Instructional material

Oral and written forms of communication are similar in many ways but are not the same. If we compare an oral graph description to a written one, a lot of the rules are the same but there are some significant differences we should be aware of. Written communication is the process by which messages or information are exchanged or communicated between sender and receiver in written form. Thus, a written graph description requires a formal register, appropriate vocabulary and structure.

Text, being a description of data, is a very powerful communication tool. Thus, a combination of graphics and their description can make an article not only easy to understand, but can also attract and sustain the interest of readers. A graph description can explain large amounts of complex information. Indeed, in many academic articles, it is the graphics and their description that creates the first impression and this cannot be ignored.

In academic articles, charts, graphs, diagrams and other graphics are usually labelled Figures (Fig. 1, and, respectively, 2, 3, etc.).

When describing graphs, we should not forget about the important processes of making comparisons, categorizing, grouping the data and evaluation.

Examples of some useful words, phrases and expressions are listed below:

• as opposed to
• both
• compared to
• greater than
• however
• in contrast to
• less than
• more than
• only a small minority
• the majority of
• there are considerable differences in…
• to be closely followed by…
• to be significantly higher/lower than…
• to be slightly higher/lower than…
• to compare
• to remain the highest/lowest
• two/three/four times higher/lower than…
• versus
• while
• whilst

The following graph language can be used interchangeably:

• If we look at the graph on (title) from (source) we can see…
• The graph from (source) presents/ shows/ illustrates data on (title)…
• The x axis (horizontal) is… and the y axis (vertical) is…
• These columns (bar) are…
• These lines represent (graph)…
• These rows are (table)
• These segments (pie) are…

Examples of useful phrases and expressions for an overall summary:

• A key area is … / Two significant areas are…
• An analysis of the graph illustrates…
• An important point is… / Two important points I’d like to illustrate are…
• An interesting observation is…
• Generally, there is…
• Looking at ….
• Overall, there is / has been…
• What is interesting here is…

For evaluation and interpretation the following expressions can be helpful:

• An evaluation of this data suggests / provides evidence for / highlights…
• One reason for this could be…
• Overall, this highlights the significance of…
• Therefore, this provides evidence that…
• This is (clearly) due to…
• This is possibly because of…
• This seems to suggest that…
• To provide evidence of my previous point the graph highlights…

Let us focus our attention on key areas.

(Analysis) The first one is ………. (explain data)

(Evaluation) This is / was clearly due to …………

(Analysis) The second one is ……. (explain data)

(Evaluation) This is/was possibly because of ….

Overall, this graph provides clear evidence that…

A future prediction is that……

Below you will find collocations and expressions used more specifically to talk about percentages and values being compared with each other, both of which are common features of tables and charts:

• a __% (per cent) increase/decrease in…
• a large/small percentage
• a significant percentage
• an average percentage
• an estimated percentage
• just under/over __% (per cent)
• the highest/lowest percentage

Collective expressions are another aspect worth considering when describing graphs. They express a collective feature (the type of information they contain) using one word. Such nouns describe axes, bars, columns, etc.

Some examples are listed below: