SURVEY REPORT

INFORMATION BASED ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRAPHS:

10
Favorite Type of Movie
Favorite Type of Movie Facts I got Correct
8
20
SciFi: 4 (20%)
Comedy: 4 (20%)
15
15 6

People
12

Facts
Drama: 1 (5%) 10 4

5 4 2
3
Action: 5 (25%)
0 1 2 3 4 0
Romance: 6 (30%) Day Number Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi
PIE CHART LINE GRAPH / CHART BAR CHART

GENERAL LAYOUT FOR THE REPORT

Structure
• Title
• Introduction
State the purpose /aim of the report, when and how the information was gathered. Highlight the
most relevant feature
• Main Body / analysis
All the information collected and analysed is presented clearly and in detail (break down the
respondents into groups for instance: according to sex, age and place of residence, … and state
the main differences between groups).
• Conclusion
Sum up the points mentioned in the main body or analysis. If necessary a recommendation can
be included as well.

EXPRESSIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION:

• The graph / table shows/indicates/illustrates/reveals/represents...

• It is clear from the graph/table...
• It can be seen from the graph/table...
• As the graph/table shows,...
• As can be seen from the graph/table,...
• As is shown by the graph/table,...
• As is illustrated by the graph/table,...
• From the graph/table it is clear....
➔ It is always best to avoid using personal pronouns. Instead of saying We can see from the
graph..., it is better to use the passive or impersonal constructions: As shown, as can be seen,...
 ➔ Warning:
The expressions as can be seen from the graph or as is shown / illustrated by the table do NOT
contain the subject it. Avoid these expressions if you think you are going to forget this unusual
grammar.
Remeber that a report is a formal type of text so no contractions or colloquial language should be
used.

EXPRESSIONS FOR THE CONCLUSION:

It can be seen from the data / information that …
In conclusion … / To conclude …
All things considered,
In general / On the whole

OTHER USEFUL LANGUAGE

• TO EXPRESS:

UPWARD TREND DOWNWARD TREND ADVERBS TO ADVERBS TO HOW TO DESCRIBE NO

(VERBS) DESCRIBE BIG DESCRIBE CHANGE
(VERBS) CHANGES SMALL
CHANGES

to increase •to decrease •dramatically •gradually •Remained the same

•to rise •to fall •sharply •slightly •remained constant
•to go up •to go down •suddenly •steadily •stabilised
•to climb •to decline •significantly •gently •levelled off
•to shoot up •to drop •drastically •moderatley
•to rocket •to plunge •noticeably •little by little
•to soar •to plummet •steeply •step by step

• REFERRING TO NUMBERS:

NOUNS VERBS Paraphrasing Aproximation

percentages
the(total) number of to number 80% Four fifths Approximately half (48%)
75% Three quarters Slightly less than a quarter (23%)
the proportion of to outnumber 70% Seven out of ten A large number of (80%)
53% Just over half A small minority / a small number
the amount of to total 40% Two fifths of ( around 5% to 10%)
35% Just over a third An insignificant number / amount
the figure for to amount to 25% One quarter of ( around 2%)
20% A fifth
10% One in ten