraph giving the overall view or summary of the graph)

Useful tips for writing an analytical paragraph

1. For an introduction, you can start with the following phrases-

1. The chart given above describes

2. The table suggests

3. The line graph shows

4. The data given provides information about

5. The pie chart illustrates, etc.

2. For describing trends, use phrases and words like- a pattern of growth, rapidly
doubled, skyrocketed, striking increase, peaked, soaring rates, declined,
plummeted, leveled off, stagnated, fluctuate, starting to rise, starting to fall, drop
down, slightly, etc.

3. For describing quantities, use various styles like- 48% of, one-third of, nearly
one-fourth of, almost 80%, majority, on average, twice as much, almost equal,
the highest, the lowest, very close to 2%, roughly, approximately 5% of, just
under three percent, etc.

4. For establishing a relationship or contrast, use phrases and words like-

relationship between, similarly, in contrast with, in comparison to, but in the
opposite case, however, whereas, when it comes to, as opposed to, while,
striking difference, noticeable difference, etc.

5. For the conclusion and other connecting phrases use- overall, subsequently,
in all, in a nutshell, for the chart given, in short, striking changes, including,
therefore, etc.

Question 1: Below is a graph given showing birth and death rates in a

country from 1901 to 2101. Write an analytical paragraph (100-150 words).
Answer 1:

The graph shows birth and death rates starting from 1901 till 2101.

Since 1901, the birth rate has remained more than the death rate until 2041. Birth
rate was 20000 in 1901 and started increasing gradually. It peaked in 1961 to
around 65000. From 1961, birth rate has fluctuated multiple times between
50000 and 60000. It is expected to decline for the coming years reaching
approximately 42000 by 2101

On the other hand, the death rate stood at around 10000 in 1901 and then has
increased steadily. It is expected to rise strikingly from 2021 before levelling off to
approximately 60000 between 2061 and 2081. The graph indicates a slight decline
in deaths in the year 2101.

The graph shows the huge gap between birth rate and death during 1961 to 2001.
However, this gap is expected to reduce in the later years. Overall, as opposed to
the prevailing trends, the death rate will be more than the birth rate in the later
half of the 21st century.

Question 2: The chart shows the division of household tasks by gender in Great
Britain. Write an analytical paragraph describing the chart given in not more
than 200 words.

Answer 2:

The chart shows the number of minutes per day spent by British men and women
in doing household tasks. On an average, the women spend about four hours
doing household tasks whereas the men spend less than two and half hours.

The tasks on which women spend more time than men include cooking, cleaning
house, taking care of the children and laundry. In doing all these tasks, women
spend approximately 200 minutes which is almost three times the time spent by
men in these tasks. On the other hand, men spend twice the time than women in
doing tasks like gardening and maintenance jobs in the house. Men spend the
highest time, almost 50 minutes, in gardening and pet care. While the women
spend only 30 minutes for these tasks. The time spent by men in washing, ironing
and sewing clothes is as low as 2 minutes per day as opposed to 25 minutes spent
by women.

In short, women spend far more time doing household chores than men whilst
men prefer to do gardening, pet care and maintaining odd jobs.

Question 4: The following table shows details about the internet activities for
six categories for different age groups. Write an analytical paragraph for the
table given in around 100-120 words.

Answer 4:

The given table suggests the internet activities of seven age groups ranging from
teens to those in their seventies for six different kinds of activities. The table
shows that the younger generation is more interested in online games and news,
while the older generation spends time on the internet to research and buy
products.

It is evident from the table that teens mainly use the internet for games (as high
as 81%), news and downloads and are not interested in searching for people or
friends or doing any product research. The middle-age group (people in 20s to
60s) is highly interested in getting news, doing product research and buying
products, the percentage ranging from 70-80%. The internet activity which gets
the least time is searching for people. All the age groups spend less than 30% of
their internet time on the same. The amount of time spent on downloads
decreases with age and gets as low as 6% (for people in 70s).

Overall, the table suggests that teenagers are most likely to spend time playing
games and doing downloads. On the other side, older people are interested in
researching and buying products. People spend the least amount of time
searching for other people online.

Question 6: The graph given shows estimated sales of gold in Dubai in 2002.
Write an analytical paragraph describing the line graph in around 150 words.

Answer 6:

The line graph depicts the estimated sales of gold in Dubai for a period of twelve
months in 2002 in millions of Dirhams.

In January 2002, the sales stood at 200 million Dirhams. It steadily increased
through the next month and peaked to 350 million Dirhams in the third month of
the year. However, the gold sales started to plummet over the next three months
and hit 110 million Dirhams in the month of July. Unexpectedly, the sales doubled
in August before coming down to the same level as in July for the month of
September. For the next two months of the year, the gold sales levelled off to 180
million Dirhams and then slightly increased in December.

Overall, the estimated gold sales fluctuated in 2002. The sales were the highest in
the month of March and lowest in the months of July and September. The sales at
the end of the year were almost the same as they were in the beginning of the
year.

Election years Voters (%) Male (%) female (%)

1990 48.6 45.2 38.2

1995 50.5 42.5 60.3

2000 47.5 58.2 54.2

2005 55.2 50.3 52.0

2010 55.6 52 49.1

2015 58.5 56.4 53.2

2020 60 62.3 44.2

Question 4.
Given below is the turnout of voters including male and female of
Maharashtra from 1990 to 2020. Interpret the data.

Answer:
The following details have been discussed through tabular presentation. It
shows the details of turnout of voters in Maharashtra from 1990 to 2020. In
the year 2020, the turnout of voters was 60%. The percentage of male
voters was 62.3%. In the year 2020, and female voters was in minimum in
1995. The turnout of male voters increased subsequently from the year
1990 to 2020. In 2000, the turnout of voters was minimum, i.e., 47.5%. The
turnout of female voters was least in 1990. So the data mentioned in the
table shows that the voters turnout increased in maximum number of years.
But in the case of female voters, it fluctuated; sometimes it increased and
sometimes it decreased.

Q3. The given pie chart shows proportion of people from different households
living in a state ofpoverty in the UK in the year 2002. Write an analytical
paragraph based upon the informationprovided in about 100-120 words.