English · Graph & Chart Writing
Graph Writing Vocabulary — Words for Change and Comparison
The verbs, nouns and adverbs that describe rise, fall and comparison, with examples.
Graph description runs on a small vocabulary used precisely: verbs of change (rise, fall, increase, decline, peak, level off), adverbs of degree (sharply, steadily, slightly, dramatically), and comparison words (twice as many, half as much, the highest, second only to). Learning about twenty of these covers almost any chart.
The format
Verbs of change
These describe what a line or a value did. Each has a natural noun form, and alternating between the two is the simplest way to keep a description from repeating itself.
Verbs and their noun forms
| Meaning | Verb | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| went up | rise · increase · climb · grow | a rise · an increase · growth |
| went up fast | surge · soar · rocket · jump | a surge · a jump |
| went down | fall · decline · drop · decrease | a fall · a decline · a drop |
| went down fast | plunge · plummet · slump | a plunge · a slump |
| stopped changing | level off · plateau · stabilise · remain steady | a plateau |
| went up and down | fluctuate · vary · oscillate | a fluctuation |
| reached the top / bottom | peak · bottom out | a peak · a trough |
Adverbs of degree
Pair every verb of change with one of these. A bare rose wastes the chance to say how much, and precision about the size of a change is exactly what the examiner is looking for.
- Large: sharply · dramatically · steeply · considerably · substantially
- Steady: steadily · consistently · gradually · progressively
- Small: slightly · marginally · a little · modestly
- Sudden: suddenly · abruptly
- 🚨 Adjective with a noun, adverb with a verb: a sharp rise but rose sharply.
Comparison and proportion
| Relation | Phrasings |
|---|---|
| much more | far more than · considerably higher than · well above |
| multiples | twice as many as · three times higher than · double |
| a little more | slightly more than · marginally above |
| about equal | roughly the same as · comparable to · on a par with |
| ranking | the highest · second only to · the next largest |
| share of a whole | accounts for · makes up · represents · constitutes |
| fractions | about half · a third · a quarter · two thirds |
Words for introducing and concluding
- Introducing: The chart shows / illustrates / compares / presents…
- Adding: Similarly · Likewise · In addition
- Contrasting: By contrast · On the other hand · However
- Concluding: Overall · Taken together · In general, the chart shows…
- ⚠️ Avoid depicts and portrays, which are commonly used but sound wrong to a native ear in this context.
Model answer
The same fact, six ways
One change, written six different ways
Suppose a line rises quickly from 20 to 60 between 2010 and 2015. Each of the following is correct, and a good description uses two or three different structures rather than repeating one.
Verb forms
The figure rose sharply from 20 to 60 between 2010 and 2015. · It climbed steeply over the five years to 2015. · Numbers tripled between 2010 and 2015.
Noun forms
There was a sharp rise from 20 to 60 between 2010 and 2015. · The period saw a threefold increase. · 2010 to 2015 was a period of steep growth, from 20 to 60.
Why it matters
A description using only increased six times is accurate but scores poorly on language. Rotating through two verb forms and one noun form across a 120-word paragraph is enough to avoid repetition entirely, and it costs no extra thought once the structures are familiar.
What earns and loses marks
- Learn about twenty words total — seven verbs of change, six adverbs of degree, and the comparison phrasings. That covers almost any chart at HSC level.
- 🚨 Match the part of speech: a sharp rise (adjective + noun) but rose sharply (verb + adverb). Mixing them is a frequent error.
- Alternate verb and noun forms deliberately — it is the cheapest way to raise the language mark.
- Use “accounts for” and “makes up” for shares of a whole; they are the natural verbs for pie charts.
- Avoid “depicts” and “portrays”; “shows”, “illustrates” and “compares” are the standard choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
About twenty. Seven verbs of change with their noun forms, six adverbs of degree, and the standard comparison and proportion phrasings will handle almost any chart set at HSC level. Learning them properly is a far better investment than memorising model answers.
Only grammar — they mean the same thing. “Sharp” is an adjective and goes with the noun “rise”; “sharply” is an adverb and goes with the verb “rose”. Mixing them, as in “rose sharp” or “a sharply rise”, is a common error and an easy one to eliminate.
They are right when the change is genuinely large and wrong when it is not. Reserve “dramatically”, “plummeted” and “soared” for changes that are actually steep. Applying a dramatic verb to a modest change is inaccurate, and accuracy is what the item is marked on.
Keep going
Model answers, formats and grammar rules for every SSC and HSC writing question.