Describing Graphs & Charts in English (B2 — IELTS Task 1 / Business)
function checkA(el,c,exp,q){
document.querySelectorAll(‘input[name=”q’+q+'”]’).forEach(function(r){r.disabled=true;});
var fb=document.getElementById(‘fb’+q);fb.style.display=’block’;
if(parseInt(el.value)===c){fb.style.background=’#c6f6d5′;fb.style.color=’#276749′;fb.innerHTML=’✓ Correct! ‘+exp;}
else{fb.style.background=’#fed7d7′;fb.style.color=’#9b2c2c’;fb.innerHTML=’✗ ‘+exp;}
}
function checkF(id,ans){
var v=document.getElementById(‘fi’+id).value.trim().toLowerCase();
var fb=document.getElementById(‘ff’+id);fb.style.display=’block’;
if(v===ans.toLowerCase()||v.replace(/s+/g,’ ‘)===ans.toLowerCase()){
fb.style.background=’#c6f6d5′;fb.style.color=’#276749’;fb.innerHTML=’✓ Correct: ‘+ans+’‘;}
else{fb.style.background=’#fed7d7′;fb.style.color=’#9b2c2c’;fb.innerHTML=’✗ Answer: ‘+ans+’‘;}
}
B2 ⏱ 5 min
📊 Describing Graphs & Charts in English
In my email archaeology project, I turned 15 years of data into readable summaries. The language of data is the language of business — and of IELTS Task 1.
📖 Language for Graphs
Trends going up:
rose sharply / increased steadily / climbed gradually / surged / doubled
Trends going down:
fell significantly / declined steadily / dropped sharply / plummeted / halved
No change:
remained stable / levelled off / stayed constant / plateaued
Comparing peaks and troughs:
reached a peak of… / hit a low of… / the highest point was… / at its lowest…
📈 Sample Sentence Structure
The number of English learners worldwide rose sharply between 2010 and 2020, reaching a peak of approximately 1.5 billion, before levelling off in 2023.
‘Sales plummeted in Q3.’ This means sales:
To describe no change over time, you use:
‘It reached a peak of 500 in 2022.’ ‘A peak’ means:
Enrolments ____________ steadily from 2018 to 2023. (go up gradually)
After 2020, the numbers ____________ off and showed little change.
📊 Describe a Graph
English learners on the site: 2020: 100 visitors / 2021: 250 / 2022: 480 / 2023: 475 / 2024: 480
Use: rose sharply, levelled off, reached a peak of…
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.
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