dMAT General Academic Module: charts and tables

The order to read a figure

1. Title — what the figure is of.
2. Both axes, with units and any multiplier such as "in thousands".
3. Legend and footnotes, where exclusions hide.
4. Whether the scale starts at zero.
5. Only then the values.

A multiplier printed once, small, above an axis is the most common single misreading on any figure-based question.

Totals, rates and percentages

• A total rising while a rate falls is not a contradiction if the population grew. This resolves a large share of apparent paradoxes.
• Percent of what — of the total, of one category, or of the previous period are three different questions.
• Percentage points against percent change — 20% to 25% is five points and a 25% increase.
• Estimate where the options allow it. Reading a bar chart to three figures is precision the chart does not have.

Where two figures are given, check whether they share a scale or a period before combining them. Questions are often built on the assumption that you will not.