Level 3 Writing
Information Transfer 2
Pie Chart Handout
Your final information transfer class test is in Week 8. Get ready!
For the class test, you will have to write a report of at least 100 words about a
pie chart. You will have 20 minutes to write the report.
Schedule - Please do pp. 8 & 9 of handout before class begins in Week 7.
Week 7 –




Sunday - Overview of Pie Charts, Vocab, and Examples.
Monday – Practice / Project
Tuesday – Error Correction
Wednesday – Timed Writing exam -20 minutes
Week 8
 Sunday – LAST DAY OF CLASS/LAST DAY FOR PORTFOLIO
ASSIGNMENTS (FOR PIE CHART)
Name: ______________________________
Section: ________________
ID: __________________
Teacher: ___________________________
1
FA 14-15 Q2 Timed Writing Exam – Pie Chart Checklist/Summary
The Pie Chart has just TWO Paragraphs: 1)
INTRO + 2) BODY
Introduction
Intro sentence #1
o
o
o
o
o
what the table/chart shows
unit of measurement (percentage, etc.)
what the data includes (“which were”… + names of pieces)
when
clear and complete language (voc + gram)
Example of Intro sentence #1:
The pie graph shows the percentages of
oil exports for 5 Arabian Gulf countries,
which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran,
Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010.
Now you try (Home Cities):
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Intro sentence #2
o overview of highest and lowest
o clear and complete language (Vocab + grammar)
Example of Intro sentence #2:
Overall, the highest percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the lowest
percentage was from Qatar.
Now you try:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
2
Body Paragraph
Body Sentence #1
o repeat highest/ most common /most popular piece
o + the % number
o clear and complete language (vocab +
grammar)
Example words and styles for Body sentence
#1:
(Looking at the pie chart,) we can see that ….
(style a) … the most common city was AlAin, at 65%.
(style b)..the highest percentage of students, at 65%,
was from Al Ain.
(style c)…Al Ain (students) made up the highest percentage (of students), at 65%
Now you try:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Try another style:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Body Sentence #2
o similar to Sentence #1 but second highest percentage / second most common
(city/export/use, etc) / second most popular
o the % number – try to use a fraction, just under, just over, exactly
o clear and complete language (vocab + grammar)
Examples:
(style a) The second most common city was RAK, at exactly 50%.
(style b) The next highest percentage of students, at exactly 50%, was from Al Ain.
(style c) RAK made up the next highest percentage of students, at exactly 50%.
3
Body Sentence #3 & 4
o Combine the remaining sections (lowest).
o Maybe compare
o Use fractions and vocab (just under, just over)
o clear and complete language (vocab + grammar)
Example:
Together, Fujeirah and Abu Dhabi made up just under one tenth of the
students, at 5% and 3%, respectively.
Together, Iran and Kuwait made up just over a quarter of the exports at 15%
and 12% respectively. This was higher than the percentage from Qatar, which
was the lowest at 5% of the total.
Now you try:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4
WRITING ABOUT PIE CHARTS
Tips for writing about pie charts

Name the largest section first

Compare other sections to the largest section or to each other.

Look for ways to compare the different sections of the chart

Use comparative adjectives (adjective + er)

Use superlative adjectives (adjective + est)

Use “more than” or “less than”
Describing One Part of a Pie Chart
1. Starting with the amount:
The highest
The greatest
percentage of
women
attended university.
The largest
proportion of
books read
were Arabic.
A significant
number of
tourists
came from Russia
percentage
of the total.
The smallest
The lowest
2. Starting with the subject:
largest
Pizza made up the
second largest
smallest
Pizza was the
most
food.
Law was the
second/third most
popular
major.
Fords were the
least
common
cars.
5
Describing Two Parts of a Pie Chart
1. Starting with the amount
As many
Twice as many
Landcruisers
were sold
Three times as many
students
came from Oman
Not as many
shopping malls
were in Dubai
as…
More/ far more
Much/Many more
were sold
A lot/A few more
Landcruisers
came from Oman
Considerably more
students
were in Dubai
Significantly more
shopping malls
than…
Slightly more
Fractionally more
2. Starting with the subject
Drinking coffee was
Nokia phones were
Swiss watches were
as
just as
nearly as
almost as
not as
more
much more
far more
considerably more
slightly more
less
slightly less
fractionally less
far less
as…
common
popular
6
than…
PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS
Revisiting Comparative and Superlative Adjectives





Comparatives are used to show the differences
between two things.
Superlatives are used to show how one thing is
different from two or more things.
For short adjectives, we usually add -er to the word
and use than to compare two things.
If the word ends in y, change y to i and add -er or -est.
For the superlative, add -est. Don’t forget the!
Base
Word
Comparative
Superlative
high
higher
The percentage of tourists for Al Ain
was higher than for Doha.
the highest
Beirut had the highest percentage
of tourists.
low
lower
Level Three classes had a lower
number of students than Level Two
classes.
the lowest
Level One classes had the lowest
number of students.
For longer adjectives, we cannot use –er and –est.
More and less are used to make the comparative and
the most/the least are used for the superlative.
Base Word
Comparative
Superlative
popular
more/less popular than
Pepsi was a more popular drink
than Sprite.
the most/the least popular
The least popular drink was Red
Bull.
common
more/ less common than
Cancer was less common than
heart disease.
the most/ the least common
The most common disease was
diabetes.
7
PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS
Fill in the blanks with the comparative OR the superlative form of the adjective
1. Most students thought a graph report was the _______________ (easy) kind of
writing.
2. Playing computer games was _______________ (popular) than reading books.
3. Chatting online was ________________ (popular) activity amongst teenagers in Al
Ain.
4. The production of oil was ______________ (high) in the UAE than in Kuwait.
5. The USA was the ___________ (high) producer of Carbon Dioxide.
6. Students from Al Ain were _______________ (great) in number than those from
RAK.
7. The ______________ (low) percentage of international students at Cambridge
university came from the Middle East.
8. Mobile phone calls were _______________ (expensive) than landline phones.
Write a sentence to compare the two things given.
Example:
gold/silver Gold was more expensive than silver.
1. people/ working in jobs /studying at university
___________________________________________________________________
2. women/ work part-time/ men
___________________________________________________________________
3. English/ difficult / Arabic
___________________________________________________________________
4. population / Al Ain / Dubai
___________________________________________________________________
5. Burj Khalifa in Dubai / Twin Towers in Malaysia
___________________________________________________________________
8
PIE CHART: STATING NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS
Vocabulary to describe common
fractions
10%
a tenth (1/10)
20%
a fifth
(1/5)
25%
a quarter
(1/4)
33%
a third
(1/3)
50%
a half
(1/2)
66%
two thirds
75%
three quarters (3/4)
(2/3)
In the spaces below, write the percentages as fractions using just under,
exactly or just over.
21% __________________________________________
69% __________________________________________
72% __________________________________________
50% __________________________________________
18% __________________________________________
63% __________________________________________
75% __________________________________________
54% __________________________________________
23% __________________________________________
31% __________________________________________
9
PIE CHART VOCABULARY PRACTICE
Complete the sentences.
Percentages of UAE University Students in 2011
1. The _________________ percentage of _____________________ came
from Al Ain.
2. ________________ was the second most ______________________
home city.
3. RAK made up the second _______________________ percentage of the total.
4. _____________________ times _____ many students came from RAK as
Fujairah.
5. ______________ students came from Abu Dhabi than from other cities.
6. Students from RAK were considerably ____________ common
________________ students from Fujairah.
7. Students from Abu Dhabi were ________________ ____________ common
than students from Fujairah.
8. Students from Al Ain made up just under ______________[use a fraction] of the
total.
9. Students from RAK accounted for exactly __________________[use a fraction]
of the total.
10
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER
Percentages of UAE University Students in 2011
Put the words in the box into the rights gaps in the introduction:
largest
smallest
which
percentages
while
shows
The pie chart 1) ___________ the 2) ________________of UAEU students from five
cities in the United Arab Emirates, 3) __________were Al Ain, RAK, Fujairah Abu Dhabi
and other, in 2011. Overall, the 4) __________ percentage of students by far came from Al
Ain, 5) ___________ the 6) ___________ percentage of students was from Abu Dhabi.
Put the fractions and numbers in the box into the right gaps in the body paragraph:
just under one tenth
5%
exactly one quarter
2%
less than half
nearly two thirds
3%
Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the most common home city of all UAEU
students was Al Ain at 1) ______________________________. The second most common
home city was RAK, at 2) ___________________________ of students. Together, Fujairah
and Abu Dhabi made up 3)___________________________, at 4)_______ and 5)_______
respectively. This was higher than the percentage of students from other cities, which was
the lowest at 6) ________________________ of the total.
11
Percentage of store customers in
2011
H&M
6%
Topshop
8%
Splash
20%
Zara
49%
Mango
17%
Complete the gaps with the information shown in the charts. You should use
fractions where you can.
The pie chart shows the percentages of customers in five stores, which were
______________________________________________, in 2011. Overall, the greatest
percentage of customers was at _____________ , while the smallest percentage was at
___________.
The highest percentage of customers went to Zara, at _______________________.
The second highest percentage of customers ____________________________________
________________________________________. Together, Mango and Topshop had
_________________________________, at 17% and 8% respectively. This was higher
than the percentage of customers at H&M, which was the lowest, at __________________.
12
Percentage of people with health
problems in 2012
Kidney
disease
8%
Diabetes
18%
Lung
disease
32%
Heart
disease
25%
Cancer
17%
Complete the gaps with the information shown in the charts. You should use
fractions where you can.
The pie chart shows ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________ in 2012. Overall, the health
problem with the highest ____________________________________________, while the
__________________________________.
The highest percentage of people had ____________________________________
_____________________________________________. The second highest percentage
of _____________________________________________________________. Together,
diabetes and cancer made up ________________________________________________
_______________________________________. This was higher than the percentage of
people with ______________________________________________________________.
13
PIE CHART: WRITING PRACTICE
Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010
Kuwait
12%
Qatar
5%
Saudi Arabia
52%
Iran
15%
UAE
16%
Writing Practice
Write two paragraphs to describe the above pie chart.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
14
PIE CHART: WRITING PRACTICE
Sugar producing countries 2012
India
28%
Brazil
41%
China
12%
US
8%
Thailand
11%
Writing Practice
Write two paragraphs to describe the above pie chart.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
15
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER
Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010
Kuwait
12%
Qatar
5%
Saudi Arabia
52%
Iran
15%
UAE
16%
Fill in the gaps with the correct word(s)
Cloze answer
The pie graph 1)_____________ oil exports in 2)_____________ for 5 Arabian
Gulf countries, which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010.
Overall, the 3)___________ percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the
4)___________ percentage of oil exports was from Qatar.
Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the highest percentage of oil exports
was from Saudi Arabia, at 5)______________________. The second highest
percentage of oil exports was from the UAE, at 6)______________________.
Together, Iran and Kuwait made up 7)______________________ of the exports at
8)______________________ and 9)______________________ respectively. This
was higher than the percentage of oil exports from Qatar, which was the lowest at
10)______________________ of the total.
16
[Add error correction]
Other Possible intros
#1 The pie graph shows the percentages of oil exports for 5 Arabian Gulf
countries, which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010. Overall,
the highest percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the lowest percentage
was from Qatar.
the percentages of
#2 - The pie graph shows oil exports, in percentages, for 5 Arabian Gulf
countries, which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010. Overall,
the highest percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the lowest percentage
was from Qatar.
#3 - The pie graph shows oil exports, in percentages, for 5 Arabian Gulf countries
in 2010. These were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait. Overall, the
highest percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the lowest percentage was
from Qatar.
Answers
PIE CHART: GRAMMAR FOCUS
Fill in the blanks with the comparative OR the superlative form of the adjective
17
1. Most students thought a graph report was the easiest (easy) kind of writing.
2. Playing computer games was more popular (popular) than reading books.
3. Chatting online was the most popular (popular) activity amongst teenagers in Al Ain.
4. The production of oil was higher (high) in the UAE than in Kuwait.
5. The USA was the highest (high) producer of Carbon Dioxide.
6. Students from Al Ain were greater (great) in number than those from RAK.
7. The lowest (low) percentage of international students at Cambridge university came
from the Middle East.
8. Mobile phone calls were more expensive (expensive) than landline phones.
Write a sentence to compare the two things given.
Example:
gold/silver Gold was more expensive than silver.
1. people/ working in jobs /studying at university
There are more people working in jobs than studying at university.
2. women/ work part-time/ men
More women than men work part-time.
3. English/ difficult / Arabic
English is more difficult than Arabic
4. population / Al Ain / Dubai
The population of Al Ain is smaller than the population of Dubai.
5. Burj Khalifa in Dubai / Twin Towers in Malaysia
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is taller than the Twin Towers in Malaysia.
PIE CHART: STATING NUMBERS AND FRACTIONS
Vocabulary to describe
common fractions
10%
20%
a tenth (1/10)
a fifth
(1/5)
18
25%
a quarter
(1/4)
33%
a third
(1/3)
50%
a half
66%
two thirds
75%
three quarters (3/4)
(1/2)
(2/3)
In the spaces below, write the percentages as fractions using just under,
exactly or just over.
just over a fifth
21% __________________________________________
just over two thirds
69% __________________________________________
just under three quarters
72% __________________________________________
exactly half
50% __________________________________________
just under a fifth
18% __________________________________________
just under two thirds
63% __________________________________________
exactly three quarters
75% __________________________________________
just over half
54% __________________________________________
just under a quarter
23% __________________________________________
just under a third
31% __________________________________________
19
Percentage of store
customers in 2011
H&M
6%
Splash
20%
Zara
49%
Topshop
8%
Mango
17%
Complete the gaps with the information shown in the charts. You must use
fractions.
The pie chart shows the percentages of customers in five stores, which were H&M,
Topshop, Splash, Mango and Zara, in 2011. Overall, the greatest percentage of customers
was at Zara, while the smallest percentage was at H&M.
The highest percentage of customers went to Zara, at just under half. The second
highest percentage of customers went to Splash, at exactly a fifth. Together, Mango and
Topshop had exactly a quarter, at 17% and 8% respectively. This was higher than the
percentage of customers at H&M, which was the lowest, at just 6 percent.
20
Percentage of people with health
problems in 2012
Kidney
disease
8%
Lung
disease
32%
Diabetes
18%
Heart
disease
25%
Cancer
17%
The pie chart shows the percentages of people with five health problems, which were
lung disease, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease, in 2012. Overall, the
health problem with the highest percentage was lung disease, while the smallest
percentage was for kidney disease.
The highest percentage of people had lung disease, at just under a third. The
second highest percentage of people had heart disease, at exactly a quarter. Together,
diabetes and cancer made up just over a third, at 18% and 17% respectively. This was
higher than the percentage of people with kidney disease, which was the lowest, at just
under a tenth.
21
PIE CHART VOCABULARY PRACTICE
Complete the sentences.
The Home Cities of UAE University Students in 2011
1. The highest percentage of students came from Al Ain.
2. RAK was the second most common home city.
3. RAK was the second highest percentage of the total.
4. Five times as many students came from RAK as Fujairah.
5. More students came from Abu Dhabi than from other cities.
6. Students from RAK were considerably more common than students from Fujairah.
7. Students from Abu Dhabi were slightly less common than students from Fujairah.
8. Students from Al Ain made up just under two thirds [use a fraction] of the total.
9. Students from RAK accounted for exactly one quarter [use a fraction] of the total.
22
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER
Home Cities of UAEU Students
Abu Dhabi
3%
Fujairah
5%
RAK
25%
Other
2%
Al Ain
65%
Put the words in the box into the rights gaps in the introduction:
largest
smallest
that
came
while
shows
The pie chart 1) shows the 2) percentages of UAEU students from five cities in the
United Arab Emirates, 3) which were Al Ain, RAK, Fujairah Abu Dhabi and other, in 2011. .
Overall, the 4) largest percentage of students by far came from Al Ain, 5) while the 6)
smallest percentage of students was from Abu Dhabi.
Put the fractions and numbers in the box into the right gaps in the body paragraph:
just under one tenth
5%
exactly one quarter
2%
less than half
nearly two thirds
3%
Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the most common home city of all UAEU
students was Al Ain at 1) nearly two thirds. The second most common home city was RAK,
at 2) exactly one quarter of students. Together, Fujairah and Abu Dhabi made up 3)just
under one tenth, at 4) 5% and 5) 3% respectively. This was higher than the percentage of
students from other cities, which was the lowest at 6) 2% of the total.
23
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER
Arabian Gulf Oil Exports - 2010
Kuwait
12%
Qatar
5%
Saudi Arabia
52%
Iran
15%
UAE
16%
The pie graph 1)shows oil exports in 2)percentages for 5 Arabian Gulf countries,
which were Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2010. Overall, the 3)highest
percentage of exports was from Saudi Arabia, while the 4)lowest percentage of oil exports
was from Qatar.
Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the highest percentage of oil exports was
from Saudi Arabia, at 5)just over half. The second highest percentage of oil exports was from
the UAE, at 6) 16%. Together, Iran and Kuwait made up 7)just over a quarter of the exports
at 8)15% and 9)12% respectively. This was higher than the percentage of oil exports from
Qatar, which was the lowest at 10)5% of the total.
24
PIE CHART: MODEL ANSWER
Sugar producing countries 2012
India
28%
Brazil
41%
China
12%
US
8%
Thailand
11%
The pie graph shows sugar production in percentages in 5 countries, which
were Brazil, Thailand, the US, China and India, in 2012. Overall, the highest percentage
of sugar production was in Brazil, while the lowest percentage of sugar production
was from the US.
Looking at the pie chart, we can see that the highest percentage of sugar
production was in Brazil, at 41%. The second highest percentage of sugar production
was in India, at just over a quarter. Together, China and Thailand made up just under
a quarter of the production of sugar, at 12% and 11% respectively. This was higher
than the percentage of sugar production from the US, which was the lowest at just
under 10% of the total.
25