Some IELTS writing questions

[englishteacher79]

I have some questions relating to IELTS Writing Task 1:

1) "The graph shows an upward trend in the ...."

Would it be correct to say that the graph always "shows" (present tense) even if the trend is in the past? Since the graph always shows.

2) "Sales in CD players showed an upward trend between 2000 and 2005".

Would the above sentence be correct gramatically? Here, it's not about the graph showing an upward trend, but rather "Sales in CD Players". Thus it's "showed" (past tense) rather than "shows" (present tense).

Thanks.

[Tdol]

Yes and yes. However, try to be consistent and don't confuse the reader.

[englishteacher79]

Thanks for your response!