Linking text and diagrams
A figure is a chart, graph, table, map or picture that goes with a text. The text and the figure are written to explain each other.
How to link them:
- Read the title of the chart: what is it about?
- Read the axis labels and units: what is counted, and in what units (books, litres, per cent)?
- Pick a sentence in the text. Find the matching part of the chart (a bar, a point on a line, a row of a table).
- Look for pointer words in the text, such as "as Figure 1 shows", "the table below", "the highest bar".
Some information is only in the text (reasons, opinions) and some only in the chart (exact numbers). Use both.
Interpreting data in texts
To interpret data means to say what the numbers mean. Steps:
- Compare: which is highest, which is lowest, what changed? (April 20, May 35: it rose by 15.)
- Calculate simply: difference (35 − 20 = 15), or how many times (40 ÷ 20 = 2, so doubled).
- Check the claim in the text against these numbers. Words like "doubled", "most" and "almost no change" must match.
- Separate fact and reason: the chart shows what happened; the text may say why. If neither says why, write "the reason is not given".
Be careful with a chart whose axis does not start at zero; small differences can look big.
Writing your own sentence about a chart
A good sentence about a chart has three parts: what (books borrowed), how much or how it changed (rose from 20 to 35), and when or where (from April to May). Example: "Books borrowed rose from 20 in April to 35 in May." Add a reason only if the text gives one.
Try it
Cut a short news item with a chart from a newspaper or find one online. Underline two sentences and draw a line from each to its place on the chart. Check one number claim by calculating. Write one sentence of your own about the chart. Then open the 3D free play and move the June bar to see how the text sentence must change.
Key formulas and definitions
- Change = new value − old value
- How many times = bigger value ÷ smaller value
- Chart = fact (what), text = reason (why)
- Key term, figure: a chart, graph, table or picture used with a text
- Key term, unit: what the numbers count (books, litres, per cent)
Worked examples
1. The chart shows 20 books in April and 35 in May. The text says "Borrowing rose in May." Is the sentence correct? By how much did it rise?
Yes. 35 is more than 20. Change = 35 − 20 = 15 books.
2. April is 20 and July is 40. A student writes "Borrowing tripled by July." Is this correct?
No. 40 ÷ 20 = 2, so borrowing doubled. "Tripled" would need 60.
3. June fell to 15. The text says "The school was on holiday for most of June." What is the fact and what is the reason?
Fact (chart): borrowing fell to 15 in June. Reason (text): the school was on holiday. The text gives the reason; the chart gives the fact.
4. The text says "Reading clubs caused the July rise." The chart shows only July = 40. Is the claim supported?
No. The chart shows that July is higher but does not show why. Unless the text gives evidence about reading clubs, this is only a guess. A careful reader writes "The cause is not shown."
Common mistakes
- Skipping the title and units and reading only the bars.
- Trusting the text's claim without checking it against the numbers.
- Mixing up "doubled" with "increased by 2" or "tripled".
- Writing a reason (cause) that is in neither the text nor the chart.