Describing and comparing trends in English using data in pie charts is a skill that requires a range of English language and vocabulary. This video is part of a 3-video series in describing trends by Rich Walton, experienced Business English trainer.
see the other 2 videos here:
http://youtu.be/f3n_j1VHH5E
http://youtu.be/dLk_AXaowC4
This is a video for business people and business presentations and also for students studying for English exams like IELTS and Cambridge BEC, which often include production of this kind in the Writing or Speaking Paper.
Here below is a list of the key words and phrases with a short explanation. Also there is an example of a Part 1 Writing Task in the IELTS exam which relates to the pie charts described in the video.
verbs to describe movement in trends:
to change
to move
to shift
verbs to describe trends moving up:
to increase
to rise
to go up
to jump
to double
verbs to describe trends moving down:
to decrease
to go down
to drop
to lose
to fall
to decline
to dip
adjectives and adverbs for emphasis:
significant, significantly
insignificant,
dramatic, dramatically
sharp, sharply
notable, notably
marked, markedly
NOUNS FOR noun phrases
jump
rise
drop
fall
decrease
increase
dip
GRAMMAR NOTE
a little
little
If you use the article.....a little can describe something modest but positive
example: I understand a little English.
If you don't use the article, little usually becomes negative and means almost nothing
example: I understand little English
in fact there is a nice expression: ''little or no''
example: We are making little or no progress in the project.
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IELTS WRITING PART 1 - sample answer relating to the pie charts in the video - the task is for a minimum 150 words: (this example is 250 words but has a lot of detail that can be selectively reduced)
We are analysing buying trends in the toys and entertainment sector by comparing the sales figures over a 3 year period of an on-line retailer.
In a 3 year period from 2012 to 2014 we can see a significant shift in demand for certain product categories.
For example, the toy segment counted for over one half of total sales in 2012, but lost just over 20% share the following year, dropping dramatically to just 10% of total by the end of 2014.
On the contrary, in the same period, sales of computer games jumped from a modest 10% to an impressive 41% share, that is, doubling each year its proportion of overall turnover.
In contrast, although the music CD category was stable through 2012 - 2013 its total share fell sharply in 2014 to almost half of the previous 2 years reaching a low of just 7%. This downward trend is predictable due to the increasing use of the internet, such as iTunes, to download music.
Turning to another important shift, we see a marked increase in tablet sales with a notable rise in share from 8% to 34% in 3 years, reflecting the sales boom in this sector.
‘Other’ products collectively saw little change apart from a dip in 2013 to 5%, returning to its former 8% share in 2014.
In conclusion, we can note a changing sales scenario, reflecting general consumer buying habits. These change quickly with every new fashionable product such as tablets and computer games, that inevitably take market share from more traditional categories like toys.
