linguistic demands
linguistic demands
The/ the given / diagram / table / shows / represents / the comparison of…
the supplied / the figure / illustration / depicts / the differences…
presented / the graph / chart / flow enumerates / the changes...
shown / the chart / picture/ illustrates / the number of…
provided presentation/ pie presents/ gives / information on…
chart / bar graph/ provides / data on…
column graph / line delineates/ outlines/ the proportion of…
graph / table data/ describes / the amount of…
data / information / delineates/ information on...
pictorial/ process expresses/ denotes/ data about...
diagram/ map/ pie compares/ shows comparative data...
chart and table/ bar contrast / indicates / the trend of...
graph and pie chart figures / gives data the percentages of...
... on / gives the ratio of...
information on/ how the...
presents information
about/ shows data
about/
demonstrates/
sketch out/
summarises...
Example :
1. The diagram shows employment rates among adults in four European
countries from 1925 to 1985. (over six decades starting from 1925)
2. The given pie charts represent the proportion of male and female employees
in 6 broad categories, dividing into manual and non-manual occupations in
Australia, between 2010 and 2015.
5. The bar graph and the table data depict the water consumption in different
sectors in five regions.
6. The bar graph enumerates the money spent on different research projects
while the column graph demonstrates the fund sources over a decade,
commencing from 1981.
7. The line graph delineates the proportion of male and female employees in
three different sectors in Australia between 2010 and 2015.
Note that, some teachers prefer "The line graph demonstrates..." format
instead of "The given line graph demonstrates...". However, if you write "The
given/ provided/ presented...." it would be correct as well.
Tips:
1. For a single graph use 's' after the verb, like - gives data on, shows/ presents
etc. However, if there are multiple graphs, DO NOT use 's' after the verb.
2. If there are multiple graphs and each one presents a different type of data, you
can write which graph presents what type of data and use 'while' to show a
connection. For example -'The given bar graph shows the amount spent on fast
food items in 2009 in the UK while the pie chart presents a comparison of
people's ages who spent more on fast food.
4. For multiple graphs and/ or table(s), you can write what they present in
combination instead of saying which each graph depicts. For example, "The two
pie charts and the column graph in combination depicts a picture of the
crime in Australia from 2005 to 2015 and the percentages of young
offenders during this period."
Caution:
Never copy word for word from the question. If you do, you would be penalised.
Always paraphrase the introduction in your own words.
2. As (it is) observed, the figures for imprisonment in the five mentioned
countries show no overall pattern, rather shows the considerable fluctuations
from country to country.
3. Generally speaking, citizens in the USA had a far better life standard than that
of remaining countries.
Reporting Details:
Main features in the Details
+ Comparison and Contrast of the data. (Do not give all the figures.)
+ Most striking features of the graph.
Conclusion:
Conclusion (General statement + Implications, significant comments)
[The conclusion part is optional.]
Tips:
1. Write introduction and General trend in the same paragraph. Some students
prefer to write the 'General Trend' in a separate paragraph and many teachers
suggest the both to be written in a single paragraph. Unless you have a really
good reason to write the general trend in the second paragraph, try to write them
both in the first paragraph. However, this is just a suggestion, not a requirement.
2. Your 'Introduction (general statement + overall trend/ general trend) should
have 75 - 80 words.
3. DO NOT give numbers, percentages or quantity in your general trend. Rather
give the most striking feature of the graph that could be easily understood at a
glance. Thus it is suggested to AVOID -
"A glance at the graphs reveals that 70% male were employed in 2001 while 40
thousand women in this year had jobs."
"A glance at the graphs reveals that more men were employed than their
female counterpart in 2001 and almost two-third females were jobless in
the same year. "
Just after you finish writing your 'Introduction' (i.e. General Statement + General
overview/ trend), you are expected to start a new paragraph to describe the main
features of the diagrams. This second paragraph is called the 'Body Paragraph /
Report Body". You can have a single body paragraph/ report body or up to 3, (not
more than 3 in any case) depending on the number of graphs provided in the
question and the type of these graphs. There are certain phrases you can use to
start your body paragraph and following is a list of such phrases ---
Examples:
1. The overall sale of the company increased by 20% at the end of the year.
2. The expenditure of the office remained constant for the last 6 months but the
profit rose by almost 25%.
3. There was a 15% drop in the ratio of student enrollment in this University.
4. The population of the country remained almost the same as it was 2 years
ago.
5. The population of these two cities increase significantly in the last two
decades and it is expected that it will remain stable during the next 5 years.
Tips:
1. Use 'improve' / 'an improvement' to describe a situation like economic
condition or employment status. To denote numbers use other verbs/nouns like
increase.
2. Do not use the same word/ phrase over and over again. In fact, you should not
use a noun or verb form to describe a trend/change more than twice; once is
better!
3. To achieve a high band score you need to use a variety of vocabulary as well
as sentence formations.
Example:
2. There was a sharp drop in the industrial production in the year 2009.
5. The price of the oil moderately increased during the last quarter but as a
consequence, the price of daily necessity rapidly went up.
Vocabulary to represent frequent changes in graphs:
Example:
1. The price of the goods fluctuated during the first three months in 2017.
2. The graph shows the oscillations of the price from 1998 to 2002.
3. The passenger number in this station oscillates throughout the day and in
early morning and evening, it remains busy.
4. The changes of car production in Japan shows a palpitation for the second
quarter of the year.
Tips:
1. 4. DO NOT try to present every single data presented in a graph. Rather pick
5-7 most significant and important trends/ changes and show their comparisons
and contrasts.
2. The question asks you to write a report and summarise the data presented in
graphs(s). This is why you need to show the comparisons, contrasts, show the
highest and lowest points and most striking features in your answer, not every
piece of data presented in the diagram(s).
Types of Changes/ Differences and Vocabulary to present them:
» From 1990 to 2000, Commencing from 1980, Between 1995 and 2005, After
2012.
» By 1995, In 1998, In February, Over the period, During the period, During
2011.
» In the first half of the year, For the first quarter, The last quarter of the year,
During the first decade.
» In the 80s, In the 1980s, During the next 6 months, In the mid-70s, Next 10
years, Previous year, Next year, Between 1980 - 1990.
» Within a time span of ten years, within five years.
» Next month, Next quarter, Next year, Previous month, Previous year.
» Since, Then, From.
Percentages:
10% increase, 25 percent decrease, increased by 15%, dropped by 10 per cent,
fall at 50%, reached to 75%, tripled, doubled, one-fourth, three-quarters, half,
double fold, treble, 5 times higher, 3 timers lower, declined to about 49%, stood
exactly at 43%.
Fractions:
4% = A tiny fraction.
24% = Almost a quarter.
25% Exactly a quarter.
26% = Roughly one quarter.
32% Nearly one-third, nearly a third.
49% = Around a half, just under a half, close to a half.
50% Exactly a half.
51% = Just over a half.
73% = Nearly three quarters.
77% = Approximately three quarter, more than three-quarter.
79% = Well over three quarters.
Proportions:
2% = A tiny portion, a very small proportion.
4% = An insignificant minority, an insignificant proportion.
16% = A small minority, a small portion.
70% = A large proportion.
72% = A significant majority, A significant proportion.89% = A very large
proportion.
89% = A very large proportion.
Words/ Phrases of Approximation - Vocabulary:
» Approximately
» Nearly
» Roughly
» Almost
» About
» Around
» More or less
» Just over
» Just under
» Just around
» Just about
» Just below
» A little more than
» A little less than.