SKKN English and physical Education

English and physical Education

Lao Cai High Secondary School for Gifted Students

Group : English and physical Education

S¸ng kiÕn kinh nghiÖm / 2006-2007

Graph writing

Writer : Nguyen Duc Chinh

School year : 2006-2007

I 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

2 The structures are used to write a graph

The bar graphline 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

The 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

increased decreased remained the same fluctuated

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

Bar 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

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?

5 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 juice 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 years, 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

Describe 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

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

To 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