Describing graphs

Bar chart

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Pie chart

Line graph

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Table

Flow chart

Upward trend

• Go up• Increase• Rise• Grow• Rocket• Skyrocket• Jump• Soar• Climb

Downward trend

• Go down• Decrease• Dip• Plunge• Decline• Slide• Nosedive• Plummet• Drop• Deteriorate

Extra words

• Level off • Fluctuate• Double• Triple• Halve• Recover

Word combinations

• Reach a peak• Reach a record high• Remain stable• Remain steady• Reach a record low• Hit an all time low

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Sharp Sharply• Dramatic Dramatically• Substantial Substantially• Significant Significantly• Steady Steadily• Slight Slightly• Gradual Gradually

Extra words• Account for• Make up• Come to form the total of smth.• Constitute

Prepositions

• Verb+ by %Sales rose by 20% over the holiday period.

• Verb + from 100 to 50The sales of Chanel have gone up from 20 billion to 27

billion.

• Noun + in smth.There was a growth in sales.

Prepositions

• Noun + of ? %This represents a decrease of 25% from the first

quarter.

• Stand+ at ?The average retail gasoline price stood at $5 a

gallon yesterday.

Approximations

• Around 5000 employees• Just over 100 metres• Just under 100 metres• $1000 more or less• Approximately 9%• Roughly 10000$• More than 100 brands• About (round about) 80 days

Verbs

This is a graph which • demonstrates• reflects• illustrates• showsWe expect (forecast, foresee, believe ….)

Useful phrases

• As you can see• You’ll notice that• This part of the graph clearly shows• The slide shows • Let’s move on to the statistics.• I’d like to point out that• Have a look at this graph.