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Introduction
ou have probably heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." When you look at
an image, your brain interprets it in an instant, while it might take you five minutes to read a
page of dense text. Images and other visual aids are efficient ways to organize a lot of
information in a
small space. Just think how much easier it is to look at a map of your city than to read a
paragraph
explaining where all the roads are located. When we were young, most of our books had pictures
on every page. As a child we need illustrations to help us understand the text. As we got older, our
books are not always illustrated, but writers still use images and diagrams to help the reader
visualize the information. Some of the most common visual aids are maps, illustrations, tables,
time lines, and diagrams.
LEARNING POINTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
An illustration might be a photograph or a drawing. It could be simple, complicated or realistic. It
might represent information, strengthen an argument, or tell a joke. A comic is a self-contained
illustration with no accompanying text. Other illustrations are linked to written content.
When you come across an illustration in a book or on a text, there are a few things to check:
Context: If the illustration has an accompanying article or story, it is a good idea if you read that first.
Title: This is usually an easy clue to the main idea of the illustration.
Caption: This can provide an important explanation of what the illustration shows or what idea
the illustration is helping to prove.
Figure number: Books or articles that have more than one illustration often number the images to help
us as the readers to identify them. Illustrations might be numbered with whole numbers (1, 2, 3, and so
forth). They might also be numbered by chapter; the third picture in Chapter 4 could be called 4.3, 4-3,
or 4c. When you read a book or article that includes illustrations, check to see how the illustrations are
identified; then you'll be able to match the illustration to the related content in the text. This is
especially important when the illustrations are on a different page than the related text.
Labels: Within the illustration there might be words or symbols. These labels explain the parts of
the illustration and help the reader understand its meaning.
TABLES
A table is an organized grid of words or symbols. The information is arranged in columns and rows. Tables
are an efficient way for writers to show lots of numbers or percentages that would be confusing in
sentence form. A table usually has labels across the top, or the side, or both.
Step 1(Describe)
First determine how the figure/table is set up. This is the part that everyone would agree about and is not a
matter of interpretation. What are units on the axes (for a figure) or heading of the columns (for a
table)? Make sure you understand what these units mean. Pay attention to the symbols on a figure, the
differences between dotted and solid lines, and so on. Now look at the pattern in the data. For a figure
with lines, wha t is their pattern? For instance, do they increase linearly and then level off? In a table
do the numbers increase across the column? Pay attention to detail; that may be important. At this point
you should have a
pretty good idea of the question addressed by the data set and the experimental design how it was
carried out.
Step Two (Interpret)
Now you are ready to interpret the data. What conclusions can you draw from the pattern that you have
described? What do these results tell you about the phenomenon being studied? How do they fit into
the larger picture of ecological thinking? Interpretations may well differ from person to person; this is to
be expected and makes discussions about data sets all the more interesting!
Before you look at the table, read the labels to see what is being measured and what units are used. You
see tables on the back of every cereal box and food packetsnutrition labels are a type of table. Here's an
example of a nutrition table for potato chips.
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
% value
Calories 140
Fat 7g
11
Cholesterol
Sodium 160mg
Carbohydrate 17g
Fiber 1g
In this table, the labels are along the top row. The first column shows the amount per serving. There is no
unit of measurement listed beside the label because the rows in the column don't share a common unit.
For example, fat is measured in grams, while sodium is measured in milligrams. The second column is
labeled "% Value," and all the numbers in this column are shown as percentages.
The key to interpreting tables is to read the labels carefully. When you understand how a table is
organized, you will be ready to understand the information, draw conclusions, make comparisons, or
answer questions about the table.
Venn diagrams
A Venn diagram is made of two overlapping circles. It is used to show that two or more sets of data
have something in common. Here's an example of a Venn diagram that represents the hobbies of two
friends, Myra and Shyam:
Myra and Shyams Hobbies
Shyam
Bowling
Playing
Guitar
Myr
a
Kickboxi
ng
Playin
g
Ches
s
(Shared )Hiking
Each circle includes its own set of data. Shyam's hobbies are bowling, playing guitar and hiking. Myra's
hobbies are playing chess, kickboxing and hiking. The activities they have in common can be shown
in the middle where the circles overlap, meaning that these activities apply to both. If something is
not in the overlapping part, it is not shared. You can see that Shyam does not kick-box or play chess.
A pie chart is used to show how a part of something relates to the whole. This type of graph
makes it possible to view the data quickly and to determine how things are related. A pie chart
consists of a circle that is cut into pieces much like a pie would be cut. Each of the pieces represents
a different set of data.
The pieces are cut based on percentages. The given data must be converted to percentages
before the pie can be cut into its appropriate pieces. The different pieces are usually identified by
a
different colour. A legend is often used to display what the colours represent. The pieces should
also be labeled with the appropriate percentages to help make observations more quickly.
PRACTICE
Lets try to answer the questions based on the pie chart. Study the pie chart
below and answer the questions that follow:
5
35
Joggi
ng
Surfing
internet
45
Reading
Outdoor
Games
15
I. You interviewed 100 students. Which activity is preferred after surfing internet?
A. Reading
B. Outdoor games
C. Jogging
D. Doing nothing
Answer is B= Outdoor Games. (Surfing Internet is 45% , next highest after that is Outdoor
Games standing at 35%)
For
Against
If the sample size is 1000 people, then of the people are i.e. 750 people are against tiger hunting.
However, if the sample size is only 4, then only 3 people asked are against it.
When interpreting pie charts you may need to work with fractions and/or percentages.
Data is presented in a diagram or a chart to make an immediate visual impact. As such the user
intends you to get the main message instantly. However, you will need to look carefully at it and make sure
that the data has not been presented in a misleading way. You should always:
its title
the source of the data
the size of the samples used (if appropriate)
the date it was produced.
When reading a bar graph there are several things we must pay attention to: the graph title, two
axes, including axes labels and scale, and the bars. Since bar graphs are used to graph frequencies
or
amounts of data in discrete groups, we will need to determine which axis is the grouped data axis, as well
as what the specific groups are and which is the frequency axis.
An example of a bar graph is given below. The bar chart shows the sales of reference books within a year.
The title tells what kind of information is found on the graph
Scale:
Tells how
many or
how
much. It
contains
evenly
distribute
d
numbers
that
represent
some
unit of
measure
Ssales in
000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Mathematics Bahasa Melayu English Language
History
Y axis
Bar
LabelsLabels
describe
individual
parts of
the
graph
X axis
Grouped Data Axis
Now let's look at the components of a bar graph individually. There is a lot of information in this section
so you may wish to jot down some short notes to yourself.
Graph Title--The graph title gives an overview of the information being presented in the graph. The title
is given at the top of the graph
Axes and their labels--Each graph has two axes. The axes labels tell us what information is presented
on each axis. One axis represents data groups, the other represents the amounts or frequency of
data groups
Grouped Data Axis--The grouped data axis is always at the base of the bars. This axis displays the
type of data being graphed.
PRACTICE
The answer is C= RM 6000.00. (refer to the Bar Label for History and the Scale accordingly)
II.
What is the difference between the sales of Mathematics books with English Language
books?
A. RM 8000.00
B. RM 5000.00
C. RM 3000.00
The answer is C- RM 8000.00(sales of Mathematic Books) minus RM 5000.00 (sales of English
Language books) is equal to RM 3000.00
III.
What is the income earned out of the sales of all the reference books as listed in the graph?
A. RM 27500.00
B. RM 85000.00
C. RM 9000.00
The answer is A=RM 27500.00 ( sale of all the books added- RM 8000+RM 8500+RM 5000 + RM
6000)
LINE GRAPHS
Line graphs compare two variables. Each variable is plotted along an axis. A line graph has a vertical
axis and a horizontal axis. So, for example, if you wanted to graph the height of a ball after you have
thrown it, you could put time along the horizontal, or x-axis, and height along the vertical, or y-axis.
Each type of graph has characteristics that make it useful in certain situations. Some of the strengths of
line graphs are that:
They are good at showing specific values of data, meaning that given one variable the other
can easily be determined.
They show trends in data clearly, meaning that they visibly show how one variable is affected by
the other as it increases or decreases.
They enable the viewer to make predictions about the results of data not yet recorded.
PRACTICE: Try to answer the questions below based on the line graph.
Sales in RM 000
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Magazine
s Story
Books
Comics
January
February
March
April
Answer: The are three(3) sets of data- magazines, story books and comics
2. On which calendar month does the graph begin?
Answer: (January)
Pictograph
Pictograph is a way of representing statistical data using symbolic figures to match the frequencies
of different kinds of data.
Example of Pictograph
The pictograph shows the number of varieties of apples stored at a supermarket.
VARIETIES OF APPLES AVAILABLE
Red Hot
Red Med
Green Dark
Red Small
Red Gold
= 10 apples
= 5 apples
TASK 1: Study the pie chart below and answer the questions that follow:
30
%
40%
Motorist
Pedestrians
18
%
12
%
Lorry Drivers
Motorcyclists
pedestrians.
C. lorry drivers.
D. Motorcyclists
2. Which of the statements below is true?
A. more than half of the accidents involve lorry drivers and motorists.
B. more than half of the accidents involve lorry drivers and pedestrians
C. more than half of the accidents involve lorry drivers and motorcyclists
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Number of
students
enrolled
10 000
15 000
18 000
22 000
30 000
1. Based on the table above, what is the total number of students studying at the school in 2006 and
2007?
A. 15 000
B. 18 000
C. 30 000
D. 33 000
2. What is the difference in the number of students from the year 2005 to 2009
A. 10 000
B. 20 000
C. 22 000
D. 30 000
TASK 3: Study the table below and answer the question that follows.
Percentage
% of population using improved
100
96
94
95
TASK 4: Study the table below and answer the questions that follow.
Type of Reading Material
Novels
Teenagers
70%
Adults
30%
Reference Books
40%
40%
Foreign Magazines
40%
55%
Local Magazines
65%
25%
Malay Newspapers
25%
75%
English Newspapers
20%
65%
TASK 5: Study the pie chart and answer the questions that follow.
17
33
Going to
school
Studying
25
Eating
8
Sleeping
Watching TV
Reading Skills|
79
1990
2000
2010
1.
2.
3.
Between what time periods was the largest increase in minimum wage?
4.
Reading Skills|
80
Reading Skills|
81
TASK 8: Study the price comparison table and answer the questions that follow.
PRODUCT
DISH WASHING
LIQUID
POTATO CHIPS
HAND SOAP
COOKING OIL
CARE FOR U
RM2.90
RM 2.30
RM 4.70
RM 4.80
RM3.20
RM5.30
RM4.30
RM 2.90
RM 4.50
RM 5.40
Reading Skills|
82
SUMMARY
Writers have many options for presenting information. Maps, illustrations, tables, time lines, and Venn
diagrams are all visual ways to show information. If they are included in a book or article, they might
be used as evidence and support for the author's argument. If you encounter a map or diagram by itself,
you can use your active reading skills to interpret its meaning. The title, caption, labels, and
unit of measurement are key clues to help you understand how the data is organized.
Reading Skills|
83
SELF ASSESSMENT
TEST 1
Study the pie chart and answer the questions that follow.
37.
5
FOOD
HOUS
E
FUEL