English for Computer Science

ENGLISH FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE

Illustrations (Part I)

The language used to describe graphs and charts is the same whatever discipline you happen to be in; this means that a little basic knowledge can go a long way. First a look at the basic types of data presentation.

Match the diagrams/graphs to their names:

 pie chart  table

 scatter diagram percentage bar chart

 simple bar chart  multiple line graph  simple line graph

Answers names

Fill the numbered gaps(*)______in the following text

with these words.

When describing graphs it is important to define the (1)______. These are the horizontal and vertical lines which give the units of the graph.

(2)______

axis or 'y'-axis

(3)______ axis or 'x'-axis

The line described by a graph is usually called a (4)______,

(even if it doesn't look very curved).

The curve can be drawn using:

A (5)______line ______

A (6)______line ______

A (7)______line ......

When talking about pie charts we refer to shaded or unshaded (8)______or (9)______.

In bar charts or (10)______we refer to the (11)______or (12)______.

Answers graph words 1

Describing movement

Even the most logical graph/chart will need some explanation.

To simply say, "The graph goes up to 25°C then stays the same...." does not sound too interesting but, "Initially the temperature climbed rapidly before stabilising at 25°C..." has a better ring to it.

Nouns or Verbs?

Most descriptions of graphs can take two forms:

The temperature roseby 15°C. (Verb)

There was a15°C rise in temperature. (Noun)

It is therefore important to be able to change words from verbs to nouns and vice versa.

Complete the following tables of verbs and their noun equivalents.

Upward movement

VerbNoun

to ______a rise

to improve(an) ______

to ______an increase

to shoot upwards---

to jumpa ______

to grow(a) ______

to pick up---

to take off---

to ______a climb

--- means that an equivalent does not exist or is not usually used.

Downward movement

VerbNoun

to decreasea decrease

to declinea decline

to fall a fall

to drop a drop

to deteriorate(a) ______

to slip---

to dipa dip

to slumpa slump

Change in direction

VerbNoun

to level out/offa ______

to bottom outa ______

to top out---

to recovera ______

to reach a peak/plateau---

to slip back---

to ______(a) stabilisation

to fall off/backa falling off/back

to ______(a) fluctuation

to regain---

to peaka peak

to tail offa tailing off

No change

to maintain to stay at the same level

to stagnate to remain constant to remain stable

Answers Ups and downs

Now rewrite the following sentences using noun phrases:

1. The voltage decreased.

______

2. The flow improved.

______

3. The water level rose by 10 mm.

______

4. The current fluctuated.

______

5. The output was seen to deteriorate.

______

Answers changesentences

Speed of change

The speed of change can be indicated using either adverbs (with verbs) or adjectives (with nouns).

The temperature rose rapidly.(adverb)

There was a rapid rise in temperature.(adjective)

The following adjectives can be used to denote the speed that a graph rises or falls.

Place these adjectives in descending order, i.e. highest speed first.

abrupt slow sudden gradual sharp immediate

rapid gentle sluggish quick steady instantaneous

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

5. ______

6. ______

7. ______

8. ______

9. ______

10. ______

11. ______

12. ______

Answers fast-slow

Degree of change

The size of change can be described in a similar way.

Place the following adjectives into categories.

heftyminimalconsiderableslight

significant sizeablemeasurablenegligible

substantialnoticeablemarkedmarginal

moderateinsignificantacceptabletolerable

steep (large)(average)(small)

NOTE

All the adjectives, except those in brackets, can be turned into adverbs by the addition of "ly".

Answers big-small

Putting it all together

The following graph provides information about an imaginary experiment in which effects of a mystery substance, A, on the growth rate of a seedling are measured.

Looking back through the previous pages, use the language you have learned to label the following portions of the graph:

days 2-6 day 6 days 6-7 8-10 10-14 and 14-20.

Effects of substance A on the growth rate of a seedling

Now finish this paragraph describing the graph using the language you have chosen.

At the start of the experiment, the growth rate of the seedling was about 0.2mm/day. This steadily increased to 0.5 mm/day in the second day. Between days two and six there was...

Model Answer

Revision

Do you know:

1 The names of the various types of data presentation?

2 The specific vocabulary associated with graphs?

3. The verbs and corresponding nouns associated with graphs?

4. The adjectives and adverbs which can be used with the above?

Now go and look at the documentIllustrations (Part II)

Graphs and Tables Page 1