Types of Graphs and Charts      

There are many types of graphs and charts that are commonly used for showing business reports. These are listed as follows.

1. Line graphs: A line graph is a way of representing two pieces of information, which is usually related and vary with respect to each other. This is useful when comparisons are needed. e.g.  

   

2. Pie Charts: A pie chart is a type of a circle graph normally used in showcasing a wholesome quantity; we have to show that how this whole quantity is broken into parts. The whole quantity depicts entire sample space and the pieces of pie in the circle graph are called sectors.  

  

3. Bar Charts: This is a type of chart, which contains labeled horizontal or vertical bars showing a piece of information and an axis. The numbers along the side of bar graph compose the axis. This is also called as a histogram; Bar Graph is useful when there is a numerical comparison. 

  4. Area Graphs: These graphs are used to show how something changes with

respect to time. An area graph shows the contribution of each data series in the form of a picture.  

   5. Waterfall Chart: This is a type of chart, which shows an increase or decrease in

a initial value. This contains floating vertical columns that shows the increase or decrease in a initial value through a series of intermediate steps leading to a final value. An invisible column keeps the increase or decrease related to the heights of the previous columns.

  

6. Polar Chart: A Polar Chart is a circular chart in which data is displayed in terms of values and angles.

o This provides a mechanism to compare various qualitative and quantitative aspects of a situation graphically.

o By using Polar Charts we can plot multiple data sets each with a single line with as many points as needed.

o These are normally used in Engineering and modeling Industries.o A Polar Chart has two variables X and Y where X is plotted as an angle

and Y is the radius.o In a Polar Chart the points are plotted in Polar coordinates rather than

Cartesian coordinates.o In a Polar Chart the dataset having the maximum values covers the

maximum area in the whole graph.o The X and Y-axes can be used to demonstrate real world quantities.

  

  

DESCRIBING TABLES

Outline

1. Introdutory sentences :(câu mở đầu)- The table compares/ shows...........- This is the table which compares/shows..............- This is a statistical table which compares/shows............* Câu mở đầu này cực đơn giản, bạn chỉ cần copy nguyên cái đề xuống là ok ngay VD với biểu bảng của bạn ta giới thiệu là : => This table shows the number of foreign language magazines sold in a book shop in a city from 2005 to 2006.

2. Body of paragraph:- Raising the data of .......... (the number of foreign language magazines sold) in the table- Comparing the increase/fall

3. Conclusing sentences:Raise your impression/remark about the data in the table

*Key words- Increase / rise...: tăng- Drop / fall / reduce... : giảm- Uneven /unequal : ko đồng đều- to peak : đạt đến đỉnh tối đa- nearly double : gần gấp đôi- to reach : đến, đạt đến mức- to grow strongly : phát triển mạnh mẽ- steady (adj): đều đặn- to level off (v) : đứng lại, chửng lại- a turning point : 1 bước ngoặc

1/phần mở bài

cak 1the Graph/Table/Pie-char/Bar chart Illustrate(minh hoa)/Describe(s)(mô tả)/Reflect(s)/Reveal(s)/Show/(s)/indicate(s)(chỉ ra) The number of people……./The data onI/nformation/Propotion/Percentage/Rate From ….To……

biểu đồ bảng trên chỉ ra/minh hoạ/thể hiện/ số người/thông tin về/ số liệu về/phần trăm về/..............

Cak 2:bạn có thể dẫn bằng lời của mình cho bài viết sinh động

Looking at the Bar chart/Table/Graph/Pie chart We can see/know/relize The number of/The data on……….nhìn vào bảng/biểu đồ chúng ta có thể thấy/nhận ra/biết/số liệu của.................

As can be seen the Bar chart/ Table/Graph/Pie chart is well/carefully described/illustrated/showed The number of/The data on.....(bạn ghi cái tiêu đè của bảng đó vào)

2/ phần thân

1/time –periodfrom (year) to(year)……….During the period of time 1950 to 1970During the period of 20 years(1750 –1970)3/data quotationaccount for /makeup/constitutes:đều mang nghĩa là chiếm bao nhiêu %vd:blue cars account for 28,5%red one makes up for 56,1%other is 12,1%4/describe changescó 2 cáchi/ subject +verb+adverdduới đây là những động từ hay dùng bạn tự áp dụng vào cấu trúc khi viết n éincrease,grow,risedecrease,fall,reduce,dropadvebsconsiderably,slightly,sharplyslowly,drammatically,rapidly,steadily…..ii/there is/are/has been/was/….a/an/ quick/slow/sharp/rapid/considerable/steady/increase/grow/reduction/rise/fall/drop:có 1 sự tăng hoặc giảm mạnh ở ........

there (be) an upward trend +in:có xu hướng tăng ở...............there(b) a downward trend +in:có xu hướng giảm ở.............there(b) a fluctuation:có 1 sự dao động ở.......

khi không có số liệu chính xácbạn có thể dùng các trạng từ nhưappromately:xấp xỉroughly:vào khoảngjust under/over:chỉ trên/dưới5/conclusionhy vọng bài viết của tớ sẽ giúp các bạn phần nào trong việc mô tả biểu bảng

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:pbelieve_in_rose29617-01-2009, 09:48Miêu tả biểu đồ cột dưới đây, người ta gọi là bar chart nhé.[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The bar chart shows the number of men and women in continuous education in Britain in three periods. The data can be separate into two groups, full-time and part-time. Figures are given in thousands of people in further education. It can be clearly seen in the chart that the proportion of continuous education in part-time had much higher than the proportion of continuous education in full-time.

As can be seen in the chart, the proportion of full-time education had steadily increased in all periods both men and women, and the proportion of further education in female had higher than male. The exception to this was the proportion of male in 1970/1 because the proportion of further education in female were about 70 thousands, but the proportion of further education in male were 100 thousands approximately. Moreover, the proportion of full-time education in female increased dramatically from 75 thousands in 1970/1 to 200 thousands in 1990/1,and the proportion of full-time education in male rose from 100 thousands in 1970/1 to 200 thousands in 1990/1.

In contrast, the proportion of part-time education in men had fluctuated, but the proportion of part-time education in female had dramatically increased in all periods. As can be seen in chart, the proportion of further education drop steadily from 1000 thousands in 1970/1 to 800 thousands approximately in 1980/1,then rose slightly from 800 thousands in 1980/1 to about 850 thousands in 1990/1. In addition, the proportion of part-time education in male had much higher than the proportion of part-time education in female. The exception to this was in 1990/1 because the proportion of part-time education in female were 1300 thousands approximately, but the proportion of part-time education in men were 1000 thousands.

IELTS Writing, Task 1 - Graph Description  

•  Understanding and correctly interpreting graphs

•  Describing graphs using comparative forms

•  Describing graphs using noun phrases

 

1 IELTS Writing Task 1: Overview and Typical Problems

 

1.1 Overview

IELTS writing Task One requires you to describe a graph, chart, table or diagram.

•  You must write at least 150 words, and should allow about 20 minutes.

•  Usually some kind of statistical information is represented in graphic form, and you must translate this into a readable text.

•  Occasionally candidates will be asked to describe a process which is illustrated by a labelled diagram (such as the process of making cheese, or how a central-heating system works).

 

1.2 Typical Student Problems

•  Not Understanding the Data (I) - Not Reading the Labels: Students do not correctly understand the data in the charts: often they do not carefully read the labels (e.g. student writes ‘250 people were unemployed in London in 1982' , when they should write ‘250 thousand people were unemployed in London in 1982' )

•  Not Understanding the Data (II) - Not Applying Common Sense to your Interpretations: Students do not apply their common sense to the interpretation of data in the charts (e.g., in the example above, common sense should tell us that it was impossible that only 250 people were unemployed in London in 1982; we should then analyse the chart carefully to find a more satisfactory interpretation).

•  Just ‘Listing' the Data: Students simply ‘list' data from charts or graphs without trying to indicate what is more or less significant . You should look for the more important or interesting data, and present it first (for example large differences or changes).

•  Not ‘Translating' Note Form to Grammatical English: Students often write the labels or titles directly as they appear in the chart. However, these are usually in ‘note form', so need to be changed into grammatically correct English in your writing. For example, in a chart describing the life expectancy of smokers and non-smokers, one label may be ‘Non-Smoking' - meaning ‘non-smoking people '. It would therefore be ungrammatical to say ‘the average life-expectancy of non-smoking in the UK was 72' ; we need to change the label to a form such as ‘the average life-expectancy of non-smokers in the UK was 72' .

•  Incorrect Use of Noun Phrases: When we describe data in charts we have to use noun phrases, such as ‘the number of white unemployed people', or ‘the percentage of male non-smokers in the UK '. Correct use of such forms often presents difficulty for students.

2 Understanding and Correctly Interpreting Graphs

 

2.1 Task: Graph Interpretation

Look at Graphs A, B & C and then answer the questions which follow:

 

Graph A

 

 

Graph B

 

Graph C

2.1.1 Questions

•  What was the main difference between Whites and other ethnic groups in terms of unemployment?

•  What was the general trend in female unemployment compared to male unemployment?

•  Is it significant that Black-non-Hispanics made up 11% of the total US population, but 40% of the homeless population? Why is / isn't this significant?

•  How does this compare to the position of White non-Hispanics in the US ?

•  Are there any similarities in the data in charts about the US (A and B) compared to the chart about the UK (C)?

 

3 Describing Graphs using Comparative Forms

 

IELTS Task 1 questions typically require candidates to compare data within, and/or between graphs and charts. Thus the use of comparative forms is required.

We will focus here on comparative and superlative adjectives , and on logical connectors of comparison and contrast .

 

3.1 Explanation: Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

  richer than the richest more expensive than the most expensive

Rule 1: Add ‘er'/‘est' for one-syllable adjectives: longer, smaller, the highest

Rule 2: Add ‘more' / ‘less' or ‘the most' / ‘the least' for three syllable adjectives or longer: less expensive, the most dangerous

Rule 3: Most two-syllable adjectives require ‘more' / ‘less' / ‘the most' / ‘the least': more stressful

Rule 4: Two-syllable adjectives ending in ‘y' require ‘ier' / ‘iest' : noisier, noisy

Rule 5: Adjectives ending in a single vowel and a single consonant require the final consonant to be doubled: big , the biggest, fat, fatter

 

3.2 Explanation: Logical Connectors of Comparison & Contrast

Simple Comparison: while [difference is not seen as surprising / unusual]

- There was 10% unemployment in London , while in Manchester there was 9%.

 

Contrast: but, although, while, however [difference is seen as surprising / unusual]

- Although most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%, in Liverpool it was 15%.

- Most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%, although / while / but in Liverpool it was 15%.

- Most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%. However in Liverpool it was 15%.

 

3.3 Task: Graph Description using Comparative Forms

 

Look at Graph D below, which illustrates data relating to education and homelessness in the USA.

Fill in the gaps in the text which follows, using the correct form (superlative or comparative) of these words:

 

successful (x1), good (x1), bad (x2), while (x2), high (x1), low (x2)

More than one answer may be possible in some cases.

 

 

Graph D

 

 

 

The chart shows the educational achievements of homeless people in America (divided into those in families and single homeless people) compared to those of all US adults, for the year 1997. The (i) _ worst__ ___ educational attainment was for homeless people in families (53% with less than a high-school diploma), (ii) _________ the (iii) ________ results were for all US adults (45% or more with a high-school diploma). Single homeless people were (iv) ___________ than those in families: the percentage of single homeless without a high-school diploma was much (v) _________ than for homeless people in families (37% compared to 53%), (vi) ________ the percentage having only high-school diplomas was much (vii) _________ (36% compared to 21%). Having said this, similar percentages of homeless people in families and single homeless people had more than a high-school diploma: 27% and 28% respectively. In sum, it is clear that homeless people had (viii) _______ educational attainments than US adults as a whole, and that homeless people in families had (ix) ________ levels of achievement than single homeless.

 

4 Describing Graphs using Noun Phrases

 

4.1 Overview

•  Describing data in charts requires that we ‘translate' statistical information into grammatically correct sentences.

•  Students can have particular problems doing this when they are required to produce complex noun phrases .

•  Noun phrases perform the same grammatical function as nouns which are single words: for example they can be the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, etc. However, noun phrases consist of a number of words, and in academic English can often be long and complex.

•  Noun phrases always have a ‘head noun', which is then modified by (further described by) other elements of the phrase (adjectives, relative clauses, prepositional phrases, etc).

•  Examples of noun phrases (head noun underlined):

the man who works in that shop

people who live in glass houses

the car in the picture

Asian-heritage children who live in the UK but who do not speak their heritage language

•  Examples of noun phrases used within sentences:

- The man who works in that shop used to live next door to me.

(noun phrase is subject of the verb)

- I saw a film last night about people who live in glass houses .

(noun phrase is object of a preposition)

- I don't like the car in the picture .

(noun phrase is object of the verb)

- The graph presents data about Asian-heritage children who live in the UK

but who do not speak their heritage language.

(noun phrase is object of a proposition)

 

4.2 Noun Phrases used in Chart Descriptions

 

 

 

4.2.1 Introducing the Description

 

Typical ways to introduce the description of a graph include:

The chart shows + noun phrase

The chart describes + noun phrase

For the chart above we could say:

The chart shows data about homelessness in the US in terms of race / ethnicity.

The chart describes the race / ethnicity of homeless people in the US.

 

TIP - The introductory sentence often contains a re-wording of the title of the graph.

 

4.2.2 Comparing Data

In order to effectively compare data within a graph or table, or between two graphs or tables, it is necessary to create noun phrases by transforming the labels in the graphic (which will usually be single words, or in ungrammatical note-form) into fully grammatical phrases which agree grammatically with the rest of your sentence.

For example, we see in the graph:

Black Non-Hispanic (39.6%)

Such a label needs to be transformed in order to fit into a grammatical sentence, e.g.:

The percentage of black non-Hispanic homeless people (39.6%) was almost

equal to the percentage of white non-Hispanic homeless (40.6%).

Equally, while the title of the graph is ‘US Homelessness by Race / Ethnicity', the term ‘homelessness' may need to be adapted to fit grammatically within a particular sentence, e.g.:

The percentage of homeless people was highest for the white non- Hispanic group.

 

4.2.3 Task

 

Choose the best option to make the sentences grammatically accurate:

a) The largest percentage of ______________ were white non-Hispanics (40.6%).

i) homeless people

ii) homelessness people

iii) homelessness

 

b) The smallest percentage of homelessness was among ‘other' racial / ethnic groups, while the second smallest percentage was for ______________ - at 7.9%.

i) Native American

ii) Native Americans

iii) Native America

 

c) The largest ______________________was that of white non-Hispanics (40.6%). However black non-Hispanic homeless people accounted for virtually the same percentage: 39.6.

i) homelessness percent

ii) percent homeless

iii) percentage of homeless people

5 Final Task

Using graphs A and B above (data about homelessness and population in the USA, by race / ethnicity), write a description of the data. Compare information both within and between the graphs, indicating significant points (i.e. largest and smallest percentages, similarities and differences).

Write around 150 words.

 

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Click here for the answers to Describing Graphs........

Graph Description - Answers  

2.1

•  Whites had far lower levels of unemployment than other ethnic groups.

•  In general female unemployment rates were lower than male unemployment rates.

•  It is significant that Black non-Hispanics made up 11% of the total US population, but 40% of the homeless population, because this shows that homelessness among Black non-Hispanic people is much higher than can be explained only by their percentage of the population.

•  Although White non-Hispanic people make up the vast majority of the US population (76%), they represent only 40.6% of the homeless. Although this figure is slightly more than for Black non-Hispanic people (at 39.6%), the reality is that compared to their proportion of the population, many more Black non-Hispanic people are homeless than White non-Hispanics.

•  The key similarity between the information about the US (graphs A and B) and the UK (graph C) is that white people have much lower levels of homelessness / unemployment, relative to the percentage of the population they represent, than other groups.

 

3.3

•  worst

•  while

•  best

•  more successful

•  lower (or ‘worse')

•  while

•  higher

•  worse (or ‘lower')

•  lower (or ‘worse')

 

 

4.2.3

•  i

•  ii

•  iii

 

 

5 – Final Task

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