Menu

Skip to content
Writefix.com
  • Graphs: Home
    • Graphs: Overview
    • Graphs: Introduction
      • Graphs: Grouping Information
      • Graphs: Main Idea
      • Graphs: The Vocabulary of Numbers
      • Graphs: Vocabulary
      • Graphs: Types of Graphs
      • Graphs: Organization
    • Graphs: London Underground
    • US Spending
    • Arab Computer Use
    • Graphs: HCT Graduates
    • Oil Production
    • Fertility Rates
    • Graphs: Heart Attacks
    • Fish Catches
    • Dubai Tourism
    • Gold Sales
    • Taiwan Internet Use
    • Multiple Graphs
      • Coffee Production
      • Electricity Production
      • Graphs: UAE Health Statistics
      • Graphs: Doctor Visits
  • Cause and Effect: Home
    • Cause and Effect: Rainforest
    • Cause and Effect: Hunger
    • Cause and Effect: Outline
    • Cause and Effect: Obesity
    • Cause and Effect: Fast Food
    • Cause and Effect: Traffic (2)
    • Cause and Effect: Traffic (1)
    • Cause and Effect: Matching Exercise
    • Essay: The Marriage Fund in the UAE
    • Essay: Telecommuting
  • Problem and Solution
    • Drug Abuse: Ideas for essay
    • Drug Abuse: Layout
    • Drug Abuse: Essay
    • Essay: Early School Leavers (1)
    • Essay: Early school-leavers (2)
  • IELTS Speaking
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 1
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 2
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 3
    • IELTS Speaking: Questions
  • PET Speaking
    • PET Speaking: Astronauts
    • PET Speaking: Runners
    • PET Speaking: New Arrivals
    • PET Speaking: At the Airport
    • PET Speaking: Filming
    • PET Speaking: Hospital Visit
    • PET Speaking: In the Canoe
    • PET Speaking: London
    • PET Speaking: Apples
    • PET Speaking: Barbeque (1)
    • PET Speaking: Barbeque (2)
    • PET Speaking: The Fish
    • PET Speaking: A New Baby
    • PET Speaking: The Red Card
    • PET Speaking: Visitors
    • PET Speaking: Waiting
  • Forum: Your Essays
  • About
    • About
    • Comments

Writefix.com

Argument essays, graphs, other writing, and speaking for IELTS, PET, and TOEFL

Argument Essays

  • About Argument Essays
    • Five Steps
    • Vocabulary
      • Vocabulary
      • Vocabulary: Zoos
    • Getting Ideas
      • Getting Ideas
      • Ideas: Who are the better parents?
      • Ideas: Money as a Motivator
      • Ideas: Children & Physical Punishment
      • Ideas: Drug Abuse
      • Ideas: Education is Good
      • Ideas: Education is Bad
      • Ideas: Scientists or Politicians
    • Essay Layout
      • 3773 Layout
      • 35553 Layout
      • 3773 Layout: When Children Behave Badly
      • 3773 Layout: Drug Abuse
    • Arguments: Two Sides
  • Parts of an Essay
    • Parts of an Essay
    • The Introduction
      • The Introduction
      • Introductions: Is Money a Good Motivator?
      • Introductions: Protecting the Environment
    • The Thesis Sentence
    • The Body
      • The Body: Use Paragraphs!
      • The Body
    • The Conclusion
      • The Conclusion
      • Conclusions: Examples
    • The Domino Effect: Ideas
    • Fragments
    • Comma Splices
    • Check your work
    • Quotes, Quotations
  • Essay List: Older
    • When Should People Retire?
    • Animal Testing
      • Animal Testing: 1
      • Animal Testing: 2
      • Animal Testing: 3
    • Should we punish children?
      • Children and Discipline: 1
      • Children & Physical Punishment
    • Early School-leavers
    • Should we ban dangerous sports?
      • Dangerous Sports: Yes
      • Dangerous Sports: No
    • Should Parents Pay?
    • Is Education Valuable?
      • Education: Less Valuable Now
      • Education: Still Valuable?
      • Education: Too Many People with Degrees!
    • Do Degrees Make Us Happy?
    • Home Schooling
    • Security Cameras and Privacy
    • Sharing with a Roommate
    • Media and Privacy
      • Should Smoking Be Banned?
      • Media and Privacy: 1
      • Media and Privacy: 2
    • Should rich countries help poor?
    • Spending on Art
      • Spending on Art: 1
      • Spending on Art: 2
    • Essay: Telecommuting
    • Who learns faster?
  • Links
    • General Links
    • Older Essays
    • Essay Forum
    • IELTS Essay Topics
    • TWE Topics
    • Essay Topics and Tags
    • Speaking: Questions and Youtube!
    • Bookstore
  • New Essays
    • New Essays by Topic
    • New Essays by Date
    • Essay Search
    • Essay Forum

Graphs and Speaking

  • Graphs: Home
    • Graphs: Overview
    • Graphs: Introduction
      • Graphs: Grouping Information
      • Graphs: Main Idea
      • Graphs: The Vocabulary of Numbers
      • Graphs: Vocabulary
      • Graphs: Types of Graphs
      • Graphs: Organization
    • Graphs: London Underground
    • US Spending
    • Arab Computer Use
    • Graphs: HCT Graduates
    • Oil Production
    • Fertility Rates
    • Graphs: Heart Attacks
    • Fish Catches
    • Dubai Tourism
    • Gold Sales
    • Taiwan Internet Use
    • Multiple Graphs
      • Coffee Production
      • Electricity Production
      • Graphs: UAE Health Statistics
      • Graphs: Doctor Visits
  • Cause and Effect: Home
    • Cause and Effect: Rainforest
    • Cause and Effect: Hunger
    • Cause and Effect: Outline
    • Cause and Effect: Obesity
    • Cause and Effect: Fast Food
    • Cause and Effect: Traffic (2)
    • Cause and Effect: Traffic (1)
    • Cause and Effect: Matching Exercise
    • Essay: The Marriage Fund in the UAE
    • Essay: Telecommuting
  • Problem and Solution
    • Drug Abuse: Ideas for essay
    • Drug Abuse: Layout
    • Drug Abuse: Essay
    • Essay: Early School Leavers (1)
    • Essay: Early school-leavers (2)
  • IELTS Speaking
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 1
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 2
    • IELTS Speaking: Part 3
    • IELTS Speaking: Questions
  • PET Speaking
    • PET Speaking: Astronauts
    • PET Speaking: Runners
    • PET Speaking: New Arrivals
    • PET Speaking: At the Airport
    • PET Speaking: Filming
    • PET Speaking: Hospital Visit
    • PET Speaking: In the Canoe
    • PET Speaking: London
    • PET Speaking: Apples
    • PET Speaking: Barbeque (1)
    • PET Speaking: Barbeque (2)
    • PET Speaking: The Fish
    • PET Speaking: A New Baby
    • PET Speaking: The Red Card
    • PET Speaking: Visitors
    • PET Speaking: Waiting
  • Forum: Your Essays
  • About
    • About
    • Comments

Graphs: Main Idea

This is part of a short introduction to writing about Graphs.

  • Overview:
  • Graphs: Getting the Main Idea
  • Graphs: Grouping Information
  • Graph Vocabulary: Words
  • Graph Vocabulary: Numbers
  • Types of Graphs

One of the most important things to do is get the main idea of the graph.

First, identify the main features of the graph. What is happening? What are the biggest numbers? If it is a time graph, what are the biggest changes? What are the trends?

Use a Pen!

Ideally you need to find one main idea and, if possible, one or two more smaller ideas.

  • Don’t have too much information
  • Don’t analyze or explain everything in the graph
  • Don’t go from left to right, explaining everything. Instead pick the main ideas.
  • Use the biggest and next biggest – don’t mention everything in between.
  • Don’t mention the small or unimportant stuff
  • Pick an idea and find information that supports it

 

Study the graph below. Print it out. Write on it. Circle the important points – beginnings, endings, sudden changes, low points, high points, trends, averages, differences between lines, differences over time.

US sports annual salaries. Click to see important points.

 

The graph shows US sports players’ salaries in dollars.

In 1970, baseballers earned $125,000 a year, footballers’ salaries averaged $99,000 a year, and basketball players earned about $43,000 annually.

Main ideas

  • All salaries increased
  • Big differences between 1970 and 2000 for all sports
  • Basketball was biggest in 2000, followed by baseball
  • In 1970, basketball was the lowest, baseball was the highest
  • There was a sudden rise beginning in 1980
  • There was another sharp rise for all sports in 1990
  • Salaries in football began to level off or even fall from 1995 onwards

 

Source: from The First Measured Century, by PBS.

Next:

  • Graphs: Grouping Information

Try this IELTS essay!

Travel and international understanding Does travel help to promote understanding and communication between countries?
Continue reading --->

Search

.

Tags

agriculture argument essays children co-education colleges communication consumer culture development economy education environment essays family farming flights flying food government health ideas labour language learning leisure migration money news old age parents poverty relationships science society spending sport studying television tourism travel tuition university urban life violence work

Categories

  • Argument
  • Blog
  • Cause and Effect
  • Culture
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Essays
  • Families and Children
  • Grammar
  • Graphs
  • Health
  • Media
  • Politics
  • problem and solution
  • Sample Essays
  • Science and Technology
  • Society
  • Speaking
  • Sports and Leisure
  • Tips
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Work

.

-->
Proudly powered by WordPress
Theme: Flint by Star Verte LLC
Writefix.com