The Basics of Writing Specific Details

In this video I’ll take you through different practice questions to show you how to write the specific

details for trend graphs.

So let’s begin.

So here’s our first example.

You’ve seen this practice question before when we wrote the introduction and the overview.

So if you need to read this question prompt again then you can post a video now and read it in your

own time.

So first we’re going to be writing paragraph number three.

So let’s go ahead and write the specific details now.

So the first thing that you need to do when you’re writing the specific details is you need to split

this graph into two halves.

So the simplest way to split this graph is to split it vertically like this so when you do this you

can describe the first half of the graph in paragraph three and you can describe the second half in

paragraph four so let’s go ahead and start with paragraph three.

So this is how we’re going to split our graph in paragraph three.

We’re going to discuss the years from 1980 to 2008 so let’s go ahead and take a look at the first sentence

of our paragraph three.

So here’s our first sentence over a 28 year period starting at 1980 patrol and oil rose and consumption

from 35 quadrillion units to about 40 quadrillion units so in the first sentence we’re describing that

over this 28 year period patrol and oil rose from thirty five quadrillion units up to 40 quadrillion

units.

Note that in this first sentence we’re only discussing patrol and oil also in paragraphs 3 and 4.

You have to discuss the key numeric details.

This means that you have to mention numbers such as thirty five quadrillion units or 40 quadrillion

units and so on.

Now let’s take a look at the second sentence in the second sentence we’re talking about coal and natural

gas so the second sentence reads coal and natural gas performed similarly as both increased from around

17 quadrillion units and 20 quadrillion units respectively to about twenty three quadrillion units so

here we’re saying that the performance of coal and natural gas was similar between the years of 1980

to 2008.

Now I want you to notice here that in this case when we’re describing the starting point for coal we

don’t really know what exactly the starting number is.

All we can do is we can estimate this number.

So when we estimate this number it looks like it’s around 17 quadrillion units.

OK.

So notice that you have to use words such as around or about to maintain accuracy so you cannot say

that coal increased from 17 quadrillion units because that’s inaccurate if you want to be accurate.

You have to say that it increased from about 17 quadrillion units or around 17 quadrillion units because

you have to show to the reader that you are estimating this number.

The same thing is true when we’re estimating this data point here.

We have to say about 23 quadrillion units however when we’re describing this data point we don’t really

have to use the word around or about because we can see that the data point falls exactly at 20 quadrillion

units so keep that in mind if you want to maintain accuracy you have to use words such as around about

or nearly whenever you are estimating what the data points are.

Now let’s take a look at the final sentence in our paragraph number three this time we’re going to be

talking about these energy sources down here.

So here’s our sentence during the same period nuclear energy gradually climbed from nearly three quadrillion

units to seven quadrillion units while solar wind and hydropower fuels remained static at approximately

3 quadrillion units so we’re saying that during the same 28 year period nuclear energy gradually climbed

meaning it slowly climbed whereas wind solar and hydropower fuels remained static at approximately 3

quadrillion units.

So again noticed that when we estimate the numbers we’re using the word approximately to maintain accuracy

so that’s all you have to do for paragraph number 3.

You simply have to take your info graphic and split it in half.

Then once you’ve split it in half you have to talk about the first half in paragraph 3.

Now I want you to note that you’re completely free to describe this information in any way that you

want.

In my example I chose to describe it in this manner I described patrol and oil in the first sentence.

Then I described coal and natural gas in the second sentence and then I described these remaining energy

sources in the final sentence however if you want to change the arrangement of the information in your

paragraphs you’re completely free to do so.

The important thing here is that you describe the first half of the info graphic in an accurate way.

Also when you’re describing this first half of the info graphic you don’t have to talk about every single

data point.

I want you to note that in my paragraph here I’ve only described the starting data points and the ending

data points.

I’m not really spending any time to describe these data points here because these data points are not

very important.

Also I only have five minutes to write this entire paragraph so make sure that you’re only writing about

the most important data points.

Usually these data points are the beginning and the ending data points.

So this is what we’ve done for not just petrol and oil but also for all the other energy sources we

have only described the beginning and the ending.

Data points so now are paragraph number three is complete.

Now it’s time to write paragraph number four.

So for paragraph number four we’re going to look at the second half of our info graphic which is this

part here.

So in paragraph number four we’re going to be describing data points starting at 2008 and ending in

the year 2030.

So let’s take a look at the first sentence of our paragraph for over the duration of the forecast ranging

from 2008 to 2030 patrol and oil consumption are expected to elevate up to nearly 48 quadrillion units

so in this sentence we’re first talking about the performance of patrol and oil.

We’re saying that patrol and oil increased from this data point.

This is the data point which we’ve already discussed in paragraph 3 We’re saying that it has increased

from this data point up to nearly 48 quadrillion units.

Again we are estimating here about 48 quadrillion units.

Now let’s take a look at the second sentence.

This time we’re going to be describing coal and natural gas.

So here’s our sentence.

Coal and natural gas are estimated to increase up to about 32 quadrillion units and twenty five quadrillion

units respectively.

So here we’re saying that coal is expected to increase to about 32 quadrillion units.

And natural gas is expected to increase to about 25 quadrillion units.

Let’s take a look at our final sentence here.

We’re going to be talking about these remaining energy sources.

So here’s our sentence.

Finally nuclear solar wind and hydropower energy will stay nearly constant throughout the projected

period so we’re saying that these energy sources are not going to experience a lot of change.

They’re going to stay pretty much constant notice that here we have not described any data points.

You don’t have to describe every single data point here we’ve simply said that these energy sources

are going to remain pretty much constant.

So now that we’ve described the second half of our info graphic or paragraph number four is now complete.

In fact our entire essay is now complete so far for this task one question we’ve written the introduction

in a previous video.

We’ve also written the overview in a previous video and we’ve written the third and the fourth paragraphs

in this video.

So our entire task one essay is now complete.

Now let’s take a look at our next example.

Here we have our bar graph again.

You’ve seen this question before when we wrote our introduction and the overview.

So this time we’re going to be writing the specific details.

So let’s get to it so the first thing we do is we’re going to split this graph into two halves.

So let’s go ahead and do that.

Here’s the first half And first we’re going to be writing the third paragraph.

So here’s our first sentence.

It reads specifically from 1995 to 1998 local fixed lines national and international fixed lines and

mobiles all increased in use so we’re saying that between this period of 1995 to 1998 all of these different

call types experienced growth.

So here we can see that the local fixed line calls have increased.

Here we see that the national and international fixed lines have also increased.

And finally here the mobile calls have also increased.

So we’ve seen growth across all the different call types let us look at our second sentence in the second

sentence we’re starting to describe the key numeric details.

So let’s read it local fixed line calls steadily rose from around seventy two billion minutes to approximately

90 billion minutes whereas national and international fixed lines climbed from about 38 billion minutes

to nearly 48 billion minutes So here we’re simply describing the starting and the ending data points

for each of these different call types for example we’re saying that local fixed line calls increased

from about 70 to billion minutes to about 90 billion minutes whereas national and international fixed

lines climbed from about 38 billion minutes to nearly 48 billion minutes.

Now we’re going to be describing the numeric details for mobile calls.

So here it is mobile calls experienced the fastest growth nearly tripling from a mere three billion

minutes to approximately 9 billion minutes.

So now that we’ve described all the key numeric details of the first half of our bar graph are paragraph

three is now complete.

I want you to note again that are completely free to describe this information in any way that you want

in my example.

I first given some very basic information about the performance of all the different call types and

then in the second sentence I described the key numeric details for local fixed line calls and national

and international fixed line calls.

And then in the final sentence I described the numeric details for mobile calls.

However if you want to change the order in which you present this information then you’re completely

free to do so.

Now let’s move on to paragraph 4.

Now we’re going to look at the second half of the bar graph.

So here it is.

We’re going to be looking at the year 1999 to 2002 so let’s read the first sentence to our fourth paragraph

from 1999 to 2002 local fixed lines experienced a reversal and substantially decline back down to about

72 billion minutes.

So here we’re saying that during this period the local fixed line calls started going back down.

Also we’re giving the key numeric detail.

We’re saying that it went back down to about 72 billion minutes let’s move on to our second sentence.

In contrast national and international fixed line calls continue to steadily rise to nearly 60 billion

minutes during the same period while mobile calls remarkably surged to about 45 billion minutes so in

the second sentence we’re describing the information from both these call types we’re talking about

the national and international fixed line calls and we’re also talking about the mobile calls.

So we’re saying that national and international fixed line calls continue to steadily rise whereas the

mobile calls remarkably surged to about 45 billion minutes so notice here that when we’re describing

our data point we’re not talking about every single data point here.

We’re only talking about the most important data point.

Usually these most important data points are the beginning and the ending data points.

So now or paragraph four is complete.

And with that our entire task one essay is now complete for this bar graph question.

So we’ve already written the introduction and the overview in previous videos.

And in this video we finished paragraph number three on 4.

So our essay is now complete and that’s all you have to write let’s move on to our next example.

Here we have a table question similar to the other examples you’ve seen this question before.

So let’s move on to the specific details So first what do we do.

Do you remember we split it into two halves.

Now the easiest way to split this info graphic is to simply talk about the first table in paragraph

three and talk about the second table in paragraph four.

So in paragraph 3 we’re going to be talking about coffee so let’s take a look at the first sentence

of Paragraph 3

regarding coffee.

Switzerland was the most profitable in 1999 yielding three million euros so in the first sentence we’re

talking about Switzerland.

The reason we’re talking about Switzerland is because Switzerland is the highest data point for the

year 1999.

So we have to discuss this data point because this is key numeric information let us look at our next

sentence however in 2004 although it had doubled its sales it was far outranked by the UK which soared

from just one point five million euros in 1999 to a whopping 20 million euros in 2004 so here we’re

saying that although Switzerland had doubled its sales so noticed that we have not said that Switzerland

reached 6 million euros in sales.

Instead we just said that it doubled in sales.

That’s fine.

You don’t have to mentioned the numbers every time.

You can also simply say that it doubled in sales so we’re saying that Switzerland doubled in sales.

However it was still outranked by the UK which soared from just one point five million euros to a whopping

20 million euros now in our final sentence.

We’re talking about Denmark Belgium on Sweden so we’ve already talked about the U.K.

and Switzerland

in the previous sentences.

So these are the only countries that are now remaining so let’s go ahead and talk about them conversely

Denmark and Sweden experienced minimal growth and Belgium experienced a modest increase from a million

euros in 1999 to one point seven million euros in 2004 so here we’re not really describing the exact

data points for Denmark and Sweden.

We’re simply generalizing this information by saying that Denmark and Sweden experienced minimal growth.

So again you don’t have to talk about every single data point you only have to talk about the most important

data points so in this case we’ve decided to talk about the UK because it experienced a significant

growth.

We’ve also decided to talk about Switzerland since it is the highest data point for 1999 and we’ve decided

to talk about Belgium because it did experience some modest growth from a million euros to one point

seven million euros.

Now again you’re completely free to arrange this information in any way that you want.

I’ve decided to talk about these data points.

However if you decided to arrange this information differently or mentioned the data points for Denmark

and Sweden there would also be fine.

The important thing is that you discuss all the important numeric details in the first half of the info

graphic.

So since we’ve done all of that our paragraph 3 is now complete.

Now let’s move on to paragraph 4 this time we’re looking at the second table.

Here is the first sentence considering bananas.

Switzerland not only earns the highest revenue in 1999 15 million euros but it also more than tripled

its sales in 2004 so here we are again starting with Switzerland.

Why.

Because it’s the highest data point for 1999 and we’re saying that it increased its revenue from 15

million euros to more than triple that number let us look at our next sentence the U.K.

and Belgium

made modest growth from an average of zero point eight million euros in 1999 to around four point three

million euros in 2004 while Sweden and Denmark both declined by a factor of about a million euros so

we’re saying that U.K.

and Belgium both made some modest growth from an average of zero point eight

million euros in 1999 to four point three million euros in 2004.

Notice that here what we’ve done is we’ve simply taken the average of these two numbers and we’ve taken

the average of these two numbers.

So instead of describing these two countries as separate data points we’ve combined them together and

simply described their averages this way we can save our time and we don’t have to describe too many

data points.

It’s okay to talk about UK and Belgium as averages here because there is not a very big difference between

them.

You can see that they only undergo a very modest growth so it’s okay to talk about them in terms of

averages.

However you cannot do this with the highest and the lowest data points.

Notice that with Sweden and Denmark we’ve done a similar thing.

We’re saying that Sweden and Denmark both declined by a factor of about a million euros so instead of

describing these data points individually we’ve simply combined these data points together and made

a general statement that they both declined by a factor of about a million euros.

So now that we’ve described all the key numeric details in the second half of the info graphic or paragraph

four is now complete.

And with that our task one essay for the table question is also complete.

Now let’s move on to our next example here we have a pie chart question.

You’ve seen this question before as well.

So let’s move on to writing the specific details.

Now you have a choice here if you want you can split this info graphic horizontally or if you want you

can split this info graphic vertically for my example I’m going to split this info graphic horizontally

so in paragraph number three I’m going to talk about Yemen and in paragraph four I’ll talk about Italy

so let’s take a look.

Our first Sutton’s considering Yemen the most notable age group in 2000 were 0 to 14 year olds who formed

the majority at fifty point one percent so here were first describing the highest data point for the

year 2000.

And we’re saying that zero to 14 year olds form the majority at fifty point one percent let us look

at our next sentence ages 15 to fifty nine year olds also comprised a significant portion of Yemen’s

population in 2000 at forty six point three percent and are projected to constitute the majority at

fifty seven point three percent by 2050.

So now we’re talking about 15 to 59 year olds and we’re saying that they also comprised a significant

portion of Yemen’s population at forty six point three percent and that they’re expected to constitute

the majority by 2050 at fifty seven point three percent let’s look at our final sentence members over

60 years of age formed the smallest group at only three point six percent in 2000 and are estimated

to slightly rise to five point seven percent in 2050 so here in our final sentence we’re talking about

members over 60 years of age and we’re saying that in the year 2000 they formed the smallest group at

three point six percent and that by 2050 they were expected to only slightly rise up to five point seven

percent so notice that in our paragraph number three the way that we have arranged our information is

that in the first sentence we talked about the 0 2 14 year olds in the second sentence we talked about

15 to 59 year olds.

And finally in the last sentence we talked about senior citizens over 60 years of age.

So this is how I have decided to arrange this information.

However if you want to arrange it in some other way then you’re completely free to do so now that we

are finished with paragraph 3 it’s time to move on to paragraph 4 so in paragraph 4 we’re going to look

at the data set from Italy.

So let’s take a look at our first sentence regarding Italy in 2000 fifteen to fifty nine year olds constituted

the majority at sixty one point six percent whereas 0 to 14 year olds formed the minority at fourteen

point three percent so here we’re saying that in the year 2000 fifteen to fifty nine year olds constituted

the majority at sixty one point six percent whereas these 0 to 14 year olds form the minority at fourteen

point three percent.

Now let’s take a look at our final sentence

it is forecasted that by 2050 15 to fifty nine year olds will still comprise the majority though they

will decline in size to forty six point two percent while 0 to 14 year olds will shrink to eleven point

five percent so here we are saying that according to the forecast by the year 2050 the 15 to fifty nine

year olds will still comprise the vast majority at forty six point two percent.

However they will have declined in size in comparison to the year 2000 were also saying that the 0 2

14 year olds are also going to shrink to eleven point five percent.

Now I want to remind you that not every single metric needs to be mentioned.

Remember we only have to talk about the most important data points.

However if you do have extra time then go ahead and discuss the other data points as well.

However if you don’t have time then you have to prioritize which data points are the most important

the general rule that you need to remember is that the highest and the lowest data point at the start

of the graph and the highest and the lowest data points at the end of the graph are the most important

data points so as long as you discuss those data points you don’t really have to discuss other data

points.

However if you do have the time then you should go ahead and discuss them.

However if you don’t have the time then don’t waste your time describing data points which are not that

important.

For example in our graph over here we did not mention this data point.

The reason for this is that this is not the highest or the lowest data point and we wanted to stay within

the time limit.

So we decided to not included.

So now that we’ve described all the key numeric details in the second half of the infographics or paragraph

four is now complete.

And with that our task one essay for the pie charts question is also complete so I hope that all of

this is clear to you and that you now know how to write the specific details for trend graphs in the

next video.

I’m going to take you through different practice questions to show you how to write the specific details

for comparative graphs.

So I’ll see you there.