In business and everyday English, you sometimes have to describe changes in trends (movement or tendency), graphs,

and diagrams.

Choosing the right visual aid

A flow chart is a diagram showing A pie chart displays the size A (vertical or horizontal) bar chart is
the progress of material through (taille) of each part as a used to compare unlike (different)
the steps (étapes) of a percentage of a whole (un tout). items
manufacturing process (processus)
or the succession of operations in a
complex activity

A line chart depicts changes over a A table is a convenient way to A diagram is a drawing showing
period of time, showing data and show large amount of data arrangements and situations, such
trends (données, informations) in a as networks (réseaux), distribution,
small space fluctuation ...

In the business context, you may have to describe trends in reports, meetings, and presentations. Describing changes
and trends generally consists of three parts:

 Use a verb (or an adjective and a noun) to describe movement

 Describe the speed or size of the movement

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  Explain the reason or consequence of the change

Time Expressions You Can Use

 In January / In 2011
 In Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 (In the first quarter / second quarter / third quarter / fourth quarter)
 From January to March
 Between April and July

Speed of Change

Rapid - Rapidly
Slow - Slowly
Sudden - Suddenly
Sharp - Sharply
Steady - Steadily
Gradual - Gradually
Fast – Quickly
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Size of Change

Noticeable - Noticeably
Substantial - Substantially
Considerable - Considerably
Slight - Slightly
Significant - Significantly
Dramatic - Dramatically
Negligible – Negligibly

Here are some expressions you can use to express reason, consequence, and result:

 As a result of
 Due to
 Because of
 Was the reason for
 Caused
 Resulted in
 That is why
 Consequently

Examples of Phrases (Tips: describe verbs by using adjectives)

 Apple's sales increased significantly due to the launch of the iPhone 6. [verb + adverb]

There was a significant increase in Apple's sales due to the launch of the iPhone 6.
[adjective + noun]


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  Our turnover remained stable in January and February. However, in March and April, it dropped suddenly as a
result of the financial crisis. [verb + adverb]

In March and April, there was a sudden drop in our turnover as a result of the financial crisis.
[verb + adverb]

Expressing approximation

We use words to express approximation when the point we are trying to describe is
between milestones on the graph.

 just under
 just over
 well under
 well over
 roughly
 nearly
 approximately
 around
 about

Describing the elements of a graph

The vertical axis, The horizontal axis, The curve, The solid line, The dotted line, The broken line, The shaded area, The
unshaded section, The dotted column, The coloured segment, The red bar… etc

TASK 1: Look at the graph and write the appropriate letters in front of each definition :

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 : the horizontal axis ( or the x axis) : a solid line

: the vertical axis (or the y axis) : a broken line

: the scale : a dotted line

TASK 2: Match each sentence below with one of the following graphs

1. The investment level rose suddenly.

2. The sales of our products fell slightly in the final quarter.
3. The Research and Development budget has stabilized over the past few years.
4. At the end of the first year, sales stood at 50 per cent of the present level.
5. The price reached a peak before falling a little and then maintaining the same level.
6. There has been a steady increase in costs over several years.
7. The sudden collapse in share prices has surprised everyone.
8. The value of the shares has shown a steady decline.

How to describe a pie chart

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To write a short description of a graph ask yourself (and answer!) the following questions:

• What exactly does the chart show? (Use the chart title to help you answer this question)
• What are the axes and what are the units?
• What similarities are there?
• Is it possible to put some of the columns into one or more groups?
• What differences are there?

Answering these questions will help you to write a short description of this simple column chart.

With the following examples we would like to show you how charts are described. Mind the three parts and do not repeat
the global message in the conclusion.

Example 1: Pets in Year 7 at a school

We have chosen the pie chart because we think it shows the number of pets in Year 7 best.

Source: Pets e-Magazine

1) STEP 1: Introduction

Here you say what the diagram is about (you may adapt form the title and the legend) and the source from which the
data was taken.

Example::

The pie chart is about the pets in Year 7 (the title). The chart is divided into 4 parts. It is taken from Pets e-Magazine
(the source),

2) STEP 2: Message of the diagram (Pick the biggest, the smallest, the main points, the main trends).

The largest number of pets are in form 7GI. There are 16 pets.
The second largest number of pets are in form 7HK. There are 8 pets.
So there are more than twice as many pets in form 7GI.
The chart shows that there are only 2 pets in form 7CS and 3 in form 7VR.

3) Conclusion

So we can say that the most pets of Year 7 are in form 7GI and the least in form 7CS. There are more than 50 per
cent of all the pets in one form - form 7GI.

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Example 2: Population growth in Canada

Introduction

{This graph shows the growth of the population in Canada from 1978 to 2009. It is taken from the website about Statistics
in Canada.} {There are three graphs in the chart. The green graph shows the total growth of the population, the black one
deals with the migrated people in Canada and the blue graph shows the natural increase of the population. In 1988/89
there was an enormous growth. In the following years the total growth went down to about 250,000 in 1998/99. From that
time on the Canadian population has been gradually growing again although the natural increase slows down.] (So we
can say that the growth of the population in Canada is based on migration.)
Description
Conclusion

Example 3: Populations of some European countries in 2007

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This chart shows the populations of some European countries in 2007. The country with the largest population is
Germany, with over 80 million people whereas Estonia has the smallest population, at little more than a million.
Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland all have populations or ten million or less,
while Greece has a population of about eleven million. Apart from Germany, the largest countries are Spain, France
and Italy with populations ranging from about forty-four to sixty-three million. Together, the four largest countries
account for over eighty per cent of the population of the countries shown.

Tips:

 Circle and highlight the graph. Use arrows. Make notes. Circle the biggest, the smallest. stable or unchanging parts,
sudden increases, etc.
 Most graphs will have two trends, or there will be two graphs with a trend in each. You could tell about the two trends in
two separate paragraphs. Make sure you have identified the trends in the graph.
 Don't have any numbers in the conclusion (you could use words like "most", "the majority" "a minority", "a small
number").
• Don’t give an opinion.
• Don’t write about everything on the graph. Pick the biggest, the smallest, the main points, the main trends. Group similar
things together
• Don’t write about the line or the bar: “The line went up,” “The bar went down.”
Instead, write about the idea. “The number of people going to work by train increased gradually.” “Oil production shot up
in 1965”
• Make sure you write about the idea. Don’t use shorthand: “Men went up.” “Women went down.” Instead, write about the
real data: “The number of men at university fell dramatically,” “The percentage of female students getting a degree rose
suddenly.”
• Don’t use “I feel”, “as I have written,” “as you can see,” etc. Keep it academic!

TASK 1: In 150 words, comment on the graph below using and organising the following expressions in the
outline provided:

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Tips:
 Use adverbs and adjectives to describe movements
 Express approximation, reason and sequence.
 Avoid repetitions.
 Conclude by saying whether this graph is typical or not; Justify your answer.

http://www.admc.hct.ac.ae/hd1/english/graphs/goldsales.htm

Introduction:

The graph shows ______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

The graph description: (Add other relevant descriptions)

Sales rose (slowly / steadily /rapidly / gradually ...)____________________________________________

Sales stood at ________________________________________________________________________
Sales peaked / peaked out ______________________________________________________________
Sales levelled out / flattened out___________________________________________________________
Sales bottomed out ____________________________________________________________________

Conclusion:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

TASK 2: Look at the graph below, then complete the sentences.

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1. The ............................................... compares three products : A, B and C.
2. The ............. shows time over ten years while the ............. shows sales in number of units.
3. Product A is represented by the ...............................................
4. The performance of Product B is shown by the ..............................................
5. And a …………………………………. has been used to show the results of Product C.
6. Clearly, ................................... is the most successful product ....................................
7. Sales of Product B .......................... in recent years while sales of Product C ......................
8. On the contrary, product A has shown a ..................................................

TASK 3: Fill in the correct word

a low point declined doubled drop from increased slightly recovered

remained rising sharply sudden to were

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 [?] in September to Dhs120 million.

From September to October, sales _____________ from Dhs 120 million to Dhs 180 million. In
October and November, sales _____________steady, and there was a small increase in December
_____________ 190 million dirhams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrVpGJyEVaM

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