Describing Trends, Graphs, And Changes

Describing changes and trends generally consists of three parts:

Use a verb (or an adjective and a noun) to describe movement
Describe the speed or size of the movement
Explain the reason or consequence of the change
You can also view it this way:
Verb + Speed or Size + Result/Reason/Consequence
Example
In 2011, Samsung's profitsincreased considerably thanks toits
successful Galaxy S series.

Here are some verbs you can use to describe change and movement.
Upward Movement
To rocket
To climb
To rise
To go up
To improve
To pick up
To recover
To increase
To reach a peak
To soar
To leap
To surge

Downward Movement

To fall
To decline
To bottom out
(Todescendtothelowestpointpossible,afterwhichonlyarisemayoccu
r)
To decrease
To drop
To plummet
To deteriorate
To hit a low
To slip back (a fall after a rise)
To do down
To sink

Horizontal Movement

To even out
To remain stable
To stabilize

Here are some adjectives and adverbs you can use to describe the speed
and size of change.
Speed of Change

Rapid - Rapidly
Slow - Slowly
Sudden - Suddenly
Sharp - Sharply
Steady Steadily
Consistent - Consistently
Gradual - Gradually
Fast - Quickly

Size of Change

Noticeable - Noticeably
Substantial - Substantially
Considerable - Considerably
Slight Slightly
Modest Modestly
Marginal Marginally
Significant - Significantly
Dramatic - Dramatically
Spectacular-Spectacularly

Here are some expressions you can use to express reason, consequence,
and result:

As a result of
Due to
Because of
Was the reason for
Caused
Resulted in
Explains
Accounts for
That is why
Consequently
So
Thanks to

Other useful adjectives

These adjectives can be used to describes more general trends
overall can be used to describe changes in trend over the whole
period: very useful in introductions and conclusions
upward and downward are adjectives: the adverbs are upwards
and downwards

Examples

Apple's salesincreased significantly due tothe launch of the iPhone 4.

[verb + adverb construction]
There wasa significant increase inApple's salesdue tothe launch of
the iPhone 4.
[adjective + noun (word) construction]
Our turnoverremained stablein January and February. However, in March
and April, itdropped suddenly as a result ofthe financial crisis.
[verb + adverb construction]
In March and April, there wasa sudden drop inour turnoveras a result
ofthe financial crisis.

The following video shows how to describe trends in a meeting and

presentation context. Listen to the language and vocabulary the people
use in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Mr-O9AGmw

Test yourself
http://www.dcielts.com/task-1-2/trend-vocabulary-ielts/

The graph below shows daily temperatures for New York City, recorded
for 6 days, in degrees Fahrenheit

The line graph below shows people in a store at various times of the day.

Opioidsare medications that relieve pain. They reduce the intensity of

pain signals reaching the brain and affect those brain areas controlling
emotion, which diminishes the effects of a painful stimulus.