Lesson 2

Timeline graphs (1)

INTRODUCTORY TASK

The chart gives information about the amount of oil discovered worldwide from
1950 to 2020.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

1 Write the introduction and the overview of the Introductory Task.

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CHANGE-OVER-TIME LANGUAGE
2 Complete the following table.

TABLE 1: VERB - NOUN

Trend Verb Noun
 i_ _ _ _ _ s_
 r_ _ _
 g_ _ _
 go up
 _l_ _ _
 s_ _ g_
 s_ _ _
 d_ _ _ _ _ s_
 _ _cl_ _ _
 f_ _ _
 d_ _ _
 d_ _
 pl_ _ _ _ _
 pl_ _ _ _
 s_ _ _ _ _ i_e
 r_ _ _in stable/flat
 pl_ _ _ au
 f_ _ct_ _ _ _
 v_r_
 be e_r_ _i_

Remembering a lot of ‘increase-decrease’ words (some of which are not very popular, i.e.
‘skyrocket’) is not really that necessary. In most cases, you only need to describe
something as increasing or decreasing once or twice.

3 Fill in the Adjective Section with the adjectives provided. Then, write the adverbs by adding -ly.
gradual steady mild

significant substantial slight

marginal considerable
Advanced Writing 7.0+ - The A Class

TABLE 2: ADJECTIVE - ADVERB

Description Adjective Adverb

BIG
CHANGE

SMALL
CHANGE

GRADUAL
CHANGE

4 Rewrite the following sentences using the correct forms of the word in the brackets.

1. The company's profits increased significantly last quarter. (SURGE)

The company's profits ...................................................................................................................................
2. The price of oil has plunged in the past month. (SIGNIFICANTLY)
The price of oil ...................................................................................................................................................
3. The number of students enrolling in the course has decreased slightly. (DIP)
There has been ..................................................................................................................................................
4. The amount of rainfall in the region has increased gradually over the past few years.
(RISE)
There has been ..................................................................................................................................................
5. The level of pollution in the city has surged due to increased traffic. (SHARP)
The level of ..........................................................................................................................................................

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Khoa Do
Advanced Writing 7.0+ - The A Class

FIRST POINT
The first point of any timeline graph indicates that there has been no change yet, and
therefore it cannot be described as decreasing or increasing. There are two major ways of
describing this special point: (1) directly describing it using a full sentence, or (2)
indirectly describing it.

5 In which way do you think we should directly describe the first point?

6 Describe the ‘first point’ of the following graph in two different ways.

The number of cars sold

The number of cars sold

16
15
14
12
10 10
8
6
5 5
4
2
0
1990 1995 2000 2005

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Khoa Do
Advanced Writing 7.0+ - The A Class

‘NEXT’

7 Listen to the lecture and note down different ways of describing the next points of a
timeline graph.
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8 Rewrite the following short paragraph using different cohesive devices.

January February March April

Milk tea shop A 100 90 200 400

In January, the number of cups milk tea shop A sold stood at 100. After that, it dropped
mildly to a low of 90 in February, before rising sharply to 200 in March. The figure then
saw a dramatic increase to a high of 400 in April.
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Khoa Do
Advanced Writing 7.0+ - The A Class

9 Now write a similar paragraph for Milk tea shop B and C.

January February March April

Milk tea shop B 50 200 35 35
Milk tea shop C 200 300 195 305

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Khoa Do
Advanced Writing 7.0+ - The A Class

HOMEWORK
10 Write a full Task 1 report for the Introductory Task.
11 Write a full Task 1 report for the following Task question.

The charts below show the number of Japanese tourists travelling abroad between
1985 and 1995 and Australia’s share of the Japanese tourist market.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

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Khoa Do