Describing Data: Charts and Graphs
Describing data with charts and graphs is the most-needed academic-and-business writing skill at B2. Movement verbs: rise, increase, climb, soar, surge, peak, fall, decrease, decline, drop, plummet, slip, level off, plateau, stabilise, fluctuate, remain steady. Adverbs of degree: slightly, gradually, steadily, sharply, dramatically, significantly, markedly, considerably. Time markers: between 2015 and 2020, over the period, during the first quarter, in the long term, in the short term. Chart vocabulary: axis, segment, peak, trough, trend, projection.
This worksheet builds B2 fluency with data-description vocabulary in academic and business-report contexts.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- Vocabulary box with 30+ data verbs and adverbs grouped by movement direction and degree
- Chart-description gap-fill: complete the commentary with appropriate verbs
- Graph-interpretation task: write a paragraph describing the main trends
- Multiple-choice items targeting collocation accuracy (rise sharply, fall gradually, remain stable)
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes on register and IELTS Task 1 relevance
Common challenges: Verb-adverb collocations require care — rise sharply (sharp + sudden) vs rise dramatically (large change) vs rise gradually (slow, continuous). Number and proportion vocabulary: the majority of, a significant proportion of, just under half, one in three. False friends with data: German dramatisch maps to dramatic; English dramatic is sometimes hyperbolic, so significant is the safer formal alternative.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B2, in upper-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study — particularly IELTS Task 1 candidates and learners preparing data-reporting at work. Tested in Cambridge B2 First (FCE), C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS Academic, and BEC. Part of the Education & Academic collection — the natural next step is The Vocabulary of Debate and Opinion, which extends academic vocabulary into argumentative writing.
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