Describing line chart
Essay pattern:
- The first paragraph (no more than 3 sentences): State what the line chart is about. Describe the overall trend in the chart.
E.G. The graph provides information about the income trends of four cafes over the last year. There are two basic general trends: downward and upward. The graph indicates the variation of the private use of internet, PC, mobile phones and CD player in the UK from 1996 to 2003.
- The second paragraph (between 4-6 sentences): Describing the information, how each element of the graph performed. o The sentence may begin with: As can be seen from (in) the chart, According to…, As (is) shown in…, It can be seen from the…, From the chart it can be concluded that…
E.G. “As can be seen from the chart, the busiest time of day is in the morning. There is a sharp increase between 06:00 and 08:00, with 400 people using the station at 8 o'clock. After this the numbers drop quickly to less than 200 at10 o'clock. Between 11 am and 3 pm the number rises, with a plateau of just under 300 people using the station. In the afternoon, numbers decline, with less than 100 using the station at 4 pm. There is then a rapid rise to a peak of 380 at 6pm. After 7 pm, numbers fall significantly, with only a slight increase again at 8pm, tailing off after 9 pm.”
or “According to the chart, in 1970, the most popular fast food was fish and chips. Over 300g were consumed each week. By 1990, however, this had fallen to just over 200g - a 50% drop. Consumption of other fast foods such as pizza and hamburgers increased, however. The amount of pizza eaten shot up from about 20g a week to more than 270g, overtaking fish and chips in the late 1980s. Hamburger consumption also increased, rising from about 80g in 1970 to almost 300g in 1990.”
- The third paragraph (no more than 3 sentences): Summarizing the information. o The sentence may begin with: All in all…, In brief…, In conclusion…, To sum up…
E.G. To sum up, it was expected to have home computer as exceeding figure in the study as they provide feature of CD player and the internet access but CD player and mobile phone were the two top modern technology accesses in home. In conclusion, the main sales period is in the early part of the year, slumping in the summer, except for a sudden increase in August. Overall sentences should not exceed 15 sentences. Overall words used should not exceed 200 words.