Sometimes in proficiency exams like IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge, you may be asked to describe a graph. But what exactly is a graph?
A graph is a visual representation of data or information. It helps us understand and analyze different trends, patterns, or comparisons in a clear and organized way.
In these exams, you may come across various types of graphs that you’ll need to describe. Let’s take a look at some common types of graphs:
When you talk about graphs in these exams, it’s important to give a clear and short summary of the main things you see.
It’s good to learn how to describe graphs because it helps you understand and explain information better. You can use this skill to study and share data in your writing.
Here you have the basic guidelines to write a report to describe a graph:
📋📊What is a report describing a graph?
A report describing a graph is a way to explain and share information about a graph you see. A graph is a picture that shows data or information in a clear and organized way.
When you write a report about a graph, you look at the different parts of the graph and describe what you see. You talk about the important points, like the highest or lowest values, the trends or patterns you notice, or any comparisons between different parts of the graph.
Writing a report describing a graph helps you understand and communicate the information in the graph to others. It’s like telling a story about the graph and what it shows.
🗹 Parts of a report describing a graph
1 Introduction
- Start by explaining what the survey is about, who did it, and when.
Example: “This report tells us about a survey on [topic].
- Use the passive to do this:
Example: The survey was done in [month/ year]/ by [organization/ person]
2 Main findings
- Begin with the most important discovery in the first sentence.
Example: “The most important thing we learned from the survey is that [state the discovery].”
- Use numbers and facts to support your main finding. Use words like “but,” “different,” or “compared to” to talk about contrasting information.
- If there is more than one topic or discovery, talk about each one in a different paragraph.
- Use words like “but,” “different,” or “while” to show contrasting information.
- Use simple words and phrases like “most people,” “almost two-thirds,” or “a lot” to describe numbers.
Conclusion
- Explain what you think the survey results mean using phrases like “show,” “seem,” or “tell us.”
Example: “The survey results show that [interpretation of findings].”
- Give a suggestion or advice based on the survey results.
Example: “From these findings, it would be a good idea to [suggested action].”
💡 USEFUL VOCABULARY
Now that you know the parts of a report and the steps to follow, let’s see a report sample for the IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge or Duolingo tests
Survey Question: How many hours per week do you spend following the news?
Results:
Useful language to describe a graph
| Stage | Vocabulary and Phrases |
|---|---|
| Introduction | – The picture/graph shows… – This picture/graph has information about… – The horizontal line is for… – This picture/graph gives a general idea of… – This report presents the findings of… – The purpose of this report/survey was to… |
| Describing the graph | – Overall, we can see that… – The results show that… – The graph goes up/down a lot… – The numbers/values show… – The graph keeps changing/stays the same/goes up and down. – The highest point is at… – The lowest point is at… – There is a big/small change from… to… – There is a big/small change from… to… – The numbers show a pattern of… |
| Comparisons | – Compared to… – Similarly – In contrast… – There is a big difference between… – There is a big difference between… – Two things are different:… – On one side, … On the other side, … – While…, …; But…, … |
| Specific data and statistics | – According to the graph, the percentage/number is… – The graph shows that… – Most/Some/Many… – Almost two-thirds/half/one-fourth of… – About/Around… – It’s important to notice that… |
| Concluding the report | – In conclusion/To finish,… – Overall, we can say… – This picture/graph helps us understand… – From the graph/ diagram/ survey, we can see… – Based on the information, we can tell… – This survey/ graph/ diagram suggests that… |
Pro tips for writing reports
Make sure that you:
- wrote a title that shows what the report is about
- divided the report into clear paragraphs with subheadings
- did NOT use contractions or informal words
- Used connectors and formulaic expressions (useful language)
- Used the correct verb tenses, word forms and punctuation
- your ideas are easy to read and understand
Practice time
You have been asked to write a report about a media survey.
Look at the following chart.
Write your report in the comments below.
The picture has information about the main source of news. This media survey was made in July by the Society of Communication in London. One thousand people between 18 and 55 years were interviewed to know their preferences.
The result shows that media is the most important source of news for all aged groups of people whit the highest percentage. People aged 18-25 have a large percentage with 60%. In contrast, only a tiny percentage of people follow the news on social media. For the age group of 25-35, there is a small difference between TV and radio, with both sources less than a quarter of people’s aged group, while the lowest percentage is on newspapers source.
The report suggests that almost all people prefer the media as a source of news, and it has a big acceptation for the younger people. There is a good chance that social media values increase in some years as a result of advances in technology.
Well done Melissa
Survey about different sources of news
The graph has the information about a survey about the different sources of news of different age groups. The survey interviewed three age groups: 18-25s, 25-35s, 35-55s, and included 5 different news sources. The survey was done in July by the Society of Communication in London.
According to the graph, we could find that 60% of people 18–25 years , almost half of people 25–35 years and more than a half of people 35–55 years chose media as their main source of news. Surprisingly , only a tiny percent of people in all age follow news on social media. TV was the second popular source of news for all age people, and the radio was the third one.
It is worthy to notice that there was a big difference between 18-25s and over-25s about the use of radio. A tiny percentage of people under 25 listens to the radio, but over one out of every five people over-25s follow the news on the radio.
To finish, while media were the main sources of news now, traditional sources might be taken over, such as radio and newspaper. Forthermore , there was tiny percent of people who follow the news on social media, I’m sure social media will face the extreme speed development in the future.
The bar graph shows that a media survey is the source of news that people usually follow. The survey gives us information from three different age groups: 18-25, 25-35 and 35-55. The reason of this survey was to learn more about the main source of the news that people follow.
According to the graph, Most of the people are following the news on the media. In contrast, only a tiny percentage reported spending on Social media. A significant amount of people betwen 18 and 25 follow the news on Media. Similarly, for the age group of 25-35 and 35-55, just a quarter follow the news on TV and radio. It’s surprising that the most percentage of young people 18-25 follow the news on newspapers compared to the other age group.
In conclusion, most people are likely to follow the news on media especially. On the other hand, they are less likely to follow the news on social media. Furthermore, it is a good idea to do more research to learn why the young people are interested in following the news on newspaper.
Well done!
Miguel Peceros says:
NEWS PREFERENCE SURVEY
This survey give us an idea of where people of different ages get information about the news from.
The survey includes information of three age groups: 18-25, 25-35 and 35-55 and their preferences: Media, TV, radio, newspaper and social media.
The most significant result is that everyone has their preference in researching news on media, specially those who were in the range of 18-25. Secondly, there is the preference for TV and lastly preference is for searching on social media.
In conclusion, we could say that media will continue to be the favourite source of information for most people and other sources such as TV and radio will decrease more as time goes by.
Good effort!
Report about ways to get news
This report presents so many ways to get the news among the people 18-55 years old .The survey collected the data from 3 different ages and we can clearly see how these 3 types of people get the news.
From the graph we can see that the highest bar shows the age between 18-35years old. These people get the news from the media. Media includes the internet webs, cell phones and computer apps . So, it is important to notice that too much screen tineme is bad for your eyesight. The graph also shows other sources of news. Another source is TV. Twenty percents of people like to keep in touch with news by TV. From the graph we can also see that almost the same percentage of people like to get news by radio ,so they must be listen to the news on the radiowhile they are driving or running .There is a big difference between who are 18-35 years oldThey like to read the newspaperSurprisingly, the number of people who like reading the newspaper is becoming smaller because they can get the information on social media.
This survey shows that more people will like to get news by media so this is an interesting survey to tell us there are so many ways to get information.
Good effort
Thank you
Report on how people follow the news
Introduction
This graph presents the finding of a survey on the people’s main source of news .The survey collected data from three different age groups:18-25 ,25-35 and 35-55.The aim of this survey was to know how people get news.
Main findings
According to the graph, we can see that more than half of the people aged 18-25 use the media to get news. On the contrary ,people of all ages rarely get their news from social media.
It is important to notice that for the age group of 35-55, few people use newspapers to read news. Why don’t they read newspapers? Maybe they are busy with work and don’t have time to do it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many sources to get information. We can choose the way we like to follow the news Contrary to the picture, I prefer to get news through social media. I think social media is going to grow very fast in the future.
Well done!
Good effort!
TITLE?
Introduction
The bar graph compares the main source of news. The media survey from three different age groups: 18-25, 25-35 and 35-55. The data show their preferences.
Main findings
Overall the percentage of the all age groups of people follow the news on media. is more than 40%. . It is the largest percentage compared to other sources of news, at 61%(18-25 years), 50%(25-35years) and 45%( 35-55years). In the group of 35-55-year-old, the proportion of the people who follow the news on TV is half less than media or radio. People 18-25-year-old watch the news on TV as much as people 25-35-year-old.
Conclusion
This graph helps us understand that most young people prefer media and TV. Social media and news papers are unpopular in all age groups. They may have more space to grow.
Good effort!
Title: Where do 18-55 year-olds read the news?
This report presents findings on which media people in different age groups prefer for following the news. The questionary collected data from three age groups:18-25,25-35and 35-55.The purpose of this survey was to show us how people prefer to follow the news on different media.
Main findings
The results show that over 60% of young people prefer to read news on Media, and among the 18-55 age group, the majority prefers to follow the news on media. Almost nobody chooses to read news on social media. A tiny percentage of people prefers the newspaper. Similarly for news on TV and on Radio, the number of age 25-55 is nearly the same, at around 20%.
Conclusion
This survey tells us that Media is more appealing than traditional media, with more people choosing to read news on it.
TITLE??
Introduction
This graph presents that new sources followed by different age groups.
The survey collected data from three different age groups those aged 18-25, 25-35 and 35-55.
The purpose of this survey is understand where people much more follow the news.
Main findings
The results show that all ages groups mostly follow the news on the media.
Younger age especially those aged 18-25 group, the highest percentage /%60) report they follow the news on the media.
For all age groups, there is a small difference between TV and radio. Less than a quarter of all the people follow the news on TV and the radio.
Suprisingly, younger age group follow the news more than older age group on newspaper.
Only a tiny percentage of people in all age follow news on social media.
Conclusion
This graph suggests that almost all age group prefer to follow the news on media. In contrast, social media is not almost never used to follow the news.
Well done!
This report presents the findings of a survey on what the main source of news for people of different age groups is. The survey collected data from three different age groups;18-25,25-35and35-55. The purpose of this survey was to understand how much people follow the news.
The results show that almost half of the people aged 18-25 use media to follow the news. In contrast, one out of two people aged 25-35 use media to follow the news. Nearby a quarter of people aged 35-55 use media to follow the news.
This survey suggests that half of the people use media to follow the news. Furthermore, it is a good idea to do more research to learn why people have different ways of following the news.
Well done!!!!!
Introduction
This report describes the results of a search to find know the preferences of each age group and their news sources, including media, TV, radio, newspapers and social media. The survey was applied to 100 people aged between 18 and 55 years old. They were asked what their main source of news is.
Main findings
The research found differences in the news sources of young people and elderly people. Overall, we can see that media is the most popular news source among all age groups. The results show that preference for social media is highest among the youngest age group (18-25 years old), approximately 60%. Television is the second most popular source, with a similar preference among one in five 18-25 year olds. -35 age groups, and a higher preference for about a quarter of the 35-55 age group. In contrast, radio is less preferred by the younger age group, but shows an increase in preference among older age groups.
Conclusion
The graph helps us understand that social media is the dominant source of news for all age groups, especially among the younger group. Television and radio are most preferred by older individuals, while newspapers and social media are the least preferred news sources. We can say that traditional media (TV and radio) still have significant importance, especially among older age groups, while digital media are more popular among younger people. More research on the subject needs to be done, but the demand for news in the media may increase further and newspapers and TV will likely disappear.
A Report on Media Survey
This report describes the results of a survey of people’s news sources. The bar graph shows five different sources of information for each age group.
According to the survey, there are significant differences between younger and older people. TV is the most popular news source for all ages, and half or more of each age group uses it. In contrast, other sources are used by less than 30 percent of people. Surprisingly, a tiny percentage of people of all ages do not use social media as their main source of news, and there are no major differences between age groups. On the other hand, there are big differences between age groups when it comes to radio and newspapers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, less than ten percent of people use radio as their main source of news. However, interestingly, only a tiny percentage of over-35s use newspapers as their main source.
It appears that TV will remain the most popular news source for all ages. Furthermore, traditional media, such as newspapers and radio, may decline in the future.
Excellent job Mio!!