If you write in 3 paragraphs , you should put the paragraph 2 and 3 into one paragraph It is considered the body of the graph , but people often organize their interpretation in 4 para
Trang 1S¸ng kiÕn kinh nghiÖm
Graph writing
Writer : Nguyen Duc Chinh
School year :
Trang 2I Prteface
Most Vietnamese students find writing graph difficult , especially the students who use the old text book , because they are not taught how to write As a result , only the best students who attend the contests can write , but sometimes , not very sound This year, the 10th students who use the new textbook , are
being taught how to write The number of lessons for teaching writing ,according to the cirriculum , is not enough So to help students , and the teachers have some more knowledge , I take some material from the Net , and hope that it wil bring you some profit
II Content
1 How to Write a graph
In general , you can organize your writing in four or 3 or 4
paragraphs If you write in 3 paragraphs , you should put the paragraph 2 and 3 into one paragraph ( It is considered the body
of the graph ) , but people often organize their interpretation in 4 paragraphs When divided into 4 paragraphs , your writing will
be clear and easy to follow
1 Paragraph 1
• Identify if the "picture" is a bar graph, line graph, pie chart, table or chart (This is done in the opening sentence.)
• Copy out the main part of the question
• "Tell" about the graphs (What does it show?)
2 Paragraph 2
• What are the comparisons? (Things that are the same.)
OR
• What are the causes?
• You can simply copy out percentages (%) if shown
3 Paragraph 3
• What are the contrasts? (Things that are different.)
OR
• What are the effects?
• You can simply copy out percentages if shown
4 Paragraph 4
• What is your opinion about the causes/effects (comparisons/contrasts) after analysing (looking at and thinking about) the data (information)?
• Write a conclusion
Trang 32 The structures are used to write a graph
The
bar graph line graph pie graph
state(s) show(s) tell(s) suggest(s)
that
the results of
The figuresnumbers
There was a
(adjective +
noun)
small slight slow steady sharp sudden rapid
increase decrease rise
fall
The numbers
(verb and
adverb)
increased decreased doubled tripled rose fell
steeply suddenly rapidly slowly steadily normally gradually
increased decreased remained the
same fluctuated
Trang 4The numbers
increased
This is caused bydue to an increase in a decrease
A is
bigger than more expensive than
cheaper than much smaller than
slightly larger than
B
The main difference between A and B is
In conclusion
To conclude
In summary
To sum up
As a result
3 Some kinds of graphs
There are many kinds of graphs such as : bar chart, line chart, pie chart, table In general the layout is the same The language there is usually passive and comparative
a/ Example of the bar chart
Trang 5Bar Chart: Juice Exporters
The chart shows the major exporters of fruit juice in 2002 This type of graph, called a stacked column in Excel, is not usually recommended, but in this case it is fairly clear
Try to answer the questions below
NFC juice is orange juice which is NOT made from concentrate The juice is packed specially and no water is added It is usually better quality and more expensive
FCOJ is orange juice that has been made into a concentrate Usually most cheap orange juice has the water removed in the country where the oranges are grown This leaves a concentrate, which is frozen and exported to another country, where the water
is added back The quality is not as good as NFC juice
Questions:
1 Which country is the biggest exporter of apple juice?
2 Which country is the biggest exporter of orange juice?
3 What is Poland's main juice export?
4 What TWO juices does Argentina export?
Trang 65 What was the total value of all orange juice exported in 2002?
6 What is the second most important juice exported
worldwide?
7 Which TWO countries produce more than three-quarters of the world's orange juice?
8 The bulk of the world's grapefruit juice comes from which country?
9 Is the European Union (EU) a significant producer of
grapefruit juice?
10 How much is China's apple juice production worth in US Dollars, approximately? $ _?
Sample answer Bar Chart: Juice Exporters: Suggested Answer The bar chart shows the value of international exports of four juices - orange, apple, grape and grapefruit – in 2002 Overall, orange juice, whether in concentrate or non-concentrate form, is the most important juice traded globally
Orange juice is a very valuable commodity Exports of
concentrated orange juice and non concentrated juice totaled approximately $1600 million This amount is almost twice the value of all other juices together Three quarters of this juice is produced in Brazil, which is the biggest producer, and the US The second biggest exported juice is apple This is produced in China, Poland, the European Union, and other countries Apple
Trang 7juice sales constituted $600 million dollars a year, with the
biggest producer, China, accounting for about one-third of this
The remaining juices in the chart are grapefruit, which is
produced mainly in the USA, and grape juice, which is exported
by the US, the European Union and Argentina, among other
countries The sales of these juices are worth $100 million and
$200 million respectively
In conclusion, it is clear that orange juice is by far the most
valuable export, but other kinds of juices represent significant income for exporters
b/ Example of the line chart
New Zealand Wool Price
Gapfill exercise
Enter your answers in the gaps When you have entered all the answers, click on the "Check" button
a peak of fluctuated leveled off rising rose by
sharp increase was
In 1980, the price of New Zealand's wool [Clue?] $1.98 per
kilo It then [Clue?] 20 cents in 1981 before falling back to
$1.37 in 1986 There was a [Clue?] over the next two
Trang 8years, with the price of wool reaching [Clue?] $5.13 in
1988 From 1989 to 1993 the price [Clue?] between a
high of $3.20 and a low of $2.75, before [Clue?] to $4.60 in
1995 After falling again to $3.60 in 1998, the price
[Clue?] at $3.55 in 2000.
Age of Marriage
The graph shows changes in the average age of marriage for men and women in the US in the last century
Describe the graph in two paragraphs (one for men, one for
women) using simple vocabulary (rose by/rose to, climbed,
increased, went up fell slightly, dropped, decreased)
c/ Example of the pie chart
Single Pie Chart
Paragraph 1
Describe what sort of chart it is and what it is about
Paragraph 2
Trang 9Describe the sections of the graph starting with the biggest and working your way down
Paragraph 3
A short conclusion giving an overall view of what the chart is about See the model answer of ‘How Americans Spend their Money'
Two Pie Charts
If you have 2 pie charts they will be giving similar information so you can compare the two This type of writing is similar to a
compare and contrast essay
Paragraph 1
Explain that they are pie charts and say what they are describing This is the same as line graphs except there are 2
Paragraph 2
Compare the data between the two charts Start with the biggest sectors and work your way down
Paragraph 3
Conclusion Mention the important similarities and differences Look at the example for ‘Electrical Energy Production’
Means of Communication
Write 150 words describing the information in the graph below
Trang 10
Suggested answer:
The two pie charts illustrate preferred modes of communication for six forms of media in a survey undertaken in two HD 2
classes, one male and the other female, at ADWC in February
2005 A brief description follows
First, the telephone emerges as the most popular mode for males with a proportion of 27% It ranks almost as high, at 22% with females, but is tied in their case with text messaging Text
messaging also ranks high with men, who allot it 1% more E-mail and instant messenger are close thirds and fourths in
popularity, scoring 17% and 16% respectively for men, 21% and 18% for their counterparts Last, male students give the fax only 10%, and letters even less, 7%; females reverse the same
percentages
Trang 11To conclude, preferences for the six modes of communication are almost identical for the sexes Both favour communicating by telephone and text message the most, e-mail and instant
messenger the second most, and letter and fax the least The only minor difference is that women prefer communicating by letter and men by fax
Word count: 179
III Feed back
Afer a year of using the above material , I can see that students are able to write the graphs much better I do not see any
drawbacks of the material I hop to receive any opinion
contributed to my experience Thanks in advance
Lao Cai 9th September , 2007
Writer : Nguyen Duc Chinh