GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
EAP 4
HOW TO DESCRIBE GRAPHS
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-graphs-and-charts
https://www.intellspot.com/types-graphs-charts/
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
TYPES OF GRAPHS
First, match the figures 1-6 with the headings a-f. Then complete the descriptions with
the words i-ix. The first one has been done for you.
a) bar chart c) flow chart e) pie chart
b) diagram d) line graph f) table
i. comparisons iv. trends vii. segment
ii. axis v. percentage viii. features
iii. columns vi. vertical ix. stage
This type of figure can be These figures are useful for You can use a figure like this
used to show (1) ___iv__. The illustrating (4) ______ to show how a whole is
horizontal (2) ______ often between items or categories composed of parts. Here,
indicates time, and the of items. This one compares each (5) ______ indicates a
(3) ______ axis often shows men and women. (6) ______ of the whole.
what changes over time.
You should present data like This type of figure is useful Figures like this are also used
this if you need to give for representing a process. to represent a process. They
precise numbers. This Each box represents one can also illustrate the
example contains four rows (8) ______ in the process. (9) ______ of an object.
and five (7) ______.
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
DESCRIBING LINE GRAPHS
PART I: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
A. You can use certain verbs to describe changes in the lines on line graphs. Match the
verbs in the box to the lines on these line graphs. Write 1, 2, 3 or 4 next to each verb.
There is an example.
to increase 1 to fall to remain stable to decrease to go down
to fluctuate to rise to drop to go up to stay the same
B. Complete the table with the noun forms of these verbs. Put a cross (X) if the verb has
no noun form.
VERBS NOUNS
to increase
to rise
to go up
to decrease
to fall
to go down
to drop
to fluctuate
to remain stable
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
C. Match each graph a-h with the most suitable description below. Then underline the
verbs and decide if they show an upward change, downward change or no change.
1. Sales of audio cassettes fell steadily. _____g_____
2. IPod sales rose gradually. ___________
3. Plasma TV sales fluctuated wildly, but the trend was upward. ___________
4. Sales of video cassettes fluctuated wildly, and the trend was downward. ___________
5. Total digital camera sales dropped slightly. ___________
6. Sales of audio cassettes fell and then leveled off. ___________
7. The sales of MP3 players rose gradually and then climbed sharply. ___________
8. Purchases of video cassette recorders declined dramatically. ___________
9. Sales of game consoles decreased and then leveled off. ___________
10. CD sales dropped suddenly. ___________
D. The verbs in exercise (C) are modified by adverbs such as steadily. Find the adverbs
and put them into the correct category below.
SLOW CHANGE FAST CHANGE
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
E. Sentences containing verb phrases such as “fell steadily” can often be rewritten using
correct “there is/are” and “a related noun” structure. Read the examples and rewrite the
sentences below.
Examples
The consumption of chocolate fell steadily. (verb + adverb)
There was a steady fall in the consumption of chocolate. (there was a + adjective + noun)
There has been a dramatic rise in the production of films. (there has been a + adjective + noun)
The production of films has risen dramatically. (verb + adverb)
1. Spice exports from Africa fluctuated wildly over the period.
There were _________________________________________________________________.
2. The development of new products fell gradually.
There was __________________________________________________________________.
3. There has been a noticeable decrease in research investment.
Research ___________________________________________________________________.
4. The purchases of tickets dropped significantly last month.
There was __________________________________________________________________.
5. On the internet, the number of sites rose remarkably.
There was __________________________________________________________________.
6. There was a sudden decrease in the sale of mangos.
The sale ___________________________________________________________________.
7. There was a gradual decline in sugar imports.
Sugar _____________________________________________________________________.
8. The quality of food in supermarkets has increased slowly.
There has __________________________________________________________________.
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
F. In your writing, you may need to use time expressions to explain when something
started or finished or to explain when something changed as well as other prepositions to
show figures. Complete the sentences below.
at (x2) for between From by of to and
1. There was a slight increase in holidays to France between 2006 ________ 2007.
2. Profits rose from 2 billion dollars ________ 5 billion in the last few years.
3. Since 1985, the price of houses has increased ________ 200%.
4. The number of long-haul flights fluctuated ________ four years.
5. Road accidents reached a peak ____________ 50,000 in November.
6. Car sales remained constant ____________ around 75 per month for the rest of the period.
7. The price of skiing holidays rose slightly ________ 2005 to 2006.
8. During the summer, temperatures fluctuate ________ 20 and 30 degrees.
9. In the last decade, the value of the company’s shares stood ________ $25.
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-graphs-and-charts
6
GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
PART II: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
A. Look at the line graph and write T (true) or F (false) next to the sentences below.
There is an example.
1. The graph shows the popularity of three different types of holidays from 1990 to 2020
in millions of travelers. __T__
2. City breaks increased gradually from 2 million travelers in 1990 to 3 million in 2010.
_____
3. There was a slight increase in skiing holidays after 1990, then they remained stable for
about 5 years. _____
4. From 2010 to 2020, it is predicted that there will be a sharp rise in the number of
people who go on skiing holidays. _____
5. Beach holidays have decreased gradually from over 4 million to 3.5 million travelers.
_____
6. From 2010 to 2020, there was a sharp drop in the number of people who went on skiing
holidays. _____
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
B. (Listening) You are going to listen to a presentation by an economist on the UK
economy. Listen to the presentation twice and complete the three graphs.
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
C. Complete the text about the line graph below using the phrases from the box. Write
references (i-vii) in the correct gaps.
The line graph shows how people liked to watch films between 1985 and 2005. We can
see that some methods of watching films became less popular, while some other new methods
became popular. We can also see that watching films on TV has always stayed popular.
Firstly, both video and cinema ___________ (1). Video watching ___________ (2). This
is similar to watching films at the cinema, which ___________ (3).
Some methods of watching films have become more popular. Watching films on the
Internet and DVD both ___________ (4). There was a ___________ (5) (from 0% to 65%) in
DVD watching. Watching films on the Internet ___________ (6) to just under 40%. The high
percentage of people who watched films on TV ___________ (7) at around 80%.
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
D. Look at the line graph and complete the text with the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets and the correct prepositions.
The graph (1) _______________ (show) how many tourists (2) _______________ (visit)
three countries in the summer of 2009.
Most tourists (3) _______________ (go) to Singapore (4) _______________ June and
September. The number (5) _______________ (fluctuate) between 3.5 and 4.5 thousand.
Fewer tourists (6) _______________ (travel) to Japan and Thailand. The number of
people who visited Thailand (7) _______________ (drop) gradually from 2.5 thousand to
about 1.8 from June to August, then (8) _______________ (rise) to 3 thousand
(9) _______________ September.
We can (10) _______________ (see) that the trend for Japan (11) _______________ (be)
similar. There was a sharp drop in tourists from June to July. The number
(12) _______________ (remain stable) in August and then (13) _______________
(increase) steadily in September.
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GAZİ UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
2024-2025 SPRING TERM – WEEK 13
WRITING TASK (Optional)
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Taken from PMDU Archive
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