Writing 1

Lead-in

1 Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions. Test training: Understanding statistical data
1 Do you do any outdoor activities? If so, what do 3 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
you like doing? If not, why not?
1 Look at the graph title and labels. What do they
2 What outdoor activities are popular in your
show?
country?
2 What do you think are the key features of this
2 Put these outdoor activities in order of popularity graph?
in your country. Do you think these outdoor
activities have become more or less popular in Percentage of Australians participating in
recent years? outdoor activities
horse riding 80
picnicking
walking
water activities 60
camping
cycling
Percentage

40

20

0
1997 2001 2007
Picnicking Camping Horse riding
Walking Cycling Water activities

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 Writing 1

4 Are these sentences True (T) or False (F)? Correct
the false sentences.
1 The popularity of cycling decreased slightly
between 1997 and 2007.
2 The popularity of one of the activities remained
stable.
3 For the first few years the popularity of water
activities increased reaching a peak in 2007.
6 Read and answer the question.
The graph shows the percentage of people
participating in outdoor activities in Australia between
1997 and 2007.
Compare the data for camping, cycling and horse
riding, selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.

4 In 1997, the most popular activity was walking. Percentage of Australians participating in
   outdoor activities
5 The popularity of camping fell significantly 80
between 2001 and 2007.
6 Between 1997 and 2001 the popularity of
picnicking increased sharply.
7 Between 1997 and 2007 the popularity of walking 60
decreased significantly.

Percentage
8 The popularity of water activities remained the
same between 2001 and 2007. 40

Test practice: Writing task 1: Describing

facts presented in a graph
20
5 Complete the text with the correct word or
phrase in the box.
can see decreased more sharply dropped to fall 0
fell in increased increasing then falling 1997 2001 2007
line graph shows significantly slightly Picnicking Camping Horse riding
Walking Cycling Water activities
This 1
the proportion of people in Australia who did six
different outdoor activities over a ten-year period. Follow-up
We 2 from 7 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
the data that five of the six activities
3 popularity 1 Which of the outdoor activities in the graph have
between 2001 and 2007, with only one increasing you tried?
4 . The most 2 Which would you like to try? Why?
significant 5 3 Why do you think some outdoor activities are
was walking. becoming less popular?
In 1997, around sixty percent of people
enjoyed walking as an outdoor activity. This
6 50
percent in 2001 and then 36 percent in 2007.
Picnicking and water activities followed similar
patterns, 7
over the ten-year period.
The percentage of people who enjoyed picnicking
8 slightly
between 1997 and 2001 while the proportion of
those taking part in water activities increased more
9 from just
under 40 percent to over 55 percent. Picnicking then
10 to less
than 60 percent in 2007 whereas water activities fell
by just two or three percent.

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