This document provides guidance on summarizing various types of charts and graphs. It discusses line graphs, bar charts, pie charts and tables. For each type, it recommends asking questions about what the graph shows, the axes, what changed and how much. It also provides vocabulary for describing changes and comparisons. The goal is to write concise summaries that address these key elements without extensive analysis or commentary.

1. LECTURE 5

2. INTRODUCTION
• Providing information about tables, graphs or charts are
tricky.
• It is basically a summary of the chart that you are writing
about, not an essay.

3. LINE GRAPHS
• When writing about a line chart, it is important to look at
the title of the chart first. This tells you the information the
graph displays and you can use it in your description.
• Then look at the X and Y axes. The titles of these axes
sometimes can provide information to what you want to
write about.
• Line graphs describe change. You must ask yourself “What
changed”?
• Lastly, ask yourself the question “How much”? (did it
change)?

5. ASK YOURSELF…
• What exactly does this graph show?
• It shows the population of Denmark between 1996 –
2007. You can see that in 1996 the population was … and
by the year 2007 it had grown to …
• What are the axes and what are the units?
• The X axis represents the years during which the
research was carried out. The Y-axis represents the
population of people in Denmark.

6. • What changed?
• The population increased from 1996 to 2007. The
population increased steadily.
• How much did it change?
• The population in 1997 was 5.25 million, while in 2007,
it was 5.45 million. The population increased by 0.2
million or 200,000 people.
• * USE YOUR VOCABULARY WISELY.

8. USING ADVERBS
•The population
rose slowly / slightly /
gently, gradually.
(small increase in the
population over the
period)
•The population
rose steadily. (little or
no variation in the rate
of growth)

9. •From 1996 to 2007, the
population increased:
•Dramatically
•Significantly
•Considerably
•Rapidly
•Greatly
•Substantially
•After 1997, the
population grew more
slowly

10. USING NOUNS &
VERBS
•There was a slow rise in
the population.
•There was
a steady rise in the
population.
•There was a slight rise in
the population.
•There was a gentle rise in
the population.
•There was a gradual
rise in the population.

11. •From 1996 to 1998 there was
a dramatic increase in the
population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was
a significant increase in the
population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was
a considerable increase in the
population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was a rapid
increase in the population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was
a substantial increase in the
population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was
a dramatic increase in the
population.
•From 1996 to 1998 there was a great
increase in the population.
•After 1998, the
population growth was slower.

12. MAKING COMPARISONS

13. ASK YOURSELF…
• What exactly does the graph show?
• This graph shows the change in the population in two
countries between 1996 to 2007.
• What are the axes and what are the units?
• The X-axis represents the years of the research. The Y-
axis represents the population by the millions.

14. • What changed & how much did it change?
• The population in Austria increased steadily between
1996 to 2007. The population in Austria in 1996 was …
while in 2007, it was …, so there was an increase of …
• By contrast, the population of Bulgaria decreased from
1996 – 2007. The population in 1996 was … while in
2007 it was …. Therefore there was a decrease of …

15. BAR CHARTS
• Bar charts or column charts are similar, only their
orientations are different.
• Bar chart: arranged horizontally
• Column chart: arranged vertically
• Line charts describe change, while bar / column charts
are used for comparison purposes.

17. ASK YOURSELF…
• What exactly does this chart show?
• This chart shows the population of various European
countries in the year 2007.
• What are the axes?
• The X-axis represents the countries listed there. The Y-
axis represents the units (population in millions).

18. • What similarities are there?
• Is it possible to put some columns into one or more
groups?
• What differences are there?

19. EXAMPLE…
• This chart shows the populations of some European countries in 2007.
• The country with the largest population is Germany, with over 80 million
people whereas Estonia has the smallest population, at little more than a
million.
• Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland all
have populations of ten million or less, while Greece has a population of
about eleven million.
• Apart from Germany, the largest countries are Spain, France and Italy with
populations ranging from about forty-four to sixty-three million. Together,
the four largest countries account for over eighty per cent of the population
of the countries shown.

20. VOCABULARY
ADJECTIVE COMPARITIVE SUPERLATIVE
bad worse worst
big bigger biggest
long longer longest
strong stronger strongest

21. • To signal comparison and contrast within a sentence:
• As…as, not as…as, but, while, although.
• To signal comparison and contrast between sentences:
• However, by contrast, on the other hand.

23. PIE CHARTS
• Pie charts normally show proportion,
which can be measured in percentages or
fractions.

24. BREAKDOWN
• This chart shows the relative size of
populations of countries of the
European Union in 2007.
• We can see that the country with the
largest population was Germany with
16.6% of the European Union's
population. We can also see that the
second largest population was that of
France with 12.8% of the population.
• We do NOT know from this chart
which country has the smallest
population because the 21 smallest
countries are included in one group.
• You can see that the four largest
countries (Germany, France, the
United Kingdom and Italy) together
make up more than half of the
European Union's population.
• The twenty-one smallest countries of
the European Union make up nearly
30% of the population.

25. •This chart shows the relative
size of populations of
countries of the European
Union in both 1998 and 2007.
•In this case we can make two
sets of comparisons:
•We can make comparisons
between the countries in each
year.
•We can make comparisons
between the two years (i.e.
examine any changes from
1998 to 2007).

26. TABLES
•This table shows the percentage of
women in tertiary education in selected
countries from 1998 to 2005.
•Which country remains the same?
•Which country had the least number of
women in tertiary education?
•Which country had the highest
percentage of women in tertiary
education?
•Which country had the largest
percentage change?
•Which country had the lowest
percentage change?

27. THANK YOU!