Line Graphs

1. Understand the Task

Before you begin writing:

  • Spend 2–3 minutes analyzing the graph.
  • Identify time periods, trends (increase, decrease, stability), and notable data points (peaks, lows, significant changes).
  • Ask yourself: What is the general story of the graph?

2. Structure of the Response

Your essay should follow this structure:

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview (most important trends and general patterns)
  3. Detailed Paragraph 1 (first key trends)
  4. Detailed Paragraph 2 (remaining key trends)

3. Sentence Starters and Vocabulary Ideas

A. Introduction

The introduction should describe what the graph is about. Use paraphrasing to avoid copying words from the question.

  • Sentence Starters:

    • The graph/chart illustrates…
    • The line graph provides information about…
    • The diagram shows the number of/percentage of… over a period of…
    • The graph compares changes in…

  • Examples:

    • The graph illustrates the number of participants in five recreational activities at a social center in Melbourne between 2000 and 2020.
    • The line graph shows trends in participation across various activities over two decades.

B. Overview

The overview highlights major trends or patterns without giving specific numbers. Look for:

  1. The biggest/most popular category.
  2. The least popular category.
  3. Any significant changes or stability.

  • Sentence Starters for Overviews:

    • Overall, it is clear that…
    • In general, the most noticeable trend is…
    • It can be observed that…
    • A striking feature of the graph is…
    • Overall, while some activities… others…
    • Broadly speaking, the graph shows a general trend of…

  • Example Overview:

    • Overall, it is clear that the film club consistently attracted the highest participation, while amateur dramatics experienced a significant decline. Meanwhile, table tennis and musical performances grew steadily over the period.

C. Detailed Paragraphs (Body)

Provide detailed comparisons and describe changes for different categories. Divide the trends into two paragraphs based on logical groupings: e.g., rising trends vs. falling trends.

  • Sentence Starters for Describing Trends:

    • To describe increases:

      • The number of participants rose steadily from… to…
      • Participation in [activity] increased significantly, reaching a peak of…
      • There was a sharp/gradual rise in…

    • To describe decreases:

      • The number of participants in [activity] fell significantly from… to…
      • A steady decline was observed in…
      • Participation dropped sharply…

    • To describe stability:

      • The figures remained relatively stable at around…
      • There was little change in the number of participants…
      • Participation in [activity] plateaued throughout the period…

    • To describe fluctuations:

      • The trend fluctuated over the period, with highs of… and lows of…
      • Although the number of participants varied, it eventually…

    • To describe comparisons:

      • In comparison, [activity] was more/less popular than…
      • By contrast, [activity] showed a completely different trend…
      • While [activity A] increased, [activity B] experienced a decline…

  • Example (Body Paragraph 1 - Rising Trends):

    • Participation in table tennis showed a steady rise throughout the period. It began at around 20 participants in 2000 and remained stable for the next decade. However, from 2010 onwards, it experienced consistent growth, reaching 53 participants by 2020, making it the second most popular activity. Similarly, musical performances, which started with zero participants in 2000, saw gradual growth over the years, peaking at 15 by the end of 2020.

  • Example (Body Paragraph 2 - Declining and Stable Trends):

    • In contrast, amateur dramatics witnessed a sharp decline. Starting with 25 participants in 2000, the numbers fell by 80% to just 5 by 2020. Martial arts, on the other hand, remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 31 and 36 participants over the two decades. Despite these fluctuations, the closing figure in 2020 was 35, almost the same as the initial value in 2000.
  1. Increase: rise, grow, climb, surge, jump, peak, improve
  2. Decrease: fall, drop, decline, plunge, reduce, dip
  3. No Change: remain stable, plateau, level off, stagnate
  4. Fluctuations: vary, fluctuate, oscillate, zigzag

B. Adjectives for Changes

  1. Speed of change: gradual, steady, sharp, rapid, significant, slow
  2. Size of change: slight, marginal, moderate, dramatic, substantial

C. Comparing

  1. More/less popular than, higher/lower, greater/fewer, twice as many, nearly equal

D. Time Phrases

  1. Over the period, throughout the years, in the following years, during this time, by the end of the period

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Do not include personal opinions (e.g., “I think this trend is interesting”).
  2. Do not explain reasons for the trends (e.g., “This decline might be due to lack of interest”).
  3. Do not ignore the graph’s timeframe—always use dates to describe changes.
  4. Avoid vague terms like “a lot” or “many people.” Use specific data where possible.

6. Practice Template for Line Graphs

Introduction:
The line graph illustrates ______ between [start year] and [end year].

Overview:
Overall, ______ was the most popular, while ______ experienced the least participation. Notably, ______ increased steadily, whereas ______ declined.

Paragraph 1:
In [year], ______ had [specific data]. Over the next [timeframe], this number [describe trend]. By [end year], it had ______. Similarly, ______ rose from ______ to ______.

Paragraph 2:
On the other hand, ______ decreased from ______ to ______. Despite some fluctuations, it reached ______ in [end year]. Meanwhile, ______ remained relatively stable, with only minor changes over the years.