1Academic students are required to write a report on the given diagram (bar chart, line graph, pie chart,table, flowchart, process diagram or map). The requirement of this task is to write a minimum of 150 words in not more than 20 minutes.The report should be divided into 4 paragraphs – one introduction, two body paragraphs and one overview paragraph. This task is assessed on four parameters: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.Students normally find difficult to describe the information in a table, especially when it has a lot of information. Before you start writing, highlight or underline some key numbers. Choose the biggest number in each category in the table (i.e. in each column and row). If the table shows years, look for the biggest changes in numbers over the time period. Also, mention the smallest numbers, but the‘intermediate’ numbers (neither biggest nor smallest) can be ignored.The introduction paragraph should paraphrase the rubric in the question. Do not mention any figures in this paragraph, except for the period (if it is time-based). Also, include one significant feature from the table in this paragraph, using the standard phrase ‘It is evident/clear from the table that…’ or ‘From thefirst glance of the table, it is clear that…’.In the two body paragraphs, never describe each category (column or row) separately. The examiner willlook for comparisons, rather than mechanical description of rows or columns. Try to organize the highlighted numbers into 2 groups – one for each paragraph (e.g. highest numbers for all categories together and lowest numbers together). Compare the highlighted numbers and support your comparisons with data or figures. In the overview paragraph, try to compare whole categories (columns or rows) rather than ‘individual’ cells in the table. If this is not possible, compare the biggest and smallest number. Write 2 sentences for the overview. You would be at a great risk of scoring low band if you do not write an overview. The use of appropriate tenses in comparisons is very important. Use the simple past tense for past years, and ‘will’ or ‘is expected/predicted to’ for future years. If the table is not time-based, use the simple present tense.
