Fast Food Consumption in the UK

Click here to see a sample text for Graph 1 Consumption of Fast Food in the UK in Grams per Week, 1970 to 1990

Click here for a sample text for Graph 2 Right-click here to download the two graphs in Excel Can you write about these two graphs together? Origin of these two graphs unknown - I cannot vouch for their accuracy! Back to Graphs

Fast Food UK; Spending

The graph shows weekly expenditure on fast food in Britain by food and income group. There are two main trends. First, the expenditure is directly related to income. Secondly, there are differences in the types of fast food eaten by each group. The amount of money spent on fast food is related to income. People in the high-income group spent the most - over 85 pence per person per week. People in the low-income group spent the least - less than half of what the high-income earners spent. The type of fast food eaten also depends on the group. High-income earners spent 3 times more on hamburgers than people in the low-income group. Pizza was generally the least favorite food. Fish and chips was the most popular food with the low-income group but consumption was fairly similar among all groups.

138 words

Fast Food UK; Quantity

The graph shows changes in the amount of fast food consumed in the UK between 1970 and 1990. Several trends are apparent. First, Britons are eating more and more fast food. Secondly, the type of fast food has changed. In 1970, the most popular fast food was fish and chips. Over 300g were consumed each week. By 1990, however, this had fallen to just over 200g - a 50% drop. Consumption of other fast foods such as pizza and hamburgers increased, however. The amount of pizza eaten shot up from about 20g a week to more than 270g, overtaking fish and chips in the late 1980s. Hamburger consumption also increased, rising from about 80g in 1970 to almost 300g in 1990. Accompanying this change in the choice of foods was an increase in the amount of fast food consumed. In 1970, British consumers ate about 450g a week of fast food. In 1990, on the other hand, this had more than doubled, to 1000g.

163 words
Alternative Answer The graph shows the amount of fast food eaten between 1970 and 1990 in grams per person per week.

Overall, the amount of fast food eaten more than doubled. The amount of fish and chips eaten declined slightly. In 1970, the consumption was about 300g/week. This fell to 220g/week in 1990. In contrast, sales of hamburger and pizza rocketed. In 1970, very little pizza was eaten - less than 50g/week. This rose to 280g/week by 1990. In the same period, hamburger sales shot up by more than 500%, from 100g/week in 1970 to 500 grams in 1990. In conclusion, although there was a big increase in the consumption of pizza and hamburger, sales of fish and chips decreased.

Question 1
The line graph below shows the percentage of unemployed U.S 'white collar' (i.e office or professional ) workers 1983-2003, expressed as a percentage the total U.S unemployment figures. The bar graph shows the number of U.S service industry jobs that are expected to 'disappear' abroad to other countries from 2000 to 2015. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Possible answer for practice question 1

The line graph shows the percentage of unemployed U.S 'white collar' (office or professional ) workers 1983-2003, expressed as a percentage of the total U.S unemployment figures. The bar graph shows the number of U.S service industry jobs that are expected to 'disappear' abroad to other countries from 2000 to 2015. Write a short report describing this information for a university lecturer. From the line graph, it can be seen that the percentage of unemployed U.S white collar workers has risen steadily over the last 20 years, with a few decreases that proved to be temporary. In fact, white collar unemployment has more than doubled, from just under 8% in 1983 to over 16% in 2003. The bar chart predicts that this trend is likely to continue as work is contracted 'offshore'. It shows numbers of jobs expected to be contracted outside of the U.S between 2000 and 2015. Figures are projected to increase sharply over time; 0.1 million, or 100,000, in 2000 rising to 0.6 million/600,000 in 2005. Another million are anticipated to go by 2010 and this 1.6 million total is expected to double to 3.3 million by 2015. Around 50% will probably be office posts, 15% computer and 10% business: the remaining 25% include management, sales, architecture, legal, science and arts posts. 156 words

Comment:
This is a good answer as a connection between the data given in each graph (that the trend will continue)is briefly indicated at the start of paragraph 2, but without subjective speculation. The length is appropriate.

It uses the present perfect tense to talk about the time period up to the present, the present NB: tense to describe the graphs themselves and 'should' to talk about what is expected (but not certain) to happen in the future. NB: It describes the main trend in the line graph ('more than doubled'), and the starting and finishing figures (>8% and <16%) only.

It interprets the breakdown of the 3.3 million professional posts in the bar chart in percentage NB: terms a) to demonstrate an ability to understand and interpret figures without giving a personal viewpoint , & b) because they break down quite neatly.