Least the minority of – Majority more than 50% – Minority less than 50% – avoid because the meaning is or or use a Most – vague. Use “majority” “plurality” instead, precise figure with the the term. E.g., “Most (52%) support change.” at least one more than any other alternative. E.g., of voters supported Plurality – “A plurality Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election.” a portion or part in relation to its whole Proportion- Rate a measure, quantity, or frequency typically measured against some other quantity or – measure Ratio the quantitative relation between two amounts, showing the number of times one value – contains or is contained within the other (part to part) Trend -- a general direction in which something is developing or changing. Percent Percent is used with a specific number of the control group – (“Fifteen percent responded to drug A.”) Percentage Percentage is used without a number of – (“A small percentage respondents …”) Curvilinear A relationship between two or more variables that is depicted by anything other – than a straight line. Vocabulary for Writing About Trends Trend Verb Form Verb + Prep. Noun Form Adjective Increase increase, rise, climb, soar, Increased by an increase, a rise, gradual rocket Increased from/to an upward trend, upward growth dramatic, slight sudden/steep sharp overall Decrease decrease, decline, fall, drop, decreased by a decrease/ gradual plunge, plummet decreased from/to downward trend/ downward tendency steep /sharp Steadiness Is/remain/stay level out, level steady off, plateau, reach a plateau, constant steady stable consistent the same similar Change change, fluctuate, vary change fluctuating variation varying fluctuation changing alteration Trend trend Numerical Terms Used to Write about Data Study the table and then look at various numerical terms used to write about the data.
Least – the minority of Majority – more than 50% Minority – less than 50% Most – avoid because the meaning is vague. Use “majority” or “plurality” instead, or use a precise figure with the term. E.g., “Most (52%) support the change.” Plurality – at least one more than any other alternative. E.g., “A plurality of voters supported Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election.” Proportion- a portion or part in relation to its whole Rate – a measure, quantity, or frequency typically measured against some other quantity or measure Ratio – the quantitative relation between two amounts, showing the number of times one value contains or is contained within the other (part to part) Trend -- a general direction in which something is developing or changing. Percent – Percent is used with a specific number (“Fifteen percent of the control group responded to drug A.”) Percentage – Percentage is used without a number (“A small percentage of respondents …”) Curvilinear – A relationship between two or more variables that is depicted by anything other than a straight line. Vocabulary for Writing About Trends Trend Verb Form Verb + Prep. Noun Form Adjective Increase increase, rise, climb, soar, rocket Increased by Increased from/to an increase, a rise, an upward trend, growth gradual upward dramatic, slight sudden/steep sharp overall Decrease decrease, decline, fall, drop, plunge, plummet decreased by decreased from/to a decrease/ downward trend/ downward tendency gradual steep /sharp Steadiness Is/remain/stay level out, level off, plateau, reach a plateau, steady steady constant stable consistent the same similar Change change, fluctuate, vary change variation fluctuation alteration fluctuating varying changing Trend trend Numerical Terms Used to Write about Data Study the table and then look at various numerical terms used to write about the data.