Interpret data in graphs and infographics accurately and explain what the figures show

What this dot point is asking

Some visual texts present information as graphs, charts or infographics, and questions ask you to read the data and say what it shows. The skill is twofold: reading individual figures accurately (the highest value, a particular category, a rough fraction) and describing the overall pattern in words. This dot point is about handling data in a visual text carefully, checking the labels and units, picking out the figure a question wants, and summarising the trend without misreading the numbers.

The answer

Read the title, labels and units first

Before reading any figure, check what the graph is actually about. The title tells you the topic; the axis labels or segment labels tell you what each bar, line or slice represents; the units tell you whether the numbers are percentages, thousands, or something else. Skipping this is the commonest cause of misreading: describing the wrong quantity, or treating a percentage as a raw count. Thirty seconds spent on the title and labels makes every figure that follows meaningful.

Pick out the figure a question asks for

Many questions want one specific value: the largest category, the smallest, a named one, or a comparison. Read it directly from the chart, matching the label to the value. For a pie chart, you may need to convert a percentage to a rough fraction (35% is about a third; 25% is a quarter; 50% is a half). Give the figure accurately and, if asked, in the form requested (a percentage, a fraction, or a comparison like "twice as many"). Precision matters: misreading a value loses the mark even if the rest of the answer is sensible.

Describe the overall trend

A common question asks what the data shows overall, which needs a description of the pattern, not a relisting of every number. Step back and ask: what is the big picture? Is one category dominant? Are values rising or falling over time? Do two groups together make up most of the total? "Walking and the bus together account for three quarters of journeys, while car use is low" captures a pattern; reciting "Walk 40%, Bus 35%..." does not. Naming the trend in words is the skill being tested.

Avoid the common misreadings

Data questions have predictable traps. Confusing two similar bars, reading the wrong axis, mistaking a percentage for a number of people, or describing a small difference as a "huge" one all lose marks. Be especially careful with infographics, which mix pictures and figures and can be designed to make a number look bigger than it is. Read what the data actually says, check it against the labels, and describe differences proportionately rather than dramatically.

Examples in context

Example 1. The percentage-versus-count trap. An infographic states that "60% of students walk to school" beside a small icon of one person. A careless reader might say "60 students walk", but 60% is a proportion, not a number; without the total, you cannot say how many people that is. The correct reading is "most students, six in ten, walk to school". This trap is common because infographics often pair a percentage with a single figure-icon, inviting confusion between a share and a head-count. Always read the unit and report a percentage as a proportion unless a total is given.

Example 2. Trend over a list. A bar chart shows library visits rising each month from January to June. A weak answer lists every bar: "January 100, February 130, March 160..." A strong answer states the trend: "Library visits rose steadily over the six months, roughly doubling from January to June." The second captures what the data means, a steady upward trend, which is far more useful and is what an "overall" question rewards. Reading a chart well means seeing the shape of the data, not just its individual values.

Try this

Q1. Name three things to check before reading any figure on a graph. [2 marks]

• Cue. The title (what the graph is about), the labels (what each axis, bar or segment represents), and the units (whether the figures are percentages, thousands, minutes, and so on); checking these prevents describing the wrong quantity.

Q2. A pie chart shows 50% of a budget spent on rent. Express this as a fraction and explain what it means. [2 marks]

• Cue. 50% is half, so rent takes up half of the entire budget; it is the largest single share if no other category reaches 50%, and converting the percentage to "half" makes the proportion easy to state.

Q3. Explain why describing an overall trend is better than relisting every figure. [2 marks]

• Cue. An overall description captures what the data means as a whole (what dominates, or whether values rise or fall), which is what the question asks; relisting every number just repeats the chart without interpreting it, so it shows no understanding of the pattern.