Further Practice for Writing 7 Task 1
Question 1
Match the statements a-l with the graphs 1-8 below. Some graphs can be used more than once.
a)Sales rocketed over the period.
b)The purchase of furniture was rather erratic, hitting a peak in the middle of the period.
c)The sale of fish products rose dramatically.
d)There was a slight dip in equipment production.
e)There was a steady increase in the amount of coal used, followed by a period of stability.
f)There were wild fluctuations in sales, but the trend was upward.
g)The number of people attending the weekly lectures plunged.
h)There was rather a dramatic fall in the share price.
i)Share prices plummeted, but then stabilized.
j)After a dramatic fall in the number of people settling in the city, there was a period of stability.
k)The number of houses sold dipped slightly.
l)There was a gradual decline in the number of children visiting the zoo.
Question 2
Look at the graph in Task 1 and read the following sentences, which relate only to the Music Choice site. Try to complete the sentences using the words in the box.
There may be more than one answer and you may use each item more than once.
a)The number of visits to Music Choice to 60,000 on Day 3.
b)Oh the fourth day, the number of visitors to the Music Choice site by 66%, to 20,000.
c)There was in hits to The Music Choice site oh the third day.
d)Oh the fourth day, there was in the number of visitors the site.
e)On Day 13, the number or hits slightly.
f)Oh the second day, the number of hits to 20,000.
g)The number of hits within a narrow margin from Day 4 to Day 11.
h)Oh Day 13, the number of site visitors slightly, before hitting a new peak of just over 120,000 on Day 14.
i)The number of hits significantly oh Day 15.
j)The number of visitors to the Music Choice site reached of just over 120,000 oh Day 14.
Model answer
The graph shows the number of hits to two new music sites on the web, measured in thousands over a period of fifteen days. As far as Music Choice is concerned, the number of visits to the Site fluctuated between 20,000 and 40,000 in the first eleven days, except for Day 3 when they reached 60,000. By contrast, visits to the Pop Parade Site fell erratically from approximately 120,000 hits on Day 1 to around 40,000 on Day 7.
Between days 11 and 15 visits to Music Choice fluctuated dramatically, hitting a peak of over 120,000 on Day 14. Despite a drop to less than 40,000 hits, Pop Parade Saw a huge increase in the number of hits between Days 9 and 11, reaching a total of over 150,000 hits on Day 11. At the end of the fifteen-day period the number of hits to Pop Parade peaked at around 170,00, whereas those for Music Choice Showed a marked decline to around 70,000.
(164 words)
Now look at the above model answer to Task 1 and answer questions a-g.
a)Is the length of the text appropriate?
b)Does the text answer the question?
c)Are there any common mistakes in the text? If so, what are they?
d)Is there any repetition of words or phrases?
e)Is anything missing?
f)Are the paragraphs well linked together? If so, in what way?
g)Does the report contain a wide range of vocabulary and structures?