Understanding and correctly interpreting graphs

Describing graphs using comparative forms

Describing graphs using noun phrases

1 IELTS Writing Task 1: Overview and Typical Problems

1.1 Overview
IELTS writing Task One requires you to describe a graph, chart, table or diagram.
You must write at least 150 words, and should allow about 20 minutes.
Usually some kind of statistical information is represented in graphic form, and you must
translate this into a readable text.
Occasionally candidates will be asked to describe a process which is illustrated by a labelled
diagram (such as the process of making cheese, or how a central-heating system works).

1.2 Typical Student Problems

Not Understanding the Data (I) - Not Reading the Labels: Students do not correctly
understand the data in the charts: often they do not carefully read the labels(e.g. student writes
250 people were unemployed in London in 1982' , when they should write 250 thousand people
were unemployed in London in 1982' )
Not Understanding the Data (II) - Not Applying Common Sense to your
Interpretations: Students do not apply their common sense to the interpretation of data in the
charts (e.g., in the example above, common sense should tell us that it was impossible that only
250 people were unemployed in London in 1982; we should then analyse the chart carefully to find
a more satisfactory interpretation).
Just Listing' the Data: Students simply list' data from charts or graphs without trying to
indicate what is more or less significant . You should look for the more important or interesting
data, and present it first (for example large differences or changes).
Not Translating' Note Form to Grammatical English: Students often write the labels or
titles directly as they appear in the chart. However, these are usually in note form', so need to be
changed into grammatically correct English in your writing. For example, in a chart describing the
life expectancy of smokers and non-smokers, one label may be Non-Smoking' - meaning nonsmoking people '. It would therefore be ungrammatical to say the average life-expectancy of nonsmoking in the UK was 72' ; we need to change the label to a form such as the average lifeexpectancy of non-smokers in the UK was 72' .
Incorrect Use of Noun Phrases: When we describe data in charts we have to use noun
phrases, such as the number of white unemployed people', or the percentage of male nonsmokers in the UK '. Correct use of such forms often presents difficulty for students.

2 Understanding and Correctly Interpreting Graphs

2.1 Task: Graph Interpretation

Look at Graphs A, B & C and then answer the questions which follow:

Graph A

Graph B

Graph C

2.1.1 Questions
What was the main difference between Whites and other ethnic groups in terms of
unemployment?
What was the general trend in female unemployment compared to male unemployment?

 Is it significant that Black-non-Hispanics made up 11% of the total US population, but 40% of
the homeless population? Why is / isn't this significant?
How does this compare to the position of White non-Hispanics in the US ?
Are there any similarities in the data in charts about the US (A and B) compared to the chart
about the UK (C)?

3 Describing Graphs using Comparative Forms

IELTS Task 1 questions typically require candidates to compare data within, and/or between graphs
and charts. Thus the use of comparative forms is required.
We will focus here on comparative and superlative adjectives , and on logical connectors of
comparison and contrast .

3.1 Explanation: Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

richer than the richest more expensive than the most expensive
Rule 1: Add er'/est' for one-syllable adjectives: longer, smaller, the highest
Rule 2: Add more' / less' or the most' / the least' for three syllable adjectives or longer: less
expensive, the most dangerous
Rule 3: Most two-syllable adjectives require more' / less' / the most' / the least': more stressful
Rule 4: Two-syllable adjectives ending in y' require ier' / iest' : noisier, noisy
Rule 5: Adjectives ending in a single vowel and a single consonant require the final consonant to
be doubled: big , the biggest, fat, fatter

3.2 Explanation: Logical Connectors of Comparison & Contrast

Simple Comparison: while [difference is not seen as surprising / unusual]
- There was 10% unemployment in London , while in Manchester there was 9%.

Contrast: but, although, while, however [difference is seen as surprising / unusual]

- Although most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%, in Liverpool it was 15%.
- Most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%, although / while / but in Liverpool it was 15%.
- Most cities had unemployment rates of 8-11%. However in Liverpool it was 15%.

3.3 Task: Graph Description using Comparative Forms

Look at Graph D below, which illustrates data relating to education and homelessness in the USA.
Fill in the gaps in the text which follows, using the correct form (superlative or comparative) of
these words:

successful (x1), good (x1), bad (x2), while (x2), high (x1), low (x2)
More than one answer may be possible in some cases.

Graph D

The chart shows the educational achievements of homeless people in America (divided into those
in families and single homeless people) compared to those of all US adults, for the year 1997. The
(i) _ worst__ ___ educational attainment was for homeless people in families (53% with less than
a high-school diploma), (ii) _________ the (iii) ________ results were for all US adults (45% or
more with a high-school diploma). Single homeless people were (iv) ___________ than those in
families: the percentage of single homeless without a high-school diploma was much (v)

_________ than for homeless people in families (37% compared to 53%), (vi) ________ the
percentage having only high-school diplomas was much (vii) _________ (36% compared to 21%).
Having said this, similar percentages of homeless people in families and single homeless people
had more than a high-school diploma: 27% and 28% respectively. In sum, it is clear that homeless
people had (viii) _______ educational attainments than US adults as a whole, and that homeless
people in families had (ix) ________ levels of achievement than single homeless.

4 Describing Graphs using Noun Phrases

4.1 Overview
Describing data in charts requires that we translate' statistical information into grammatically
correct sentences.
Students can have particular problems doing this when they are required to produce complex
noun phrases .
Noun phrases perform the same grammatical function as nouns which are single words: for
example they can be the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, etc. However,
noun phrases consist of a number of words, and in academic English can often be long and
complex.
Noun phrases always have a head noun', which is then modified by (further described by) other
elements of the phrase (adjectives, relative clauses, prepositional phrases, etc).
Examples of noun phrases (head noun underlined):
the man who works in that shop
people who live in glass houses
the car in the picture
Asian-heritage children who live in the UK but who do not speak their heritage language
Examples of noun phrases used within sentences:
- The man who works in that shop used to live next door to me.
(noun phrase is subject of the verb)
- I saw a film last night about people who live in glass houses .
(noun phrase is object of a preposition)
- I don't like the car in the picture .
(noun phrase is object of the verb)
- The graph presents data about Asian-heritage children who live in the UK
but who do not speak their heritage language.

(noun phrase is object of a proposition)

4.2 Noun Phrases used in Chart Descriptions

4.2.1 Introducing the Description

Typical ways to introduce the description of a graph include:

The chart shows + noun phrase
The chart describes + noun phrase
For the chart above we could say:
The chart shows data about homelessness in the US in terms of race / ethnicity.
The chart describes the race / ethnicity of homeless people in the US.

TIP - The introductory sentence often contains a re-wording of the title of the graph.

4.2.2 Comparing Data

In order to effectively compare data within a graph or table, or between two graphs or tables, it is
necessary to create noun phrases by transforming the labels in the graphic (which will usually be
single words, or in ungrammatical note-form) into fully grammatical phrases which agree
grammatically with the rest of your sentence.
For example, we see in the graph:
Black Non-Hispanic (39.6%)
Such a label needs to be transformed in order to fit into a grammatical sentence, e.g.:
The percentage of black non-Hispanic homeless people (39.6%) was almost
equal to the percentage of white non-Hispanic homeless (40.6%).
Equally, while the title of the graph is US Homelessness by Race / Ethnicity', the term
homelessness' may need to be adapted to fit grammatically within a particular sentence, e.g.:
The percentage of homeless people was highest for the white non- Hispanic group.

4.2.3 Task

Choose the best option to make the sentences grammatically accurate:

a) The largest percentage of ______________ were white non-Hispanics (40.6%).
i) homeless people
ii) homelessness people
iii) homelessness

b) The smallest percentage of homelessness was among other' racial / ethnic groups, while the
second smallest percentage was for ______________ - at 7.9%.
i) Native American
ii) Native Americans
iii) Native America

c) The largest ______________________was that of white non-Hispanics (40.6%). However black

non-Hispanic homeless people accounted for virtually the same percentage: 39.6.
i) homelessness percent

ii) percent homeless

iii) percentage of homeless people

5 Final Task
Using graphs A and B above (data about homelessness and population in the USA, by race /
ethnicity), write a description of the data. Compare information both within and between the
graphs, indicating significant points (i.e. largest and smallest percentages, similarities and
differences).
Write around 150 words.

PTE Speaking and Writing

Speaking
Read aloud: There are reading passages of three-four sentences (total 5 or
six passages) and each of them should be read aloud and recorded by testtakers. They have 35-40 seconds for each passage.
Repeat the sentence: The test-takers listen to a recorded sentence and
repeat it with exact words as much as possible. Each sentence can be heard
only once. (There are 10 of them) Examples: There will be a conference here
next summer on using the web for academic research. / The university has a
world-renowned school of archaeology. / The final year will consist of four
taught courses and one project.
Describe graph: Some visuals such as maps and different kinds of graphs
(line, pie, etc.) and the test-takers are supposed to describe that visual. They
have 25 seconds to think and 40 seconds to describe. The test-takers are
supposed to mention all the key features of the graph. There are six of them.

Re-tell lecture: An academic recording, such as a lecture, is listened and

the test-takers are supposed to re-tell the subject they listened using their
own sentences. They have 10 second to think and 40 seconds to re-tell. There
are three of them.
Short answer question: You cant see the question, but only listen. The
test-takers are supposed to answer the questions with short answer; usually
one word is enough for the answer. However the questions are again not from
daily life, there are academic terms and the speakers are quite fast. Example
questions: What organ do cardiologists specialize in? / Which kind of
punishment for a crime is the less severe, an imprisonment or community
service? / If telescopes are used to locate distant objects, what instrument is
employed to magnify miniscule objects? / Which is the longest: a decade, a
millennium or a century?
Writing
Summarizing: The test-takers are supposed to read an academic text and
summarize it in their own sentences. They have 10 minutes. The summaries
should consist of 5-75 words. In an exam there are two or three of this
question type.
Write an essay: In each exam there is at least one or at most two essay
writing parts. The essay should consist of 200-300 words. The test-takers
have 20 minutes for one essay.

Example PTE essay topic:

Tobacco, mainly in the form of cigarettes, is one of the most widely-used
drugs in the world. Over a billion adults legally smoke tobacco every day. The
long term health costs are high for smokers themselves, and for the wider
community in terms of health care costs and lost productivity.
Do governments have a legitimate role to legislate to protect citizens from
the harmful effects of their own decisions to smoke, or are such decisions up
to the individual?