Why table vocabulary is different
Line graphs need trend verbs — rose, fell, fluctuated. Tables need something different entirely. When you look at a table, you are comparing values across rows and columns, not describing shapes. The vocabulary that scores well on tables is about ranking, comparing, quantifying differences, and using approximation. Students who use the same trend vocabulary on tables as on line graphs sound like they only prepared one type.
Below are the seven categories of vocabulary you will need for table reports. Each one comes with a visual guide, accurate words, and an example sentence showing how to use them.
The categories and their words
Common vocabulary mistakes
These are real mistakes from student table reports. In each case, the problem is not grammar — it is a wrong approach to describing the data.
"In Japan the percentage was 9.1% in 1980. In 2000 it was 17.4%. In 2020 it was 28.7%. In Germany the percentage was 15.5% in 1980. In 2000 it was 16.4%..."
"Japan experienced the most dramatic shift, with its elderly population nearly tripling from 9.1% to 28.7% over the four decades."
The Band 5-6 version reads like a spreadsheet. The examiner already has the table — they do not need you to read it back to them. Select the most important data points and describe the pattern they reveal.
"The number of old people in Japan was 28.7% in 2020."
"The proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Japan stood at 28.7% in 2020."
"The number of old people" is imprecise. The table shows a percentage, not a number. And "old people" is too informal for academic writing. Match the language to what the data actually represents.
"Japan was 28.7%. Germany was 21.7%. South Korea was 15.8%. Brazil was 9.6%. Egypt was 5.3%. Iran was 6.7%."
"Japan's figure was roughly four times higher than Iran's, and more than five times that of Egypt."
Table reports without comparisons miss the point entirely. The examiner is testing whether you can connect data points — not just list them. Every body paragraph should include at least one comparison.
Tense — follow the data, not a rule
There is no single correct tense for table reports. The tense follows what the data is showing. A student who shifts tense naturally when the data requires it signals genuine grammatical control.
Read the table headers before you write. If the data is entirely historical (1980, 2000, 2020), past simple is perfectly fine for the entire report. If the data extends into the future, switch tense at that point.
Tables are the type I get the most questions about. Students open the exam, see a table with 20 numbers, and panic. They try to describe every single cell. That is the trap. A table with 18 data points only needs about 10 of them in your report. The rest are noise. The skill being tested is selection — knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to include. Once you accept that, tables become much less frightening.