In general, students' academic writing assignment is to write a report to describe visible objects, such as charts, diagrams, graphs, maps, or tables. To finish it, you need to give an accurate and complete description of the given object.
Because this is a relatively academic assignment, accuracy is crucial to your final score, and you must express your ideas with the right words and sentences. This list is selected exclusively to describe and discuss charts and tables and deserves to be studied to sharpen your writing.
1. Types of Changes
climb
E.g. In 1980, the percentage of senior posts held by men was 8% climbing at the rate of 2% in each subsequent period until 2000, after which it leapt to 45%.
grow
improve
E.g. Turning to the 1995 data, females had made a significant improvement in securing jobs in different employment sectors.
increase
E.g. Comparing the two graphs, it seems very clear that in between those twenty years the number of male employees in these sectors had remained considerably the same, but there was a considerable increase of female employees in the majority of these job sectors.
jump
E.g. Five years afterwards, there was a 6% increase in male senior development jobs with a near twofold jump in 2010 to stand at 63%, the highest for the three companies.
leap
peak
E.g. In 1930 ,The number of prisoners in the United States was the highest with 120 thousand prisoners , then increased significantly to reach a peak of 140 thousand people in 1980.
rise
E.g. While more men were in senior positions at Apple than other two companies in 1980 at 15%, the trend was fairly erratic with a 2% drop to 13% in 1985, followed by a rise of 1% five years later.
rocket
E.g. While in 2008 saw house building in Nottingham plummeting to only 10, in 2009 the number of new houses rocketed to 270, a rise of more than 2600 % on the previous year.
skyrocket
soar
surge
upsurge
collapse
decline
E.g. Downloads activity display a similar trend to internet games, but they are less popular in general and decline markedly with people over age 40.
decrease
E.g. Much of the increase in home ownership can be explained by the decrease in social rented homes, which had dropped from 23% to 17%.
dip
dive
drop
E.g. While more men were in senior positions at Apple than other two companies in 1980 at 15%, the trend was fairly erratic with a 2% drop to 13% in 1985, followed by a rise of 1% five years later.
fall
E.g. India remained the country with by far the largest elephant population, but experienced a dramatic fall in numbers so that in 2004 there may have been as few as 7500.
plummet
E.g. While in 2008 saw house building in Nottingham plummeting to only 10, in 2009 the number of new houses rocketed to 270, a rise of more than 2600 % on the previous year.
plunge
reduce
E.g. The most dramatic change could be seen by 2000, when the proportion of farming, fishing and foresting works reduced to just 10% while the three other major sectors had all increased to over 20% of the workforce.
sink
slide
E.g. Overall, it is important to note that, in 2055, proportion of people under 14 will slide away in both countries.
slip back
slum
slump
fluctuate
E.g. In Brunei Darussalam the second highest levels of phone ownership were recorded, and the numbers fluctuated around the 250 per thousand level across the five years.
oscillate
vary
E.g. In general, railway systems in different cities vary in terms of the start dates of each system, the sizes, and the numbers of passengers using the systems in a year.
wave
maintain
plateau
remain
E.g. India remained the country with by far the largest elephant population, but experienced a dramatic fall in numbers so that in 2004 there may have been as few as 7500.
stay
unchange
E.g. Overall, Promo Plus in Istanbul remained relatively unchanged in 2007 as January and December sales were fairly equal.
2. Adjective for Trend
abrupt
ceaseless
considerable
E.g. Comparing the two graphs, it seems very clear that in between those twenty years the number of male employees in these sectors had remained considerably the same, but there was a considerable increase of female employees in the majority of these job sectors.
consistent
E.g. It is apparent from the charts people who were under consisted half of the population of Oman in 2005.
constant
E.g. Over the next 4 years of decade, new houses construction in Derby remained constant at just under 120.
downward
E.g. Although the trend was downwards overall, elephant populations were thought to have remained stable in Laos and Vietnam at approximately 1200.
dramatic
E.g. India remained the country with by far the largest elephant population, but experienced a dramatic fall in numbers so that in 2004 there may have been as few as 7500.
enormous
gentle
gradual
E.g. Overall, what stands out from the graph is there was gradual upward trend in the number of visitors of the National Gallery, which became the most popular museum from being at last place, while the Victoria and Albert Museum followed the opposite trend.
hurried
marginal
marked
E.g. Downloads activity display a similar trend to internet games, but they are less popular in general and decline markedly with people over age 40.
mild
moderate
E.g. In detail, a person driving his own car travelled 3,199 miles on average in 2001, and the average distance showed a moderate rise to 4,806 miles in 2006.
noticable
E.g. This was most noticeable in Malaysia and Thailand, where the number of elephants was thought to be less than half the figure in 1997.
overall
E.g. Although the trend was downwards overall, elephant populations were thought to have remained stable in Laos and Vietnam at approximately 1200.
overwhelming
progressive
E.g. It is very clear from the overall trend that men were pretty much dominating the job markets both during 1975 and 1995, but women made progress in the given 20 years period.
quick
E.g. According to the graph, the population in India will increase more quickly than in China, and experts say that by 2030, both countries will have the same population of 1.
rapid
sequential
sharp
E.g. This is in sharp contrast to the last two years when the number of houses that went up in Derby leapt, first to 280 and then to 350 houses.
significant
E.g. Turning to the 1995 data, females had made a significant improvement in securing jobs in different employment sectors.
slight
E.g. It is observed that in the first month of 2007, Promo Plus sales stood at 200 million turkish lira and rose slightly to reach about 225 million in February.
slow
E.g. National and international fixed line calls grew steadily from 38 billion to 61 billion at end of the period in question, though the growth slowed over the last two years.
speedy
steady
E.g. The trend for the former was decidedly upwards, with Derby experiencing a steady rise from 40 new houses in the first year, to just under 120 during the 2003.
steep
substantial
sudden
E.g. By contrast, Britain had the lowest figure until 1970, then figure jumped suddenly to reach 90 thousand prisoners.
swift
tedious
upward
E.g. Overall, what stands out from the graph is there was gradual upward trend in the number of visitors of the National Gallery, which became the most popular museum from being at last place, while the Victoria and Albert Museum followed the opposite trend.
wild
3. Phrases - verb
compared to
compared with
E.g. However, there were 5 million more homes in 2007 compared with 1991 so the number of rented homes had increased despite the same percentage.
flatten out
fluctuate wildly
hit the highest point
hit the lowest point
level off
level out
reach a peak
E.g. In 1930 ,The number of prisoners in the United States was the highest with 120 thousand prisoners , then increased significantly to reach a peak of 140 thousand people in 1980.
reach a plateau
relative to
remain constant
remain stable
remain static
remain steady
remain the same
remain unchanged
show a downward trend
show an upward trend
show some fluctuation
stay constant
4. Phrases - fractions and proportions
a small fraction
a tiny fraction
E.g. The remaining homes were mostly privately rented (11%) with a tiny fraction being social housing (6%).
almost a quarter
approximately a third
approximately three quarters
around a half
exactly a half
exactly one in ten
just over a half
just under a half
more than a half
E.g. Carbohydrates take up slightly more than a half, 52%, while a little less than a quarter is made up of saturated fats.
nearly a third
nearly three quarters
over a quarter
roughly one quarter
a large proportion
a significant majority
a small minority
a small number
an insignificant minority
the second highest
E.g. In Brunei Darussalam the second highest levels of phone ownership were recorded, and the numbers fluctuated around the 250 per thousand level across the five years.
the third highest