Describing Charts, Graphs and Diagrams

Useful Graph Vocabulary

UP: increase / rise / grow / went up / soar / double / multiply / climb / exceed /
DOWN: decrease / drop / fall / decline / plummet / halve / depreciate / plunge
UP & DOWN: fluctuate / undulated / dip /
SAME: stable (stabilised) / levelled off / remained constant or steady / consistent
CHANGES: gently / gradually / slightly / steadily / a little /
CHANGES: suddenly / sharply / dramatically / steeply / sudden
TOP: reached a peak / peaked / reached its highest level /
BOTTOM: bottomed out / sank to a trough / the lowest level

Graphs, Charts & Diagrams

Data can be represented in many ways. The 4 main types of graphs are a bar graph or bar chart,
line graph, pie chart, and diagram.

Bar graphs are used to show relationships between different data series that are independent of
each other. In this case, the height or length of the bar indicates the measured value or frequency.
Below, you can see the example of a bar graph which is the most widespread visual for
presenting statistical data.
Line graphs represent how data has changed over time. This type of charts is especially useful
when you want to demonstrate trends or numbers that are connected. For example, how sales
vary within one year. In this case, financial vocabulary will come in handy. Besides, line graphs
can show dependencies between two objects during a particular period.
Pie charts are designed to visualize how a whole is divided into various parts. Each segment of
the pie is a particular category within the total data set. In this way, it represents a percentage
distribution.
Diagram is a plan, drawing, or outline created to illustrate how separate parts work and overlap
at the connecting points.
 How to begin a description

Once you create a fascinating graph for your presentation, it is time to know how to describe
graphs, charts, and diagrams. To catch your audience’s attention from the very beginning, you
can use the following phrases for introduction:

 Let me show you this bar graph…

 Let’s turn to this diagram…

 I’d like you to look at this map…

 If you look at this graph, you will notice…

 Let’s have a look at this pie chart…

 If you look at this line chart, you will understand…

 To illustrate my point, let’s look at some charts…

How to describe diagrams and other visuals: naming the parts

To describe diagrams or any other type of graphs as clearly as possible, you should name
each visual element. For example:

 The vertical axis shows…

 The horizontal axis represents…

 This curve illustrates…

 The solid line shows…

 The shaded area describes…

 This colored segment is for…

 The red bar…

How to describe line graphs

Now, when you know how to describe bar charts, what about line graphs? This type of charts
converts information into points on a grid that is connected with a line to represent trends,
changes, or relationship between objects, numbers, dates, etc. These lines show movement over
time affected by the increase or decrease in the key factors.

To express the movement of the line, you should use appropriate verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
depending on the kind of action you need to show. For this, you should use the following
vocabulary:
Verbs: rise, increase, grow, go up to, climb, boom, peak, fall, decline, decrease, drop, dip, go
down, reduce, level up, remain stable, no change, remain steady, stay constant, stay, maintain the
same level, crash, collapse, plunge, plummet.

Adjectives: sharp, rapid, huge, dramatic, substantial, considerable, significant, slight, small,
minimal, massive.

Adverbs: dramatically, rapidly, hugely, massive, sharply, steeply, considerably, substantially,

significantly, slightly, minimally, markedly.

There is also a list of adverbs to describe the speed of a change: rapidly, quickly, swiftly,
suddenly, steadily, gradually, slowly.
 How to describe pie charts

The pie chart is primarily used to illustrate how different parts make up a whole. The best way to
present your data in a pie chart is to compare the categories with each other. The following
comparison words can be used interchangeably:

 to compare

 compared to

 as opposed to

 versus

 more than

 the majority of
 only a small monitory

 greater than

 less than

Here we have an example of a pie chart that represents how internet users aged 16+ prefer to
browse the web:
Tips

 If you are doing an exam task, read the instructions and make sure you write according to
the word and time limits.
 Start by saying what the charts show. In an exam, change the words in the question to
write the first sentence of your answer, e.g. These charts show = These charts illustrate.
 The second paragraph should provide an overview of the key features of the information.
 The other paragraphs should describe the patterns or trends in more detail. However, only
select the most important ones to write about, and don't write about your own ideas.
 Use linking words and a range of vocabulary to describe what you see in the charts. (You
can write % or per cent, but be consistent.)
 Be careful to use the correct tenses to describe the time periods shown.
The table below gives information about some of the world's most studied languages. Summarise
the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.

Number of people learning the Number of native Number of countries wher

Language
language speakers spoken

English 1.5 billion 527 million 101

French 82 million 118 million 51

Chinese 30 million 1.39 billion 33

Spanish 14.5 million 389 million 31

Italian 8 million 67 million 29

Japanese 3 million 123 million 25

The table illustrates some interesting facts about some of the world's most popular languages to
learn. It allows comparisons between the number of people who study a language versus those
who speak it as a mother tongue, and shows how many countries have speakers of each of the
languages.

The prominence of English is striking. 1.5 billion people are learning English compared to only
82 million studying the second most popular language to learn, French. English is spoken in 101
countries, roughly twice as many as French and three times more than Chinese. English is the
only language with more learners than native speakers.

In terms of native speakers, Chinese is the most spoken language, more than double English with
1.39 billion. It is the third most popular language to learn with 30 million learners. Spanish has
over five times more native speakers than Italian, but proportionally fewer learners at 14.5
million for Spanish and 8 million for Italian. As for Japanese, it is the least studied language of
those given with 3 million learners.

Overall, more people are learning English than the other languages combined and English is
spoken in the highest number of countries. However, Chinese has by far the greatest number of
native speakers. There seems to be little correlation between how many native speakers there are
of a language and the number of learners, but there is a stronger link between the number of
learners and how many countries have speakers.

Please note: This page was designed for writing practice only. Information and statistics in the
table may not be accurate.

Tips

1. Start by saying what information is shown. If you are writing in an exam, try to avoid
repeating the same wording as the question, e.g. The table illustrates some interesting
facts about some of the world's most popular languages to learn.

2. In the second paragraph give an overview of the most important features of the
information.

3. Be selective and choose the key observations and trends. You don't have to write about
every single detail.

4. Divide your observations into paragraphs about different aspects of the data. A
concluding paragraph is not always necessary.

5. Don't use your own general knowledge to give reasons for the data or to add more
information than is shown. The question only requires you to summarise and report the
data in the table.

6. Use a variety of structures for:

 making comparisons, e.g. slightly more than, by far the highest, as … as, compared to,
double the number of, correlation between

 approximating, e.g. nearly, roughly, almost

 stating what you are referring to, e.g. in terms of … , as for … , of those given.