Lesson 3 of 22
Academic Task 1: reading the visual
Your first job is to understand what is being measured. Read the task description before examining small details.
Use five questions:
- Subject: What does the visual show?
- Population or place: Whose information is represented?
- Time: Is this one moment, several periods, or a future proposal?
- Unit: Are the figures percentages, people, tonnes, currency, or something else?
- Categories: What do the colours, symbols, rows, or arrows mean?
Write a short mental label: “percentage of residents using three transport modes, three towns, 2024.” That label prevents you from changing residents into commuters or percentages into totals.
Identify the kind of information
| Kind | Main question | Useful focus |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic data | What changed over time? | Direction, size of change, turning points, changing rankings |
| Static data | How do categories compare? | Highest and lowest, groups, gaps, proportions |
| Map or plan | What is located where, or what changed? | Main redevelopment, replacement, relocation, unchanged features |
| Process or cycle | How does it work? | Start and end, sequence, inputs, outputs, repeated stages |
| Multiple visuals | What does each contribute? | Coverage of both, compatible comparisons, relationships shown |
A bar chart can show changes over time. Several pie charts can also be dynamic. Choose your approach from the information, rather than the visual's shape.
Avoid reading errors
- A percentage describes a share, not necessarily a number of people.
- An average does not tell you what every individual earned or used.
- A forecast is a projection, not an observed fact.
- Categories may overlap; do not assume their values must total 100%.
- A total and its components should not be treated as three independent groups.
- Two points in time show a difference, but do not reveal every movement between them.
For example, if 40% of a town's 10,000 residents cycle, that represents 4,000 people. If another town has a higher percentage but a much smaller population, it may still have fewer cyclists. Unless the population information is given and relevant, compare the percentages directly.