一、出题形式
例1题目：Changes in People’s Diet
Study the followingtable carefully and your composition must be based on the information given inthe table. Write three paragraphs to:
1.state the changesin people’s diet(饮食)in the past five years;
2.give possiblereasons for the changes;
3.draw your ownconclusions。
You should quote asfew figures as possible。
例2题目：Car Accidents Declining in Walton City
Remember that yourcomposition must be written according to the following outline;
1.Rise and fall ofthe rate of car accidents as indicated by the graph;
2.Possiblereason(s)for the decline of car accidents in the city;
3.Your predictions ofwhat will happen this year。
Your compositionshould be no less than 120 words and you should quote as few figures aspossible。
例3 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic HealthGain in Developing Countries. Your composition must be no less than 120 wordsand you should base your composition on the following instructions(given inChinese)：
1. 以下图为依据描述发展中国家的期望寿命(life expectancy)和婴儿死亡率(infant mortality)的变化情况
2. 说明引起变化的各种原因
从以上例子可见，图表作文一般在题目中给出作文的标题和一个或几个统计表格、圆形图、曲线图或条形图，有时还用英文或中文提纲的形式给出提示，要求我们：
1)用文字描述图表，客观解释图表中所传递的信息，并找出某种规律或趋势;
2)就图表中所反映的某种趋势或问题分析其原因或后果。
二、写作要领
图表作文着重说明事实，常常是通过对图表中所反映的具体数据的说明、分析、比较，对某种事物或现象的事实或变化情况等加以说明，并提出结论或看法。因此，图表作文常常采用议论文体的写作方法。老师认为，写好图表作文，关键在于能否读懂图表中所提供的信息，把握各信息间的联系，用准确流畅的语言把这一信息表达出来，并就这一信息发表自己的看法。
三、写作步骤
写图表作文时，要注意遵循以下步骤：
1) 认真分析图表的含义，弄清图表中所含的信息及不同信息间的关系;
2) 确定文章的主题思想，构思出文章的基本框架，筛选出能说明图表主题思想的典型数据;
3) 编列文章的提纲;
4) 根据文章的提纲，将各段的提纲内容扩展成段落，然后将各个段落组成文章，注意段与段之间的衔接与过渡;
5) 检查与修改。