A SINGLE LINE GRAPH DESCRIBING THE DIRECTION OF A CHANGE (Verbs)

y Rise y Increase y Go up to y Grow y Climb y Boom y Peak y Fall y Decline y Decrease

y y y y y y y y y y y y

Dip Drop Go down Reduce Level out/off No change Remain stable Remain steady Stay Stay constant Maintain the same level Stabilize

Nouns
y a rise y an increase y growth y a climb y a boom y (reach) a peak (at) y a fall
y a decline y a decrease y a dip y a drop y a reduction y A slump y a leveling out/off y no change

DESCRIBING THE DEGREE OF A CHANGE (ADJ)

yDramatic ySharp yHuge yEnormous ySteep ySubstantial
y Considerable y Significant y Marked y Moderate y Slight y Small y Minimal

Adverbs
y dramatically y sharply y hugely y enormously y steeply y substantially y considerably y constantly y y significantly y markedly y moderately y Slightly y minimally y steadily y Gradually y Slowly y greatly

DESCRIBING THE SPEED OF A CHANGE

y Rapid y Quick y Swift y Sudden y Steady y Gradual y Slow y Sharp y rapidly y quickly y swiftly y suddenly y steadily y gradually y Slowly y Sharply

USEFUL STRUCTURES:
y SUBJECT + VERBS (PAST TENSE) +ADVERBS

The price The population The rate decreased, fell, declined, went down, dropped
y How quickly?

gradually/slowly quickly/rapidly y How much? slightly somewhat significantly/substantially dramatically increased, rose, grew, went up remained, stayed steady/constant/stable

The price of commodity decreased slightly last week.

There was + A/AN + Adjective + Noun + In + noun

There was a Gradual Slow rapid Slight significant substantial dramatic Decrease Fall Decline Drop Increase rise prices the population the rate

IN

PREPOSITIONS
y WITH NOUNS y increase IN nouns

E.g. There has been an increase in population. y Increase OF numbers IN nouns E.g. There has been an increase of 10% in the population.

y WITH VERBS y The petrol price decreased BY 10%. (The petrol price now is 90% the old price) y The petrol price decrease TO 80%. (The petrol price now is 80% the old price) y Production went down FROM 5,000 TO 4,000 units a month. y Unemployment remained stable AT 2.5 million.

Expressing approximation
y just under y just over y well under y well over y Roughly y nearly y approximately y Around y about

Upward trend
verb noun notes
to become larger in number, amount, price, value, degree, size, strength etc. NOTE! Dont use increase about the level or standard of something. Use go up or rise. The standard of living has risen. (not increased).

an increase to increase: pay/price/tax/rent increase

by 10%/$100 to$ 1000 in number/v alue

The price of cigarettes has increased by 30% in the last two years. The international role of the euro has increased gradually since 1999. The company announced a 5% increase in profits. Large tax increases are expected if there is a change of government.

to rise
by 5%/$3/a large amount etc. to rise to the top spirits rise to rise through the ranks

a rise
a rise in costs/prices/ taxes etc. rent/price rise rise and fall

to increase in number, standard, amount or value; to go upwards (a level)

During the period 1969 to 1999, the sales and wages earned by women rose slowly but steadily. The people who rise to the top in politics are usually the most ruthless. Our spirits rose when we heard of the ships safe return. She has risen through the ranks. (has made a good career) The polar ice caps will melt and the sea level will rise. The rise and fall of the Roman Empire rising fuel bills

to go up

to become higher in price, level or value etc.

The price of cigarettes is going up. Do you think interest rates will go up again? After Hurricane Katrina, gasoline and diesel commodity prices went up dramatically in Canada and the U.S.

to climb

a climb

to increase in number, amount or level; to move to a better position NOTE! Climb is usually used about a number rather than an amount.

The dollar/temperature/price of oil has been climbing all week. Madonna s new record has climbed to number 2 in the US charts. After a fairly steady climb, prices stabilized at around $1.65 a liter. As microprocessors become faster and memory becomes cheaper, the benefit to cost ratio has climbed significantly.

to grow
to grow by 5%

a growth
a growth rate a growth of interest

to become grater in size, number or strength or degree

During the 1970 s there was rapid growth in production and consumption. From the 14th century to the beginning of the 20th, the climate grew constantly colder. Her confidence/fear grew.

Other verbs show a fast, upward movement. Each one is associated with a particular image (to shoot up like a bullet, to soar like an eagle, to surge like a tidal wave.)

y Sales of Mac computers and iPods also shot up 20 y y y

percent and 207 percent, respectively. UK carbon dioxide emissions soared in 2003. The PC market surged in 2005, and is expected to slow down in 2006 Two years ago, South Africa's malaria rates suddenly skyrocketed to 50,000 cases a year from just a few thousand. Coal production boomed in Wyoming during the 1980s and 1990s.

DOWNWARD TREND
to decrease

a decrease
a decrease of 20% a decrease in the price

to go down to a lower level, or to make something do this

From 1990 to 2001, rates of extreme poverty decreased slowly in Latin America. He refused to accept a decrease of 20% to his salary. There has been a decrease in the annual birth rate for the last twenty years. The government announced a 25% decrease in the price of fuel.

to fall
to fall to 50.9%

a fall a fall in the rise and fall

to go down to a lower price, level, amount, temperature etc

Sales of new passenger cars in Europe fell 9.6%. The British pound fell to $1.7520 from $1.7850. The rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry

to become less in level or value

to become less in level or value

to become less in level or value The temperature sometimes goes down to minus thirty. Rental costs have gone down ( 50) since last year. Coffee is going down in price.

The temperature sometimes goes down to minus thirty. Rental costs have gone down ( 50) since last year. Coffee is going down in price.

do drop to drop by 50%

NOTE! not used in progressive tenses to become lower or less in level, temperature, number or strength

The temperature has dropped considerably. The violent crime rate dropped by 6.2 percent. The town s population is expected to drop in the next decade.

to decline

a decline

to become lower or less in level, number, size, strength or importance NOTE! to talk about a loss of economic strength: The market has declined.

This type of business is a declining sector of the UK. As profitability declines, people would go out of farming. The profit rise came despite a decline in sales.

Some verbs show a fast, downward movement. (to plunge - make a steep dive from a high place, to plummet - fall perpendicularly, to take a nosedive - like an airplane, to slump to fall in price, value or number, suddenly and by a large amount)

y * Temperatures in Moscow plunged overnight to as low as y y y y

minus 24. * Sales of new houses plummeted in November by the largest amount in nearly 12 years. * On March 15, 2005, General Motors stock took a nosedive. * Profits slumped by over 50%.

Strategies for improving your IEL S score

y Selecting information

+ describe the whole graph fully + summarise the graph by dividing it into its main parts. y Report structure + introduction + body + conclusion

Introduction
+ Use two standard opening sentences to introduce your report Sentence one should define what the graph is about; that is, the date, location, what is being described in the graph E.g. The graph shows the number of cases of X disease in Homeland between the years 1960 and 1995 Sentence two (and possibly three) might sum up the overall trend E.g. It can be clearly seen that X disease increased rapidly to 500 cases around the 1980s and then dropped to zero before 1999, while Y disease fell consistently from a high point of nearly 600 cases in 1960 to less than 100 cases in 1995. y Notice the tense used. Even though it describes information from the past, the graph shows the information in the present time.

Body
y Describing the graph in detail

+ decide on the most clear and logical order + present information in chronological order + write up the information (most probably) from earliest to latest

Conclusion
y Your report may end with one or two sentences

which summarise your report to draw a relevant conclusion.

Grammar and vocabulary

y Avoiding repetition

E.g. of repetition The number of cases of X disease started at 50 in 1965 and then went up to 200 in 1970 and then went up to 500 in 1980 and then went down to zero in 1990.