Hearing a Trend: Describing Data in Words

A vocabulary and a simple structure for describing - and understanding - what a chart of economic data shows, entirely through words.

Economic stories are usually told with line charts: a line wandering across a page, rising and falling over time. But everything a chart shows can also be said in words, and often said more clearly. Learning the vocabulary of a trend - the general direction a number moves over time - lets you build a picture of the data in your mind, and lets you ask sharper questions when a description feels vague.

The core vocabulary

A few words carry most of the meaning.

A trend is the overall direction: upward, downward, or flat. “Steadily rising” and “gradually declining” describe trends.

A peak is a high point, after which the number falls. A trough is a low point, after which it rises. Economists speak of the economy moving “from peak to trough” in a downturn.

A turning point is where the direction changes - the moment a rise becomes a fall, or the reverse.

Volatility describes how jumpy a series is. A volatile series swings up and down sharply; a stable one moves smoothly.

Words about speed matter too. “Accelerating” means rising faster and faster. “Levelling off” or “plateauing” means the rise is slowing towards flat. “Sharp,” “steep,” and “sudden” describe fast moves; “gentle,” “gradual,” and “modest” describe slow ones.

A simple structure for describing any chart

When describing a series in words, a good order is: what is measured and over what period, the overall trend, the most important features, and the current position. This gives a listener the big picture first and the details second - the opposite of reading every point one by one.

A chart described aloud

Here is how a line chart of a country's unemployment rate might be described: "This shows the unemployment rate every month over ten years. Overall, it drifted gently downward, from about 8 percent at the start to about 5 percent at the end. There was one sharp exception: in year six, unemployment jumped from 5 percent to 11 percent in just three months, its highest point in the decade. It then fell steadily over the next two years, back to roughly where it had been before the jump. Since then it has been flat, staying between 4 and a half and 5 and a half percent." With a few sentences, a listener knows the range, the direction, the dramatic event, the recovery, and where things stand now.

Listening critically to descriptions

When someone describes data to you, notice what is missing. Useful descriptions include actual numbers at key points, the time period covered, and the starting value. Descriptions like “soared” or “collapsed” without numbers can hide a small change behind a dramatic word. It is always fair to ask, “From what to what, and over how long?”

Also listen for the time window. A number that “hit a record low this month” might have been falling for years, or might have bounced around and briefly dipped. The start and end dates of a description can change its story completely.

Accessible data tools increasingly offer text summaries, data tables that screen readers can navigate, and even “sonification,” where a rising pitch represents a rising value. These make it easier to explore data independently rather than relying only on someone else’s description.

Accepting dramatic words without numbers

A common mistake is letting words like "plunged," "skyrocketed," or "crisis levels" stand in for actual figures. A move from 2 percent to 2 and a half percent can be described as "soaring" if someone wants it to sound dramatic. Ask for the starting value, the ending value, and the time period.

Key takeaways

A trend is the overall direction of a number over time.
Peaks, troughs, and turning points mark where the direction changes.
Volatility describes how jumpy a series is.
A good description gives the big picture first, then key features, then the current position.
Always ask "from what to what, and over how long?"