occupying – in comparison with – slowly– increases – dramatic

Turning to 2005, there was no change in the top 2 positions …………………. the previous
period, with coal and gas each …………………. more than …………………. % of total energy
production. The figure for Gas rose …………………. to ………………….%, while that for Petrol
experienced a …………………. fall of nearly ………………….. There were sharp
…………………. to ………………….% and ………………….% in the figures for Nuclear and
Other sources, respectively.

Main paragraphs: (2nd approach – grouped by categories)

Paragraph 1: Top 3 categories – gas, coal and petrol

later – each – figures - significantly – that – slightly

In 1995, gas, coal and petrol ………………….generated more than ………………….% of total
energy production in France. 10 years …………………., the ………………….for coal and gas
continued to rise ………………….by about ………………….%, while ………………….of petrol
dropped ………………….to less than ………………….%.

Paragraph 2: The 2 remaining categories

overtake – bottom - regarding – still – sharp – reaching

………………….the remaining categories, their figures were at the ………………….of the

ranking in 1995, with ………………….% and ………………….% for nuclear and other sources,
respectively. In the next decade, both figures experienced a …………………. growth,
………………….approximately ………………….% each, even though they ………………….were
not able to …………………. petrol’s position in the list.

PIE GRAPH | 24
Type 2: pie graphs of the same year

The pie charts below show the average household expenditures in Japan and Malaysia in
the year 2010.

Introduction:
Graphs / illustrate / proportion / spending / different goods and services / typical family / Japan /
Malaysia / 2010
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
Overview: (highest / lowest numbers)
Overall, it is clear that households in both countries spent the largest proportion of their income
on ………………………, while …………………. was the service receiving the lowest share of
expenditure.
Main paragraphs:

highest – similar – quarter – allocated - significant– category

The proportion of spending on Housing was …………………. in Malaysia, at ………………….

% while Japanese families …………………. just …………………. % of their budget for this
………………….. In terms of food, the figures for both nations were …………………., at
…………………. % and …………………. % for Malaysia and Japan, respectively. Other goods
and services were also quite …………………., at over a …………………. in each country.

remaining – fifth – twice – both – received

Regarding the …………………. categories, Transport accounted for exactly a f………………….

of total expenditure in Japan, …………………. as much as the figure for Malaysia. Healthcare
…………………. the least amount of money in …………………. countries, occupying
………………….% or less of total spending.

PIE GRAPH | 25
 TABLE
Types of table:

1. Year-by-year:

This kind of table is the easiest, as you can both

use languages of ……….…….. to describe the
changes from year to year as well as
………………... between the different categories.

2. Multiple categories:

You will have a harder time with this kind of table

due to the huge amount of data provided.
As this is a snapshot of only one year, you can only
rely on languages of …………………….., but not
…………………….. in your description.

Strategy and practice:

1. Introduction
This should be a no-brainer. You shouldn’t spend more than 2 minutes on this.
For tables, avoid using words like ‘illustrates’ and use the phrase ‘provides a breakdown
of …’

Table 1:

.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
Table 2:

.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
TABLE | 26
2. Identifying and writing general trend:
Table 1: Use your pencil and circle the top 2 highest numbers for each year.
Then, underline the lowest number for each year.
Finally, put a ↗ or ↘ next to each category depending on their change.

It can be clearly seen from the table that spending on ………………………………….

and …………………………………. held the top 2 ranks for both years, while the last
place was occupied by that of …………………………………. Additionally, the figures for
all categories experienced varying degrees of improvement except for that of
…………………………………. and ………………………………….

Table 2:
Use your pencil and circle the most and least popular activity for each age group.
Then, identify the activity with the highest and lowest total number of hours for all age
groups.

What is noticeable from the table is that all age groups chose to spend the most of their
free time on ………………………………….As regards to the total number of hours spent
by all age demographics, …………………………….. also came out in the first place,
while …………………………….. bottomed the list.

3. Body paragraphs:
It is always preferable to write 2 body paragraphs. This is particularly true for
tables as there is a lot of data to cover.
Table 1: You can divide the categories into 2 groups based on top 3 / bottom 3 or
increase / decrease, whichever you are more comfortable with.
Table 2: This table is quite tricky as there is no clear trend to divide your categories.
However, look closely and you can see that:
o Cinema was clearly the category with the lowest hours.
o What 2 other categories should you group with cinema (the ones with with
decreasing hours as people get older)

TABLE | 27