FURTHER EXERCISES
1) Write a coherent text (a text whose propositions are logically connected) describing the graph below.
You must write an introduction, describe the data section and write an appropriate conclusion.
2) Fill in the gaps according to the graph below:
Introduction
This report examines the changes in the total property crime rate and the break and enter rate between 2000 and
2007.
Body of the text
In 2000 the total property crime rate was 2500 offences per 100 000 population. Then the rate 1) rose
………..(sharply/sharp) and reached 3800 in 2001. After a 2) ……….. (moderate/moderately )fall in 2002, the rate
started to 3) ………. (increase/decrease) again and reached a 4) …….. (peak/top) in 2003. However, after 5)
………(stabilizing/fluctuating ) for some months, the total property crime rate dropped 6)
………..(considerably/considerable) throughout 2004 and the beginning of 2005.
The rate stayed at about 2400 offences from mid-2005 7) ……….(to/until) mid-2006 before 8)
…………(decreasing/decrease) again.
In 2000 the break and enter rate was about 760 offences per 100 000 population. 9) From(From/since) 2000 to
2003, there was a steady 10)………….(upward/downward)trend in the B rate. The rate 11)………(reached/arrived)
its highest point in 2003 and then 12) …………..(showed/fell) a significant downward trend until mid-2005. After
being stable for a few months, the rate continued to fall 13 ………….(slightly/slight), dropping to around 780 in
2007.
Conclusion
The total property crime rate fluctuated from 2000 to 2003, whereas the break and enter rate showed a general
upward trend. Both rates peaked in 2003, fell significantly until mid-2005, stabilized for some months and 14)
………..(fell/grew) slightly during 2006 and 2007 .
3. Read the following text and draw the corresponding graph.
The graph below covers the
years 1976 to 1995. It shows
that the number of television
viewing hours rose steadily and
steeply during that period in
the US, starting at just under 5
hours a day to reach more than
7 hours in 1995. There was a
slight increase in 1982 and
sharper falls in 1986 and 1991.
The next decrease, in 1994, is
hardly significant. Though we
do not have the latest figures,
it is unlikely that the trend will
have reversed.
4) Comment on the graph on the right using and organizing the following expressions :
Sales rose / went up /increased / climbed ...
+ adverb (slowly / steadily /rapidly / gradually ...)
Sales stood at ...
Sales peaked / peaked out
Sales levelled out / flattened out
Sales bottomed out
This was due to ...
This was the result of ...
This caused ...
This led to ...
5) Look at the graphs and write the appropriate letters in front of each definition. Then match them into a
coherent 15-line text using all that you have learned so far about graphs.
 : the horizontal axis ( or the x axis)
 : a solid line
 : the vertical axis (or the y axis)
 : a broken line
 : the scale
 : a dotted line
6) Label the axes and describe the graph. You must write a coherent text with an introduction/data
description/conclusion layout.
7) Describe the following graph writing a coherent text.
8) Describe the following chart writing a coherent text
9) Describe the following graphs writing ONE coherent text.
10) Describe the following surface graph labeling the axes and writing a coherent text.
11) The surface graph below shows the magneto-resistive ratio as a function of the Co and Cu layer
thicknesses. Knowing that the mesh’s intersection points of the 3D surface depicted correspond to the
geometrical parameters of the systems considered, write a coherent text describing the graph. (From “Co/Cu
Nanowire Systems for GMR Sensing Applications” by Daniele Pullini, David Busquets Mataix and Alessio Tommasi, C
BY-NC-SA 3.0 2011).
12) Think of a phasor as a rotating vector and write a coherent text including the graph below:
13) Write ONE coherent text describing the two graphs below including an introduction and a conclusion.
14) Write a coherent text describing the graph below
15) Write a coherent text describing the graph below including the equations following an
introduction/body of the text/conclusion layout.
16) Consider units of productions against time. Match the following sentences to appropriate graphs to be
drawn.
1. Production started climbing steadily but
flattened off at a level of around 70. Since then,
it has fallen steadily.
2. Production grew more and more rapidly over
the first three quarters but then reached a peak.
Since then, it has quickly dropped.
3. Production grew rapidly in the first quarter,
but reached a plateau of about 70. Since then it
has remained more or less stable.
4. Production has dropped slowly but steadily
over the year.
5. Production started the year in a stable
position, but then plunged in the third quarter. It
has now flattened out at a level of 20.
6. Production fell considerably over the first
three quarters, reaching a low of 20. Since then
it has staged a partial recovery.
7. Production has fluctuated all year.
8. Production started off steady, but fell sharply
in the last quarter.
9. Production showed a marginal rise in the first
three quarters, but then suffered a sharp drop.
10. After a considerable drop in the first two
quarters, production bottomed out at 20. Since
then it has started to rise.
11. Production has experienced a strong, steady
growth over the whole year.
12. There has been a slight increase in
production over the year.
13. There was a rapid drop in production in the
first quarter, but it bottomed out at about 20.
17) Match sentences 1-12 below with the drawings A-K. You can use some of the drawings
than once.
1. The market is showing some signs of growth.
2. The market is extremely volatile.
3. The pound slipped back against the dollar.
4. The Swiss franc is staging a recovery.
5. The lira lost ground slightly.
6. There's been a dramatic downturn in the market.
7. There's been an upsurge of interest in gold.
8. The share price bottomed out at 115p.
9. Sugar peaked at $400 a tonne.
10. Profits will level off at around $10,000.
11. Sales hit an all-time low.
12. There hasn't been much movement in the price of tin
more
18) Match the words below to the drawings by putting them in the table under the correct number:
slump, rise, recover, plunge, pick up, plummet, drop, soar, bounce back, take off, climb, rally,
fluctuate, fall, stabilize, slide, flatten out, crash, hold steady, escalate, decline, rocket, dip
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
19) Write 150 words to describe this process. Title of the text: “Recycling Car Batteries”.
20) Sentences
without numbers.
In writing about graphs, information is often given in two-sentence pairs: one sentence with the
idea but no numbers, followed by a sentence with numbers or specific information.
For example:
Main idea sentence (no number):
Texting has become more common in the USA.
Supporting information (numbers):
In 2010, over 173 billion text messages were sent
every month, compared to just 7.2 billion a month in
2005.
Write short main idea sentences BEFORE each of the sentences below. There should be no
numbers in your sentences. The first one is done as an example.
1. In 2009/10, almost 9 in 10 (89 per cent) of adults aged 16 and over in England watched
television in their spare time (SOLUTION: Many English people watch television in their
free time).
2. In 2009/10, adults in the UK aged 16 and over spent an average of 3 and a half hours a day
watching television, 2 and a half hours using a computer and 1 hour listening to radio
3. In 2009, UK teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 24 were the most frequent cinema goers,
with 61 million cinema admissions
4. In 2009, almost all (98.0 per cent) of single music tracks were purchased digitally, with digital
sales increasing by 91.9 per cent between 2007 and 2009
5. Sales of books by UK publishers fell by 5.9 per cent from 492 million books in 2007 to 463
million in 2009
6. Between 2005/06 and 2009/10 the proportion of adults aged 16 and over visiting a public
library in England fell from 48 per cent to 39 per cent
7. In 2009, 22 per cent of children aged 8 to 16 stated they enjoy reading very much compared
to 10 per cent who do not enjoy reading at all
8. In 2010, less than half of adults in Great Britain aged 15 and over read a national daily
newspaper (41 per cent): on average since 1981 the proportion reading national newspapers has
fallen by approximately 10 percentage points every 10 years.
21) Read paragraphs 1-5 below, which describe changes in company figures over six months from
January to June. A quarter means three months.
Match them to the pictures A-D.
1. UK SALES: When demand decreased at the start of the year, UK sales fell sharply. They
remained steady until April, then rose again dramatically in the second quarter when the
market improved.
2. OUTPUT: The decrease in overseas sales caused a dramatic drop in output at the
Birmingham plant in the first quarter. There was a steady increase in the second when
domestic sales improved.
3. STOCK LEVELS: There was a steady decrease in stock levels at the Glasgow plant in the
first quarter due to the introduction of a new inventory control system. The slight increase in
the second quarter was due to the rise in output.
4. PROFITS: The profits of the plastics division have fallen steadily over the last five months
due to the fall in demand and increases in production costs. The slight rise in profits last
month was due to the recent price increases.
5. PROFIT MARGIN: A sudden jump in the production costs of our ACME washing machine
caused a drop in the profit margin in the first quarter. The margin remained the same in the
second, due to a sharp fall in the costs of components.
22)
Write a text describing the following pie-chart.
23) Write one coherent text comparing hurricanes and tornadoes
according to the table below.
Features
Hurricances
Tornadoes
Minimum wind speed
74 pmh
40 mph
Maximum wind
speed of most severe
storms
155-200 mph
250 - 300 mph
Classification Scale
Saffir - Simpson C1 - C5
Fujita F0 - F5
Duration
1 week average
Most only last a few
minutes, some up to a
few hours
Average width of
storm
300 miles
100 - 600 meters some up to 1.5 km
wide
Average number per
year
100 worldwide
20 minutes or less
How long in advance
can they be
predicted
2-3 days for a wide area but can
usually predict more exactly where
hurricane will hit 6-10 hours
beforehand
20 minutes or less
Where they start
Over warm oceans
Usually over land
24) Label the axes and describe the graph. You must write a coherent text with an introduction/data
description/conclusion layout.
25) Label the axes and describe the graph. You must write a coherent text with an introduction/data
description/conclusion layout.
26) RATE OF CHANGE PROBLEM. Consider the following scenario: you have a reversed
cone like a cup whose both height and diameter of the top of the cup are 4 cm and you
are pouring water into this cup at a rate of 1 cubic centimeter per second (1cm3/sec),
and right at this moment there is a height of 2 cm of water in the cup. So, right at this
moment, what is the rate at which the height of the water is changing? –that is, how fast is
it changing? Solve the problem building up a coherent English text and appropriately fit
the numerals and any diagrams within the text. Use the introduction/data
description/conclusion layout.
27) Plot any functions and its derivative and build up a coherent text to describe it.
28) Build a text about the uses of limits and derivatives in function descriptions using all the spatial
relations you have learned so far.
29) Build up a text corresponding to the question: “How would I find the delta for an epsilon of
0.01 for the limit as x approaches 2 of (x²-3)?”.
30) Write down five word-statements and the corresponding Math function like in “Molly charges
$25 per hour for tutoring Chemistry with a minimum charge of $15”. Build up a coherent text about
each statement.