Analyze Charts and Graphs
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What you will learn
- 1Read and interpret data from bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts
- 2Identify the title, axes, and key in a chart or graph
- 3Match each chart type to its best use case
Mini Lesson
Charts and graphs present data visually, making it easier to spot patterns, compare amounts, and track changes. Nonfiction texts often use them to support written information. Reading a chart carefully — its title, labels, and scale — is just as important as reading the words around it.
Common Chart and Graph Types
- Bar chart: compares amounts across different categories using rectangles of different heights.
- Line graph: shows how a value changes over time — great for spotting trends.
- Pie chart: shows how a whole is divided into parts — best for showing percentages.
- Table: organizes data into rows and columns for easy lookup.
How to Read a Chart
- Read the title to know what the chart is about.
- Check the axes labels (x-axis and y-axis) and the scale.
- Look at the key or legend if colors or patterns are used.
- Read the highest and lowest values; compare categories.
- Connect what the chart shows to the text around it.
Words to know
Bar chart
A graph that uses bars to compare amounts in different categories
e.g. A bar chart showing rainfall in each month of the year.
Line graph
A graph that uses a line to show change over time
e.g. A line graph showing a city's population from 1900 to 2000.
Pie chart
A circular chart divided into slices to show proportions
e.g. A pie chart showing how people travel to work.
Scale
The numbered intervals on an axis
e.g. The y-axis scale goes from 0 to 100 in steps of 20.
Always check the scale on the y-axis. A scale that jumps by 100s looks very different from one that jumps by 10s, even if the bar heights look similar.
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