How to describe line graphs using present continuous
- 2. How do they look? Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 0 10 20 30 40 50
- 3. To rise: The percentage is rising. To increase: The number is increasing steadily. To fall: The trend is falling slightly. To decrease: The sales are decreasing sharply. To fluctuate: The amount is fluctuating a lot. To grow: The demand is growing gradually. To drop: The price is dropping suddenly. To improve: The performance is improving. To decline: The interest is declining slowly. To stabilize: The trend is stabilizing after a rise. What do you notice about the two groups of sentences? Which one sounds more connected, and why? Useful verbs:
- 4. Useful adverbs: Steadily: Sales are increasing steadily. Sharply: Prices are decreasing sharply. Gradually: The trend is rising gradually. Slightly: Sales are falling slightly. Dramatically: The number is dropping dramatically. Constantly: The data is fluctuating constantly.
- 5. Useful phrases: • … is showing an upward trend. • … is following a downward trend. • … is staying the same. • … is experiencing a sudden change. • … is leveling off.
- 6. Guide: 1 Begin by explaining what the chart shows. Answer these questions: • What is the chart about? (e.g., sales, population, weather) • What is the time period? (e.g., weeks, months, years) Example: “The line chart shows how the sales of three products (Product A, Product B, and Product C) change over six months.”
- 7. Guide: 2 Now, look at the chart carefully. Ask yourself: • Is the line going up? (increasing or rising) • Is the line going down? (decreasing or falling) • Is the line changing a lot? (fluctuating) • Is the line staying the same? (stabilizing) • If the line is going up: The sales of Product A are increasing steadily. • If the line is going down: The sales of Product B are falling slowly. • If the line is changing up and down: The sales of Product C are fluctuating slightly.
- 8. Guide: 3 Check how the lines are different or similar. Answer these questions: • Which line is higher? • Which line is lower? • Which line is changing faster? • Product A is rising faster than Product C. • The sales of Product B are much lower than the sales of Product A.
- 9. Guide: 4 End by summarizing the main ideas. Answer these questions: • What is happening overall? • Are there any important changes? • Overall, the sales of Product A are increasing, while Product B is decreasing, and Product C is fluctuating. • In general, Product A is doing the best, while Product B is losing popularity.
- 10. The line chart shows how the sales of three products (A, B, and C) change from January to June. The sales of Product A are increasing steadily from 50 to 100 units. The sales of Product B are falling gradually from 90 to 60 units. The sales of Product C are fluctuating slightly but are showing a small upward trend. Overall, Product A is the most successful, while Product B is losing sales.
- 11. Coke Pepsi Sprite October November December 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350