Level 3 Writing

Information Transfer 2

Pie Charts

Your final information transfer class test is in Week 8. Get ready!

For the class test, you will have to write a report of at least 100 words about a
pie chart. You will have 20 minutes to write the report.
Name: ______________________________ ID: __________________

Section: ________________ Teacher: ___________________________

WRITING ABOUT PIE CHARTS

Tips for writing about pie charts

Name the largest section first

Compare other sections to the largest section or to each other.

Look for ways to compare the different sections of the chart

Use comparative adjectives (adjective + er)

Use superlative adjectives (adjective + est)

Use “more than” or “less than”

Describing One Part of a Pie Chart

1. Starting with the amount:

The highest

The greatest
percentage of
women
attended university.

The largest
proportion of
books read
were Arabic.

A significant
number of
tourists
came from Russia

The smallest

The lowest

2. Starting with the subject:

largest

Pizza made up the

second largest
percentage
of the total.
smallest

Pizza was the

most

food.

Law was the

second/third most
popular
major.

Fords were the

least
common
cars.
Describing Two Parts of a Pie Chart

1. Starting with the amount

As many

Twice as many

Landcruisers

were sold
as…

Three times as many

students

came from Oman

Not as many

shopping malls

were in Dubai
More/ far more

Much/Many more

were sold

A lot/A few more

Landcruisers

came from Oman

than…

Considerably more

students

were in Dubai

Significantly more

shopping malls

Slightly more
Fractionally more

2. Starting with the subject

just as

almost as

as…

Drinking coffee was Nokia phones nearly as

were Swiss watches were
not as

as
more

common
less
considerably
more

much more slightly less

than…
fractionally less

popular
far less

slightly
far more more
PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS

Revisiting Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparatives are used to show the differences between two things.

Superlatives are used to show how one thing is different from two or more things.

For short adjectives, we usually add -er to the word and use than to compare two things.

If the word ends in y, change y to i and add -er or - est.

For the superlative, add -est. Don’t forget the!

Base
Comparative
Superlative

Word

high
higher
the highest

The percentage of tourists for Al Ain

Beirut had the highest percentage

was higher than for Doha.

of tourists.

low
lower
the lowest

Level Three classes had a lower

Level One classes had the lowest

number of students than Level Two

number of students.

classes.

For longer adjectives, we cannot use –er and –est. More and less are used to make the
comparative and the most/the least are used for the superlative.

Base Word
Comparative
Superlative
popular
more/less popular than
the most/the least popular

Pepsi was a more popular drink

The least popular drink was Red

than Sprite.
Bull.

common
more/ less common than
the most/ the least common

Cancer was less common than

The most common disease was

heart disease.
diabetes.
PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS

Fill in the blanks with the comparative OR the superlative form of the adjective

Most students thought a graph report was the _______________ (easy) kind of writing.

Playing computer games was _______________ (popular) than reading books.

Chatting online was ________________ (popular) activity amongst teenagers in Al Ain.

The production of oil was ______________ (high) in the UAE than in Kuwait.

The USA was the ___________ (high) producer of Carbon Dioxide.

Students from Al Ain were _______________ (great) in number than those from RAK.

The ______________ (low) percentage of international students at Cambridge university

came from the Middle East.

Mobile phone calls were _______________ (expensive) than landline phones.

Write a sentence to compare the two things given.

Example: gold/silver Gold was more expensive than silver.

people/ working in jobs /studying at university

___________________________________________________________________

women/ work part-time/ men

___________________________________________________________________

English/ difficult / Arabic

___________________________________________________________________

population / Al Ain / Dubai

___________________________________________________________________

Burj Khalifa in Dubai / Twin Towers in Malaysia

___________________________________________________________________
PIE CHART: STATING NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS

Vocabulary to describe common

fractions

10%

a tenth (1/10)

25%

a quarter
(1/4)

20%

33%

a fifth
(1/5)
a third
(1/3) two thirds
(2/3)

75%
50%

three quarters (3/4)

a half
(1/2)

In the spaces below, write the

percentages as fractions using just
under, exactly or just over.

21%
____________________________
______________
66%
69%
____________________________
______________
72% 75%
___________________________ ____________________________
_______________ ______________

50% 54%
___________________________ ____________________________
_______________ ______________

18% 23%
___________________________ ____________________________
_______________ ______________

63% 31%
___________________________ ____________________________
_______________ ______________
PIE CHART VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Complete the sentences.

Percentages of UAE University Students in 2011

The _________________ percentage of _____________________ came from Al Ain.

________________ was the second most ______________________

home city.

RAK made up the second _______________________ percentage of the total.

_____________________ times _____ many students came from RAK as Fujairah.

______________ students came from Abu Dhabi than from other cities.

Students from RAK were considerably ____________ common

________________ students from Fujairah.

Students from Abu Dhabi were ________________ ____________ common than

students from Fujairah.

Students from Al Ain made up just under ______________[use a fraction] of the total.

Students from RAK accounted for exactly __________________[use a fraction] of the

total.
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER

Percentages of UAE University Students in 2011

Put the words in the box into the rights gaps in the introduction:

largest smallest which percentages while shows

The pie chart 1) ___________ the 2) ________________of UAEU students from five cities in
the United Arab Emirates, 3) __________were Al Ain, RAK, Fujairah Abu Dhabi and other, in
2011. Overall, the 4) __________ percentage of students by far came from Al Ain, 5)
___________ the 6) ___________ percentage of students was from Abu Dhabi.

Put the fractions and numbers in the box into the right gaps in the body paragraph:

just under one tenth 5% exactly one quarter 2% less than half nearly two thirds 3%

Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the most common home city of all UAEU students
was Al Ain at 1) ______________________________. The second most common home
city was RAK, at 2) ___________________________ of students. Together, Fujairah and
Abu Dhabi made up 3)___________________________, at 4)_______ and 5)_______

respectively. This was higher than the percentage of students from other cities, which was
the lowest at 6) ________________________ of the total.

Percentage of store customers in 2011 H&M

6%
wit where you can.
Topshop h
the The pie chart shows the percentages of customers in five
8% info stores, which were
rm ______________________________________________, in
atio 2011. Overall, the greatest percentage of customers was at
Splash n _____________ , while the smallest percentage was at
Zara sho
20% wn ___________.
in
49% the
cha
rts. The highest percentage of customers went to Zara, at
Yo _______________________. The second highest percentage
u of customers ____________________________________
Mango sho ________________________________________. Together,
uld Mango and Topshop had
17% use
frac _________________________________, at 17% and 8%
tion respectively. This was higher than the percentage of
Complete the gaps
s customers at H&M, which was the lowest, at
__________________.
Kidney disease 8%
Diabetes 18%

Percentage of people with health

problems in 2012

Lung disease 32%

Heart
disease
Cancer
25%
17%

Complete the gaps with the information shown in the charts. You should use
fractions where you can.

The pie chart shows ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________ in 2012. Overall, the health

problem with the highest ____________________________________________, while the

__________________________________.

The highest percentage of people had ____________________________________

_____________________________________________. The second highest percentage

of _____________________________________________________________. Together,
diabetes and cancer made up ________________________________________________

_______________________________________. This was higher than the percentage of

people with ______________________________________________________________.
PIE CHART: WRITING PRACTICE

Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010

Kuwait
12%

Qatar
5%

Iran
Saudi Arabia

52%

15%

UAE 16%

Writing Practice

Write two paragraphs to describe the above pie chart.

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________
________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

PIE CHART: WRITING PRACTICE

Sugar producing countries 2012

India
28%
Brazil

41%

China

12%

US
Thailand

8%

11%

Writing Practice

Write two paragraphs to describe the above pie chart.

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________
________________________________________
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER

Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010

Kuwait
12%

Qatar
5%

Iran
Saudi Arabia

52%

15%

UAE 16%

Fill in the gaps with the correct word(s)

The pie graph 1)_____________ oil exports in 2)_____________ for 5 Arabian Gulf
countries, which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010.
Overall, the 3)___________ percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the
4)___________ percentage of oil exports was from Qatar.

Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the highest percentage of oil exports was
from Saudi Arabia, at 5)______________________. The second highest percentage
of oil exports was from the UAE, at 6)______________________. Together, Iran and
Kuwait made up 7)______________________ of the exports at
8)______________________ and 9)______________________ respectively. This
was higher than the percentage of oil exports from Qatar, which was the lowest at
10)______________________ of the total.
Answers

PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS

Fill in the blanks with the comparative OR the superlative form of the adjective

Most students thought a graph report was the easiest (easy) kind of writing.

Playing computer games was more popular (popular) than reading books.

Chatting online was the most popular (popular) activity amongst teenagers in Al Ain.

The production of oil was higher (high) in the UAE than in Kuwait.

The USA was the highest (high) producer of Carbon Dioxide.

Students from Al Ain were greater (great) in number than those from RAK.

The lowest (low) percentage of international students at Cambridge university came

from the Middle East.

Mobile phone calls were more expensive (expensive) than landline phones.

Write a sentence to compare the two things given.

Example: gold/silver Gold was more expensive than silver.

1. people/ working in jobs /studying at university

There are more people working in jobs than studying at university.

2. women/ work part-time/ men

More women than men work part-time.

English/ difficult / Arabic English is more difficult than Arabic

population / Al Ain / Dubai

The population of Al Ain is smaller than the population of Dubai.

5. Burj Khalifa in Dubai / Twin Towers in Malaysia

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is taller than the Twin Towers in Malaysia.
PIE CHART: STATING NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS

Vocabulary to describe

common fractions

10%

a tenth (1/10)

20%

a fifth
(1/5)
25%

a quarter
(1/4)

33%

a third
(1/3)
50%

a half
(1/2)

66%

two thirds
(2/3)
75%

three quarters (3/4)

In the spaces below, write the percentages as fractions using just under,
exactly or just over.

just over a fifth

21%
__________________________________________

just over two thirds

69%
__________________________________________

just under three quarters

72%
__________________________________________

exactly half

50%
__________________________________________
just under a fifth

18%
__________________________________________

just under two thirds

63%
__________________________________________

exactly three quarters

75%
__________________________________________

54%

just over half

_________________________
just under a quarter

23%
__________________________________________

just under a third

31%
__________________________________________
Percentage of store
H&M
customers in 2011
6%
Topshop
8%
Splash
20%
Zara
49%

Mango
17%

Complete the gaps with the information shown in the charts. You must use
fractions.

The pie chart shows the percentages of customers in five stores, which were H&M,
Topshop, Splash, Mango and Zara, in 2011. Overall, the greatest percentage of customers
was at Zara, while the smallest percentage was at H&M.

The highest percentage of customers went to Zara, at just under half. The second highest
percentage of customers went to Splash, at exactly a fifth. Together, Mango and Topshop
had exactly a quarter, at 17% and 8% respectively. This was higher than the percentage of
customers at H&M, which was the lowest, at just 6 percent.
Percentage of people with health problems in 2012
Kidney disease 8%

Diabetes
Lung

disease
18%

32%

Heart
disease
25% Cancer

17%
The pie chart shows the percentages of people with five health problems, which were lung
disease, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease, in 2012. Overall, the health
problem with the highest percentage was lung disease, while the smallest percentage was
for kidney disease.

The highest percentage of people had lung disease, at just under a third. The second
highest percentage of people had heart disease, at exactly a quarter. Together, diabetes
and cancer made up just over a third, at 18% and 17% respectively. This was higher than
the percentage of people with kidney disease, which was the lowest, at just under a tenth.
PIE CHART VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Complete the sentences.

The Home Cities of UAE University Students in 2011

The highest percentage of students came from Al Ain.

RAK was the second most common home city.

RAK was the second highest percentage of the total.

Five times as many students came from RAK as Fujairah.

More students came from Abu Dhabi than from other cities.

Students from RAK were considerably more common than students from Fujairah.

Students from Abu Dhabi were slightly less common than students from Fujairah.

Students from Al Ain made up just under two thirds [use a fraction] of the total.

Students from RAK accounted for exactly one quarter [use a fraction] of the total.
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER

Home Cities of UAEU Students

Abu Dhabi
Other

3%
Fujairah
2%

5%

RAK 25% Al
65
Ai %

Put the words

in the box
into the rights
gaps in the
introduction:

largest
smallest
that
came
while
shows

The pie chart

1) shows the
2)
percentages
of UAEU
students from
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER

Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010

Kuwait
12%

Qatar
5%

Iran
Saudi Arabia

52%

15%

UAE 16%

The pie graph 1)shows oil exports in 2)percentages for 5 Arabian Gulf countries, which
were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010. Overall, the 3)highest
percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the 4)lowest percentage of oil exports
was from Qatar.

Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the highest percentage of oil exports was from
Saudi Arabia, at 5)just over half. The second highest percentage of oil exports was from the
UAE, at 6) 16%. Together, Iran and Kuwait made up 7)just over a quarter of the exports at
8)15% and 9)12% respectively. This was higher than the percentage of oil exports from
Qatar, which was the lowest at 10)5% of the total.
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER

Sugar producing countries 2012

1
India

28%
C B

O 4

US
Thailand L

8%

11%

The pie
graph
shows
sugar
production
in
percentage
s in 5
countries,
which were
Brazil,
Thailand,
the US,
China and
India, in
2012.