Hi
In IELTS Academic Writing task 1, how do you introduce the graph, chart, table or diagram?
Many of the IELTS candidates who I help use ‘The chart shows…‘ or ‘The diagram illustrates…‘ but are often unsure about what information should come next.
Have a look at the following chart (which used to be on the official IELTS website), think about how you would introduce it, and then look at the example introductions below.
The graph below shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Shows/Illustrates:
- The chart shows/illustrates the percentage of people in a European city who used to commute by bus, car, bike or foot in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
Provides information about:
- The chart provides information about the percentage of people in a European city who used to commute by bus, car, bike or foot in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
Shows how/that:
- The chart shows how/that the percentages of people in a European city who used to commute by bus, car, bike or foot were different in 1960, 1980 and 2000.
As you can see, each example contains information about who, what, where and when. But you’ll also see that the last example contains some extra information: that the percentages were different.
In grammatical terms, ‘shows’, ‘illustrates’ and ‘provides information about’ are followed by a noun phrase, while ‘shows how’ and ‘shows that’ are followed by a clause (i.e. a subject and a verb).
Have a good weekend,
Pete
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