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Year 10 English — Writing an analytical paragraph

Turn a chart or a table into one paragraph that reports what it shows, without listing every figure on it.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.How should an analytical paragraph on a bar chart begin?

    • a) With your own opinion of the figures
    • b) With a sentence saying what the chart shows
    • c) With a list of every figure on it
    • d) With the highest bar

  2. 2.Match each kind of change to the word that describes it.

    • a large rise
    • a small rise
    • a large fall
    • a small fall
    • no change at all
    • an up-and-down movement
    • edged up
    • fluctuated
    • soared
    • held steady
    • plunged
    • slipped

  3. 3.The chart shows how many readers used the village library each year from 2019 to 2023. Tap the bar for the first year in which the number fell.

    Write the number of the part.

    12345

  4. 4.Sort each sentence by where it belongs in an analytical paragraph.

    Groups: Opening · Body · Close

    • Overall, use of the library grew across the period.
    • After a dip in 2022, they recovered a little in 2023.
    • Numbers rose sharply between 2019 and 2021.
    • The bar chart shows how many readers used the library each year from 2019 to 2023.
    • Taken together, these figures show a library in better health than five years ago.
    • The chart below gives the number of readers over five years.

  5. 5.Which verb form fits the sentence that introduces a chart: "The graph ____ the rainfall over five years"?

    • a) showed
    • b) shows
    • c) has been showing
    • d) will show

  6. 6.Which sentence reports a trend rather than a single figure?

    • a) There were sixty readers in 2022.
    • b) The chart has five bars on it.
    • c) In 2021 the figure was ninety-five.
    • d) The number rose steadily until 2021 and then fell.

  7. 7.Complete with one word: The number of readers reached its ____ in 2021, the highest point anywhere on the chart.

  8. 8.Complete with one word: The number of readers rose ____ 2019 and 2021.

Answer key — Year 10 English — Writing an analytical paragraph

  1. 1. b) With a sentence saying what the chart shows
  2. 2. a large rise → soared; a small rise → edged up; a large fall → plunged; a small fall → slipped; no change at all → held steady; an up-and-down movement → fluctuated
  3. 3. 4 — 2022
  4. 4. The bar chart shows how many readers used the library each year from 2019 to 2023. → Opening; The chart below gives the number of readers over five years. → Opening; Numbers rose sharply between 2019 and 2021. → Body; After a dip in 2022, they recovered a little in 2023. → Body; Overall, use of the library grew across the period. → Close; Taken together, these figures show a library in better health than five years ago. → Close
  5. 5. b) shows
  6. 6. d) The number rose steadily until 2021 and then fell.
  7. 7.
    • peak
    • maximum
    • high
  8. 8. between