Tips on graphs descriptions in preparation for the ESOL tests

By Maxim Achkasov

This is a brief introductory material, given in a form of notes, for those who are in the process of
preparing for any international English language exams that include writing tasks dealing with
graphs and charts.

1. Be aware of the number of words and time you are limited to;

2. Remember that illegible handwriting may influence on your final mark. Therefore, make sure
that you write in the way that is easy to read and understand;

3. Do not impute any explanations unless it is otherwise required. The tests usually check your
ability to:

• describe the graphs objectively;

• use correct vocabulary and grammar;
• demonstrate variety and cohesion;
• avoid any redundancy and repetitiveness;

4. Be selective. When describing a graph do not tend to note every move or trend of the curve. Keep
the number of words allowed in mind and, therefore, be very specific. Divide the graph into main
trends and significant changes and draw you attention to them according to the importance in the
graph;

5. If applicable make evident all three main part of your description: introduction, main part and
conclusion;

• For introduction you may use one or two brief sentences indicating what the graph is about
its date(s) / period(s), place, etc.,

o The chart shows the US stock market for last year and the first quarter of this year.
ƒ It is worth noting that you shouldn’t copy the words from the description of the task in your
introductory sentence. This is usually not assessed by the markers;

• The main part of your description should be made coherent, clear and eloquent. Try to
decide it quickly in what logical way you are going to present your assignment. Since the
majority of graphs contain time axis, it will often be logical to offer your ideas from the
things happened earlier to the ones that happened later;

• If applicable your conclusion should summarize what you’ve said without adding anything
new or going into unnecessary repetition;

6. Your overall mark will significantly be raised if you use correct grammar and variable
vocabulary. To signify tendencies or vectors of movement you may use the

o verbs:

o upward change
ƒ To rise;
ƒ To increase;
ƒ To go;
ƒ To grow;

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 ƒ To climb;
ƒ To boom;
ƒ To show / see an upward trend;
ƒ To jump;
ƒ To rocket;
ƒ To recover;
ƒ To improve;
ƒ To surge;
ƒ To shoot up;
ƒ To soar;
ƒ To expand;
ƒ To take off;
ƒ To rally;
ƒ To put up;
ƒ To strengthen;
ƒ To bounce back;
ƒ To double;
ƒ To pick up;
ƒ To creep up;

o Downward change
ƒ To fall;
ƒ To decrease;
ƒ To decline;
ƒ To dip;
ƒ To drop;
ƒ To slump;
ƒ To deteriorate;
ƒ To go down;
ƒ To reduce;
ƒ To lower;
ƒ To slip back;
ƒ To cut;
ƒ To shrink;
ƒ To halve;
ƒ To show / see a downward trend;
ƒ To weaken;
ƒ To slide;
ƒ To hit a low;
ƒ To plunge;
ƒ To plummet;
ƒ To collapse;
ƒ To crash;
ƒ To slump;
ƒ To bottom out;
ƒ To have a trough;

o Stability
ƒ To level out / off (at);
ƒ Do not change;
ƒ To remained stable (at);
ƒ To remained steady (at);

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 ƒ To maintain at the same level;
ƒ To stay the same;
ƒ To stabilise;
ƒ To be / remain flat;

o Fluctuation
ƒ To fluctuate (around);
ƒ To vary;
ƒ To peaked (at);
ƒ To plateau (at);
ƒ To stand (at);
ƒ To be volatile;

• It is worth mentioning that the majority of the given verbs have a

noun form:
ƒ Unemployment levels fell; or
ƒ There was a fall in unemployment levels;

• Besides that, the preposition by is used with the verbs, and of – with
the nouns;
ƒ It increased by 20%;
ƒ There was an increase of 5%;

• You should forget the difference in use of the verbs:

ƒ To rise (without object)
• Gas prices rose in June;
• Others include: went down / fell / decline;
ƒ To raise (with an object)
• The oil industry raised the prices in May;
• Others include: cut / lowered / reduced;
• Some words (increase, decrease) may be used with or without an
object;

o Adjectives:
ƒ considerable;
ƒ dramatic;
ƒ drastic;
ƒ enormous;
ƒ gradual;
ƒ huge;
ƒ marked;
ƒ minimal;
ƒ moderate;
ƒ quick;
ƒ rapid;
ƒ sharp;
ƒ significant;
ƒ slight;
ƒ slow;
ƒ small;
ƒ steady;
ƒ steep;
ƒ substantial;

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 ƒ sudden;
ƒ swift;
ƒ temporary;
ƒ wild;

o Adverbs:
ƒ considerably;
ƒ dramatically;
ƒ drastically;
ƒ enormously;
ƒ gradually;
ƒ markedly;
ƒ minimally;
ƒ moderately;
ƒ quickly;
ƒ rapidly;
ƒ sharply;
ƒ significantly;
ƒ slightly;
ƒ slowly;
ƒ steadily;
ƒ steeply;
ƒ substantially;
ƒ suddenly;
ƒ swiftly;
ƒ temporarily;
ƒ wildly;

• It’s also important to remember that adjectives are used to modify

nouns whereas adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives, other
adverbs and clauses;

o Generalizations:
ƒ a great deal more than;
ƒ a way over;
ƒ about;
ƒ almost;
ƒ approximately;
ƒ around;
ƒ far less than;
ƒ just over;
ƒ just short of;
ƒ just under;
ƒ nearly;
ƒ not quite;
ƒ nothing like as mush as;
ƒ nowhere near;
ƒ roughly;
ƒ slightly more than;
ƒ somewhere in the region of;
ƒ well over;
ƒ well under;

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 o Some useful phrases:
ƒ As can be seen from the chart, last year started on a positive note;
ƒ Initially;
ƒ At the beginning;
ƒ There was a sharp fall during March;
ƒ Over the summer … was flat;
ƒ In mid-April the prices started to rally strongly;
ƒ In autumn the market remained more or less unchanged, failing to break
through the spring’s highs;
ƒ Over the last few months the market has advanced again;
ƒ In March the consumer spending was up and was close to reaching a high
again;
ƒ This was followed by;
ƒ There was a;
ƒ In this year it started (to) / v-ing;
ƒ Show an upward trend;
ƒ Changed very little;
ƒ Diverged significantly;
ƒ Recovered slightly;
ƒ Continued an upward trend with some fluctuations;
ƒ Over the period from … to …;
ƒ Despite an overall increase, the … figures were characterized by a number of
peaks and troughs over the … years;
ƒ It then fluctuated around this level;

7. Some examples:

A). The Microsoft share price began 2000 at just over $110. Over the next three months it
fluctuated dramatically, falling as low as $90 before returning to original level. However, in
March 2000 it suddenly plummeted, loosing over $40 by April. Although the speed of the
fall slowed slightly, it continued down to $60 by May. A brief recovery took the prices back
to $80, where it remained stable until July. It then started to decline steadily over the next
three months falling as low as $50 by November. The year 2000 ended more encouragingly
for Microsoft with shares back at the $70. However, 2001 started badly with shares dropping
to a two-year low of $43 by the end of January. A reasonably quick recovery took shares
back above $60 in February and further steady progress saw them back above $70 by May.
Unfortunately, prices fell sharply again, back down to almost $50 by October. The shares
recovered well over the last two months to finish at the $70 mark. 1

B). This year, April sales of Fresh ‘n’ Cool reached 725,000 units, which was slightly down
on last year’s total. May saw sales fall to a new low of 700,000 units before they began to
make a recovery in June. Sales rose steadily to peak at 1.3m units in July. However, in
August, they fell slightly, to 1.25m units.

In contrast to this spring’s poor performance, last year’s sales showed strong growth
between April and July, rising from 750,000 to over 1.25m units. However, they then fell
sharply in August, finishing back at their April level of 750,000 units.

1
I. Wood, Pass Cambridge BEC Higher: Student’s Book, Summertown Publishing: 2008.

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 Therefore, although sales of Fresh ‘n’ Cool were initially down on last year’s figures from
the same period, they actually had a much stronger finish this year equaling last year’s July
peak of 1.25m units.

C). At the start of 1996, shares in Consort Industries stood at $ 160. However, by the end of
the year they had collapsed to just $50. They recovered steadily over the next twelve months
but fluctuated sharply all through 1998. In 1999 they continued their recovery, climbing to $
160 per share, where they remained throughout 2000.

Shares in Mandarin Technologies started trading at $150. Like Consort, Mandarin saw its
shares fall during 1996 and then pick up the following year. This recovery then turned into a
general upward trend, which continued until late 1999, when shares peaked at $220. they
then collapsed before rising briefly to just over $150 at the end of 2000. 2

2
I. Wood, Pass Cambridge BEC Higher: Work Book, Summertown Publishing: 2008.

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