WRITING 101

TASK 1 – DESCRIBING TRENDS

IN CLASS

A – Skills Practice
Exam Information
One type of question in Task 1 is to write about a graph which shows trends, which are changes
over time. You can be asked to write about different types of graphs, such as line graphs, pie
charts, tables or bar charts. For graphs with trends, you will see a time period in the title of the
graph (e.g. the annual earnings of three bakeries in London, 2000-2010).

Exam strategies
Look carefully at the graphs/tables and try to understand what the graph is
showing.
Decide what tense(s) you will need to use.
Look for trends and identify similarities between different countries. Determine
if any countries stand out as different from the others.
Don't describe every single change shown in the graphs/tables - describe the
overall trends. Remember to support your general observations with specific
examples.
Use a variety of language to describe trends - verbs with adverbs and nouns
with adjectives.
Remember you should spend 20 minutes on this task.

Describing trends

01 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 either 1, 2, 3 or 4 next to
each verb.

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 1. 2.

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
1980 1990 2000 2010 1980 1990 2000 2010

3. 4.

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
1980 1990 2000 2010 1980 1990 2000 2010

to increase to fall to remain stable to decrease

to go down to fluctuate to rise to drop

to go up to stay the same

02 Complete the table with the correct past simple forms of these verbs and any matching nouns.
infinitive past simple noun
to increase increased 1____________________
to rise 2____________________ a rise
to go up went up
to decrease 3____________________ a decrease
to fall fell 4____________________
to go down 5____________________
to drop dropped 6____________________
to fluctuate 7____________________ a fluctuation
to remain stable remained stable

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 Useful language

Direction of trend Verbs and verb phrases Nouns and noun phrases
1 rise, increase, go up a rise, an increase

2. fluctuate, move up and down a fluctuation

3. fall to a low point

a low point, a low
4. reach a peak, reach a high
a peak, a high
5. remain stable, remain
constant, level off no change, a levelling off
6. fall, drop, dip, decrease,
decline a fall, a drop, a dip, a
decrease, a decline

03 You can use adverbs to describe verb changes and adjectives to describe nouns.

There + be + adjective + noun…

S + V + Adverbs

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
1980 1990 2000 2010 1980 1990 2000 2010

Adjective Adjective

There was a gradual increase in the There was a sharp rise in the number of tourists
number of tourists.

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 Adverb Adverb

The number of tourists increased gradually. The number of tourists increased sharply.

Useful language

Common adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives Adverbs
1. small 1. x
2. slight 2. slightly
3. marginal 3. marginally
4. substantial 4. substantially
5. enormous 5. enormously
6. considerable 6. considerably
7. dramatic 7. dramatically
8. marked 8. x
9. notable 9. notably
10. noticeable 10. noticeably
11. sharp 11. sharply
12. significant 12. significantly
13. striking 13. x
14. moderate 14. moderately
15. slow 15. slowly
16. gradual 16. gradually
17. steady 17. steadily
18. constant 18. constantly
19. rapid 19. rapidly
20. sudden 20. suddenly
21. quick 21. quickly
22. remarkable 22. remarkably

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Complete the sentences about the graphs. Use suitable adverbs / adjectives if possible.
1. 2.

Holidays to France in millions Number of travellers on long-

of visitors haul flights (in millions)

6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2005 2006 2007 2008

3. 4.

Money spent on holidays 2009 Price of skiing holidays

(in thousands of $)
(in hundreds of $)

6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2005 2006 2007 2008

1. There was a ....sharp.increase.... in the number of holidays to France in 2008.

2. The number of travellers on long-haul flights ............ between 2005 and 2008.
3. There was a ............... in the amount of money spent on holidays in 2007.
4. The price of skiing holidays ....... ............. in 2008.

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04 For Task 1 you may need to use time expressions to explain when something started or
finished or to explain when something changed. For example:

from 1990 to 2000 between 1990 and 2000 for ten years

twenty years ago in 2010 since 1980 in January

Complete the time expressions in these sentences describing graphs 1-4 in Exercise 3.
1. There was a slight increase in holidays to France between 2006 .................. 2007.
2. The number of long-haul flights fluctuated .................... four years.
3. The money spent on holidays fell sharply ..................... 2006 and 2007.
4. The price of skiing holidays rose slightly ....................2005 to 2006.

Understanding data

01 Look at the line graph and write T (true) or F (false) next to the sentences below.

1. The graph shows the popularity of three different types of holiday from 1990 to 2020 in
millions of travellers. ..T...
2. City breaks increased gradually from 2 million travellers 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 travellers.......
6. From 2010 to 2020 there was a sharp drop in the number of people who went on skiing
holidays.......

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02 Look at the graph below and the Task 1 question.

What was the income in dollars for

a. The Tea Room in January? ………..

b. Internet Express in July? ………..
c. Wi-fi Café in November? ………..
d. Café Cool in December? ………..
e. The Tea Room in February? ………..
In which month did:
f. Café Cool earn the most money? ………..
g. Wi-fi Café earn the least money? ………..

Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on
this task.
The graph shows the income of four
cafés in New York over last year.
Summarize the information by selecting
and reporting the main features.
Make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

03 Answer these questions about the graph.

a. What do the letters J, F, M, etc, along the bottom of the graph mean?
b. What does 000s mean?
c. What patterns can you see9
d. What comparisons can you make?

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Using correct tenses

Exam tip

Check the horizontal axis to find the periods of time the graph refers to: past, present, future,
or all three.
Use the present simple to describe the graph: The graph shows ..., We can see ...
If the graph refers to past periods of time, use the past simple to describe these.
If the graph includes future times, use: It is predicted that ..., ... will...

01 Look at the line graph and complete the sentences with the correct forms of the
verbs in brackets.

3 Cost of flights
Cost of accommodation
2

0
1990 2000 2010 2020

1. The line graph .................... the cost of holidays for tourists from 1990 to 2020. (show)
2. Between 1990 and 2000 the cost of flights .................... rapidly. (drop)
3. The cost of accommodation ....................gradually for thirty years after 1990. (go down)
4. It is predicted that the cost of accommodation ......... ............... from 2010 to 2020. (stay the
same)

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02 Look at the line graph and complete the text with the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets and the correct prepositions.

Japan
3
Thailand
Singapore
2

0
JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER

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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B – Exam Practice
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the figures for CFC emissions in four countries between 1989 and 2001. Write
a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
Write at least 150 words.

CFC* E MI S S I O NS
6000

5000
METRIC TONS

4000
Egypt

3000 Poland
Ukraine
2000
Malaysia

1000

0
1989 1992 1995 1998 2001

*CFCs are gases which are released into the atmosphere by certain types of industrial and consumer
products, especially older technology fridges and aerosol sprays.

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