Reading Graphs & Charts

Vocabulary

When we usually read graphs & charts there are 3 main parts of information to remember:

1) The introduction:• “This graph shows…”• “This chart represents…”

2) The topic• “…the total number of sales...”• “…the results of our product’s effectiveness…”

3) The timeframe• “…over the past 3 months.”• “… between 2010 and 2013”

• Example: “This graph shows the number of sales over the past 3 months.”

• Example: “This chart represents the results of our product’s effectiveness between 2010-2013.”

There are 4 basic trends for graphs:

• Upward movement

• Downward movement

• No movement −

• Change in direction ⏎

Graphs can also vary in DEGREE• a little• little by little• moderately• significantly• considerably• substantially

Graphs can also vary in SPEED• slowly• slightly• gradually• rapidly / quickly• wildly• dramatically

FOR EXAMPLE:

“This graph shows sales for product X from January to December 2012.”

“As you can see, overall sales have increased gradually from 10,000 units in January to 25,000 units in December.

“Sales decreased slightly between May and July, but grew from August to October.

Now, it’s your turn to describe Graphs and Charts

1. What does this line graph show?

2. How can you describe the number of sales between January and February?

4. In which month did sales peak?

1. In which month did sales drop to the lowest?

2. Did sales in this month drop: slightly moderately significantly

1. In which month did sales declined significantly?

2. In which month did sales soar / skyrocket?

Describe Apple’s Net Profit increase between FY 2008 and FY 2010

Describe Apple’s Profit Margin decrease between FY 1996 and FY 1998

Full Graph Reading Example:

This graph show the newhome sales from March 2012 to December 2013.

As you can see, sales fluctuatedall year. They peaked in March and January at 465K sales, but soon sales dropped suddenly in June.

Sales quickly recovered by Sept.where they reached 460k once again.

Can you describe the graph: