Describe Image: bar charts, line graphs, maps and processes

A map is not a bar chart with roads, and a process is not a line graph with arrows. It is easy to fall back on the same few verbs, "is", "shows" and "has", for every picture, and the answer comes out flat and repetitive. The words you need depend on the kind of picture, and you can learn them in small sets.

The frame stays the same as in a simple structure that fits any picture: what it shows, the key features, a short closing point. Only the language inside it changes.

Decide the picture type first

In the first few seconds of preparation, name the type to yourself: amounts being compared, change over time, a place, a sequence, or people and objects. That choice tells you which set of phrases to reach for, so the rest of your time goes on the details of this particular picture. Some pictures mix two types, such as a map with figures printed on it. Start with the set that fits the main message and borrow from the other.

Learn each set as small pieces and not as a paragraph, because memorised answers can be penalised. Every example below is illustrative, with invented details.

Pictures that compare: bar charts, tables and pie charts

• Bar chart. You are comparing, so use comparison words: "is higher than", "is roughly twice as tall as", "is only slightly lower than", "far fewer". For example: "The bar for bus travel is roughly twice as tall as the bar for cycling."
• Table. There are too many cells to read aloud, so pick the extremes. For example: "Of the four towns, Northby has the highest rainfall, at 120 millimetres, and Eastvale the lowest, at 45."
• Pie chart. Think in shares: "the largest slice", "just under a third", "roughly half", "about a quarter", "one in ten", "makes up", "accounts for". For example: "Rent takes up roughly half of the budget, food is just under a third, and everything else shares the rest."

Line graphs: tell the story of the change

A line graph has a beginning, a middle and an end, so use verbs of movement and say when each movement happens. A core set: rose, climbed, peaked at, fell, dropped, dipped, levelled off, stayed steady, fluctuated. Add an adverb that fits the shape (sharply, steadily, slightly, gradually) and time words such as from, between, in, by and until.

Here is a full example. Imagine a line that starts near 200 visitors in January, peaks near 700 in August, falls to about 300 in October and then stays flat at about 250.

Pictures without numbers: maps, processes and photographs

• Map. Use words of place: "in the north-west", "opposite the station", "next to the river", "between the school and the park", "to the east of". For example: "In the north-west corner there is a school. Opposite it, across the main road, is a small park, and next to the park stands the library."
• Process diagram. Use words of order and the passive voice: first, next, after that, then, finally; is washed, is heated, is poured. For example: "First, the apples are washed. Next, they are crushed to make juice. After that, the juice is filtered and heated, and finally it is poured into bottles."
• Photograph. There are no figures, so describe in a steady order: people, objects, setting. Use "seems" and "probably" for guesses. For example: "The photograph shows a group of students around a long table in a library. In the foreground, two of them are sharing a laptop. Shelves of books fill the background, and the atmosphere seems quiet and focused."

A ten-minute routine

1. Collect one picture of each type: a bar chart or table from a report, a line graph from a news article, a map from a travel guide, a process diagram from a textbook, and a photograph.
2. For each one, spend a few seconds naming the type, then choose two or three details.
3. Record a description for the full time you would be given, and play it back.
4. Count how many phrases from the right set you used. If it is fewer than three, say the description again.
5. Next day, describe the same picture with different phrases from the same set.

To practise under test conditions, try the practice tests on this site.