When the machine works, add ONE tool per sentence. Simple and correct beats fancy and broken.
| Tool | Plain | Upgraded |
|---|---|---|
| verb + adverb | rose a lot / quickly | rose sharply / rapidly / dramatically |
| adjective + noun | sales rose a little | there was a slight rise in sales |
| which | Iceland had 0.5 million visitors. It rose. | Iceland, which had 0.5 million visitors in 2005, … |
| before / after + -ing | It rose. Then it stayed the same. | It rose to 3 million, before levelling off. |
| -ing at the end | It rose. It was 2.5 million. | It rose dramatically, reaching 2.5 million. |
| multiples | five times more | a fivefold increase · ten times the initial level |
After a verb – an adverb: rose sharply, fell steadily. Before a noun – an adjective: a sharp rise, a steady fall.
Traps: rose sharp · a sharply rise · a rise of tourists → a rise in the number of tourists · two or three tools in one sentence.
What you already know – steps 1–8
- Introduction: The line graph + illustrates / compares + how many… / the proportion of… + where + from … to … (one sentence, your own words).
- WHO: The number of + people / things you can count · The amount of + water, wheat, money · The proportion of + … (%) · This figure.
- DID WHAT: rose · fell · remained stable · peaked at · fluctuated · overtook – Past Simple.
- NUMBERS: from 20 to 45 · to 45 · by 25 (the difference) · at 30 · between 7 and 11 · doubled / halved.
- The sentence machine: WHO + DID WHAT + NUMBERS + WHEN (in 2010 · between 2000 and 2010 · by 2020 · until 2005).
- Overview: four questions – up? down? biggest? overtook? → “Overall, A rose, while B fell. A was the largest throughout.” No numbers.
- Comparing: higher than · while · compared with · twice as many as · overtook · the gap narrowed / widened.
- Grouping: Body 1 – the lines that fell (or the biggest); Body 2 – the lines that rose (or the smallest), starting with By contrast / In contrast / Meanwhile.
The graph below shows the number of foreign tourists who visited Iceland and Finland between 2005 and 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Read the whole report: two small gaps in the text – the number or year is on the graph.
- ✗Write your part first.
- ✗You haven’t changed the plain text yet – rewrite it with two upgrades.
- ✗Add at least two upgrades: rose sharply / a sharp rise in / which / before -ing / reaching / a fivefold increase.
- ✗After a verb – an adverb: rose sharply, fell steadily (not “rose sharp”).
- ✗“a rise / fall IN …”, not “of”.
- ✗Keep all the numbers from the plain text.
- ✓Looks fine.
The graph below shows how many hours a day children aged 8 to 12 in the USA spent watching TV and using phones between 2010 and 2022.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Read the whole report: two small gaps in the text – the number or year is on the graph.
- ✗Write your part first.
- ✗You haven’t changed the plain text yet – rewrite it with two upgrades.
- ✗Add at least two upgrades: rose sharply / a sharp rise in / which / before -ing / reaching / a fivefold increase.
- ✗After a verb – an adverb: rose sharply, fell steadily (not “rose sharp”).
- ✗“a rise / fall IN …”, not “of”.
- ✗Keep all the numbers from the plain text.
- ✓Looks fine.
The graph below shows the number of nights that tourists spent in hotels and in holiday flats in Barcelona between 2012 and 2024.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Read the whole report: two small gaps in the text – the number or year is on the graph.
- ✗Write your part first.
- ✗You haven’t changed the plain text yet – rewrite it with two upgrades.
- ✗Add at least two upgrades: rose sharply / a sharp rise in / which / before -ing / reaching / a fivefold increase.
- ✗After a verb – an adverb: rose sharply, fell steadily (not “rose sharp”).
- ✗“a rise / fall IN …”, not “of”.
- ✗Keep all the numbers from the plain text.
- ✓Looks fine.
The graph below shows the percentage of electricity produced from solar power in Spain and Germany between 2008 and 2024.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Read the whole report: two small gaps in the text – the number or year is on the graph.
- ✗Write your part first.
- ✗You haven’t changed the plain text yet – rewrite it with two upgrades.
- ✗Add at least two upgrades: rose sharply / a sharp rise in / which / before -ing / reaching / a fivefold increase.
- ✗After a verb – an adverb: rose sharply, fell steadily (not “rose sharp”).
- ✗“a rise / fall IN …”, not “of”.
- ✗Keep all the numbers from the plain text.
- ✓Looks fine.
Send your reports to your teacher – she will check what the quick check can’t. Then wait for the live lesson before Step 10: the move goes into long-term memory when you use it out loud.