How? How much?

by X% (by X per
dramatically, significantly, considerably, rapidly,
cent), by X (units),
increased substantially, steadily, sharply, markedly, greatly,
from X to Y, tenfold,
slightly, exponentially, proportionally, strongly
fourfold ...

by X% (by X per
rapidly, steadily, slowly, gradually, dramatically,
grew cent), by X (units),
substantially, enormously, quickly
from X to Y
sharply, slowly, steadily, slightly, rapidly, quickly, by X% (by X per
rose dramatically, significantly, substantially, gently, cent), by X (units),
fractionally, considerably, gradually from X to Y
by X% (by X per
went up The above adverbs are not usually used with "went up". cent), by X (units),
from X to Y

How much?
How?
sharply, heavily, slightly, steadily, dramatically,
significantly, considerably, quickly, rapidly, steeply, by X% (by X per cent),
fell gradually, gently, substantially, precipitately, by X (units), from X to
fractionally, drastically, marginally, markedly, Y, tenfold, fourfold ...
progressively, continuously
by X% (by X per cent),
significantly, markedly, slightly, steadily, rapidly,
decreased by X (units), from X to
considerably, continuously, dramatically,
Y, tenfold, fourfold ...
sharply, rapidly, dramatically, steadily, slightly, by X% (by X per cent),
declined markedly, significantly, considerably, steeply, by X (units), from X to
drastically, continuously, substantially, quickly Y
dramatically, sharply, slightly, considerably, steadily,
by X% (by X per cent),
significantly, rapidly, drastically, alarmingly, noticeably,
dropped by X (units), from X to
markedly, radically, abruptly, substantially, gradually,
Y
gently, slowly
by X% (by X per cent),
went The above adverbs are not usually used with "went
by X (units), from X to
down down ".
Y

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Describing Line Graphs (3) - Using Adverbs
The following graphs illustrate the use of some adverbs:

The population rose slowly. (small increase in the population over the period)
The population rose steadily. (little or no variation in the rate of growth)
The population rose slightly. (small increase in the population over the period)
The population rose gently. (small increase in the population over the period)
The population rose gradually. (small increase in the population over the period)

From 1996 to 1998, the population increased dramatically.

From 1996 to 1998, the population increased significantly.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased considerably.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased rapidly.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased substantially.
2
 From 1996 to 1998, the population increased markedly.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased greatly.
After 1998, the population grew more slowly.

From 1996 to 1998, the population grew from 9.9 million to 10.25 million.
From 1996 to 1998, the population grew by 0.35 million.
From 1996 to 1998, the population grew by 350,000.
From 1996 to 1998, the population grew by 3.535%.

From 1998 to 2007, the population grew from 10.25 million to 10.30 million.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 0.05 million.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 50,000.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 0.488%

Overall, the population went up from 9.9 million to 10.3 million.

Overall, the population went up by 0.4 million.
Overall, the population went up by 400,000.
Overall, the population went up by 4.04%

3
Describing Line Graphs (4) - Using Verbs and
Nouns
So far, we have only used verbs to describe these line graphs but we
can also use nouns. We change the adverbs into adjectives.

The population rose slowly. There was a slow rise in the population.
The population rose steadily. There was a steady rise in the population.
The population rose slightly. There was a slight rise in the population.
The population rose gently. There was a gentle rise in the population.
The population rose gradually. There was a gradual rise in the population.

4
 From 1996 to 1998, the population increased dramatically. From 1996 to 1998
there was a dramatic increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased significantly. From 1996 to 1998
there was a significant increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased considerably. From 1996 to 1998
there was a considerable increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased rapidly. From 1996 to 1998 there was
a rapid increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased substantially. From 1996 to 1998
there was a substantial increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased markedly. From 1996 to 1998 there
was a dramatic increase in the population.
From 1996 to 1998, the population increased greatly. From 1996 to 1998 there was
a great increase in the population.
After 1998, the population grew more slowly. After 1998, the
population growth was slower.

From 1996 to 1998, the population rose from 9.9 million to 10.25 million. From
1996 to 1998, there was a rise in population from 9.9 million to 10.25 million.
From 1996 to 1998, the population rose by 0.35 million. From 1996 to 1998, there
was a rise in population of 0.35 million.
From 1996 to 1998, the population rose by 350,000. From 1996 to 1998, there
was a rise in population of 350,000.
From 1996 to 1998, the population rose by 3.535%. From 1996 to 1998, there was
a rise in population of 3.535 per cent.

From 1998 to 2007, the population grew from 10.25 million to 10.30 million. From
1998 to 2007, there was a growth in population from 10.25 million to 10.30 million.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 0.05 million. From 1998 to 2007, there
was a growth in population of 0.05 million.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 50,000. From 1998 to 2007, there was
a growth in population of 50,000.
From 1998 to 2007, the population grew by 0.488%. From 1998 to 2007, there
was a growth in population of 0.488 per cent.

Overall, the population went up from 9.9 million to 10.3 million. Overall, there was
a growth in population from 9.9 million to 10.3 million.
Overall, the population went up by 0.4 million. Overall, there was an increase in
population of 0.4 million.
Overall, the population went up by 400,000. Overall, there was a rise in
population of 400,000.

5
 Overall, the population went up by 4.04%. Overall, there was a growth in
population of 4.04 per cent .

Instead of "growth in population" you can also say "population growth".

Describing Line Graphs (5) - Making

Comparisons

This graph shows the change in population in two countries from 1996 to 2007. In
describing this graph it is important to describe change as in any other graph, but it is also
necessary to make comparisons between the two countries.

What changes are shown by this graph? In this case we can see that the population of
Austria increased from 1996 to 2007.

Also in this graph the Austrian line is fairly smooth, so we can say that the population
increased steadily.

How big was the change in Austria's population? The population in 1996 was 7.95 million
and in 2007 it was 8.3 million. So there was an increase of 0.35 million or 350,000 people.

By contrast, the population of Bulgaria decreased from 1996 to 2007.

This change did not happen at the same rate. The population declined steadily from 1996 to
2001, but from 2001 to 2002 the rate of decline was steeper. From 2002 to 2007 the
population fell at a similar rate to the 1996 - 2001 period.

6
How far did Bulgaria's population fall? The population in 1996 was nearly 8 million and in
2007 it was 7.7 million. So there was an decrease of nearly 0.7 million or 700,000 people.

What similarities or differences are there between the populations of Austria and Bulgaria?

Austria
Austria's population grew from 1996 to
2007.
Austria's population growth was fairly
steady over the 1996 - 2007 period.
Austria's population increased by 350,000.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria's population fell from 1996 to 2007.
The rate of decline in Bulgaria's population
varied over the 1996 - 2007 period.
Bulgaria's population declined by 700,000

Using Approximation
Graphs, charts and tables often give a large number of quite precise
figures (1.54379, 53.25%, 100,001, etc.). You don't always need to give
the same level of precision when you write your description. However, it
is important to indicate that the figures you are giving are not exact. You
can do this by using words such as approximately, about, just over, just
under, etc.

If you want to indicate an approximate figure you can use:

about, roughly, approximately, around

Figure Approximation

100,005 about one hundred thousand

60.04% roughly sixty per cent

7
 40.5C approximately 40 degrees Celsius

502.02 around five hundred pounds

To indicate that a figure is less than your approximation you can use:

under, less than, below, almost

Qualifying
Adverb Figure Approximation
Adverb

just under a hundred thousand

just, a little,
under 99,998
slightly, a little under a hundred thousand

slightly under a hundred thousand

slightly less than a minute

slightly, a little, a little less than a minute

less than 58.4 seconds
just, a bit,
just less than a minute

a bit less than a minute

just below ten per cent
just, slightly,
below 9.7%
marginally slightly below ten per cent

marginally below ten per cent

almost 14.9bn almost 15 billion Euros

To indicate that a figure is more than your approximation you can

use:

8
 over, more than, above

Qualifying
Adverb Figure Approximation
Adverb

just over one hundred thousand

a little over one hundred thousand

just, a little,
over 100,008
slightly, not much, slightly over on hundred thousand

not much over one hundred

thousand
a little more than twenty-four hours

a bit more than twenty-four hours

a little, a bit, 24 hours 6
more than
slightly, barely minutes slightly more than twenty-four
hours

barely more than twenty-four hours

just above thirty-two degrees
Fahrenheit

a little over thirty-two degrees

just, a little, Fahrenheit
above 32.1F
barely, marginally
barely thirty-two degrees
Fahrenheit

marginally above thirty-two

degrees Fahrenheit

Other words your can use to indicate approximation are:

nearly, close to, approaching

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 Adverb Figure Approximation

nearly 99,998
nearly one hundred thousand

close to 9.8%
close to ten per cent

approaching 14.7bn
approaching fifteen billion Euros

sssss
To indicate precision you can use:

precisely, exactly

Adverb Figure Approximation

precisely thirty-two point one

precisely 32.1F
degrees Fahrenheit

exactly two point five

exactly 2.5 cm
centimetres

10