Sam Macrt

Paragraphs to Describe Graphs and Charts

Often in academic writing, students will use information and facts presented in charts and graphs to support the

topic sentence of their paragraph. Often, the data presented in a graph or table show change over time. There are

specific verbs, adjectives and adverbs that can help you describe these changes. For example:

Verbs for describing how data have changed:

•

to increase

•

to remain (unchanged)

•

to decrease

•

to go up

•

to be steady

•

to go down

•

to rise

•

to plateau

•

to decline

•

to climb

•

to drop

Adjectives and adverbs to describe how fast the change occurred:

•

sharp

•

steady

•

sharply

•

dramatic

•

gradual

•

dramatically

•

significant

•

slight

•

significantly

Number of Students

Jane’s LINC Class: Average Daily Attendance, by Month

30

From October to December,

attendance decreased steadily.

25

20

or

15

From October to December, there

was a steady decrease in

attendance.

10

5

0

You can describe the changes

presented in the graph in two ways:

Sept

Nov

Oct

Dec

Months

1

Write a paragraph to describe the bar graph above. Write three details to support the topic sentence.

Topic sentence: Average attendance in Jane’s LINC class followed a distinct pattern over time.

66

Chapter 1 | Academic Skills | Writing Paragraphs and Essays

LINC 6/7

Paragraphs to Describe Graphs and Charts (Cont.)

2

Examine the graph below. Complete the paragraph that follows with appropriate supporting details.

Percent of Earnings

Canada Pension Plan Employee Contribution Rates

6%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

0%

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Year

Data Source: Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is one of Canada’s retirement income pension plans. It provides a

monthly...