When we talk about pie charts

We use the percentages that each

section represents

OR

We talk about the size of each
section compared to one or all of
the others.
Using percentages:
Sometimes it is easy to tell by
sight what percentage a section
of the chart represents
A
B
The chart below is split into two
sections.
A full pie chart would be 100% (this is
always true)
So in this chart - each section
represents 50%
A
B
If this was a chart about Market Share,
we could say that the market was divided
50/50 between A and B.
Or we might say:
A has a 50% market share.
OR
B has a market share of 50%.
A
B
Of course, most pie charts worth talking
about arent split evenly in two.
Looking at the new chart we could say:
A has just over 50% of the
market share.
OR
B has just under 50% of
the market share.
Just to clarify, easy percentages to talk
about from sight are:
50% 50%
Just to clarify, easy percentages to talk
about from sight are:
75%
25%
But we can also say
HALF HALF
or:
THREE
QUARTERS
A QUARTER
Of course, we often see pie charts
that are not split into 25%, 50% or
75%. In these instances we can
use descriptive and comparative
words.
1
2
3
Lets pretend that this pie chart represents
turnover by department
We can say the following about the chart
Dept. 2 accounts for more
turnover than Dept. 3
Dept. 2 accounts for less
turnover than Dept. 1
Dept. 3 has the lowest
turnover
Dept. 1 contributes more
than half of the turnover
Dept. 1 accounts for most
of the turnover
1
2
3
Lets pretend that this pie chart represents
turnover by department
We can say the following about the chart
Dept. 3 contributes the
lowest amount turnover
Dept. 3 has the lowest
turnover
Dept. 1 contributes the
highest percentage of
turnover
Dept. 1 has the highest
turnover
Lets look at another chart. Lets pretend
this one represents sales by product.
We can say the following about the chart
Product 2 and 3 combined account for less than half of
the company sales.
Product 1s sales
represent less than a
quarter of the total sales.
Product 3 accounts for
over half of the sales.
1
2
3
Lets look at a pie chart that shows a
companys staff by age.
Breakdown of Staff by Age.
16-25
26-35
36-45
46-55
We can say the following about the chart
The majority of employees are 36-45
Most people who work for the
company are over 26 years old
Those aged 16-25 only
account for a small minority
of our employees
So as you can see pie charts are very
useful for showing us how things break
down.

There are many different ways we can talk
about the information they contain.

But they only really help us to talk about the
breakdown of a situation at any one point in
time.
What if we want to look at how something
has changed over time?
Take a look at the bar graph below
0
1
2
3
4
5
Jan Feb
Profit
Turnover
What can we say about the turnover and
profit?

What kind of words should we use?
Take a look at the bar graph below
0
1
2
3
4
5
Jan Feb
Profit
Turnover
Lets look at first.
We can say that profit has:
We can say that turnover has:
Take a look at the bar graph below
0
1
2
3
4
5
Jan Feb
Profit
Turnover
Now lets look at .
Lets take a look at some line graphs
I have given each table the
description for one of the
following line graphs.

Shout out when you think
your tables graph is
displayed.
Is this your line graph?







Is this your line graph?







Is this your line graph?







Is this your line graph?







Is this your line graph?







Describing Line Graphs
Notice that instead of saying line we
could say:
Sales
Productivity
Profit
Turnover
Budget
Etc.

Describing Line Graphs
When something is at its highest point
we can say





It reached its apex
It peaked

Describing Line Graphs
When something doesnt rise or fall for
some time we can say




It has levelled out
It has plateaued
It has bottomed out (low)
It has stabilised (after fluctuation)
Describing Line Graphs
When something goes up at a steep
angle it is



Rising rapidly (a rapid rise)
Rising sharply (a sharp rise)
A rapid increase
A sharp upturn

Describing Line Graphs
When something goes up at a shallow
angle it is




Rising slowly (a slow rise)
Rising steadily (a steady rise)
A steady increase

Describing Line Graphs
When something goes down at a steep
angle it is



Falling rapidly (a rapid fall)
Falling sharply (a sharp fall)
A rapid decrease
A sharp downturn

Describing Line Graphs
When something goes down at a
shallow angle it is




Falling slowly (a slow fall)
Falling steadily (a steady fall)
A slow decrease

Describing Line Graphs
When something goes up and down a
lot in a short space it




Is fluctuating
Is unstable


Hopefully this presentation has
helped you understand how we talk
about graphs
The End