Describing trends

A trend is the general direction in which something is developing or changing over time. A projection is a prediction of future change. Trends and projections are usually illustrated using line graphs in which the horizontal axis represents time. Some of the language commonly used for writing about trends and projections is given below.

Describing trends
The graph shows that there has been a
Figure 2  reveals that there has been a
slight
steep
sharp
steady
gradual
marked
fall
rise
drop
decline
increase
decrease
in the number of …
Highlighting a trend in a table or chart
What is striking
What stands out
What is interesting
What can be clearly seen
in this table
chart
figure
is the growth of …
is the high rate of …
is the variability of …
is the dominance of …
is the rapid decrease in …
is the steady decline of …
is the general pattern of …
is the dramatic decline in …
is the continual growth of …
is the difference between …
is the phenomenal growth of …
Describing high and low points in figures

Production of X peaked in 1985.
X rose to a high point and peaked in …
The peak age for committing a crime is 18.
The number of Xs reached a peak during …

Production of X reached a low point in 1990.
The rate fell to a low point of $5.00 at the end of the year.

Projecting trends
The rate of X
The amount of X
The number of Xs
is likely to
will probably
is expected to
is projected to

fall
fall
reach …
rise to …
increase
level off
decline by …
drop sharply
remain steady
be as high as …
decline steadily
continue decreasing
grow by more than …

after 2035.