Integrate a passage with a table or graph
Read a graphic's labels and denominators before using its values to evaluate a passage's claim.
What you will tackle
- Read tables, bar graphs and line graphs accurately
- Connect quantitative evidence to a textual claim
- Distinguish counts, proportions and changes
- Reject unsupported causal or extrapolated conclusions
Start with what is actually displayed
Identify the variables, units, categories and period. A bar height may represent a count or a percentage; the same height cannot be interpreted without its label. A line connects ordered measurements and can display a change over time. When groups have unequal totals, a claim about proportions requires division.
Read the words and graphic together
For the original comparison displayed here, Site A has 18 imported objects among 60 objects, and Site B has 16 among 40. A has the larger imported count, but B has the larger imported proportion. Neither the table nor a bar graph of it identifies why the sites differ.
| Site | Imported | Total | Imported share |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 18 | 60 | 30% |
| B | 16 | 40 | 40% |
Build your notes, then practise
Work on paper before opening an explanation. Guided tasks provide a starting point; independent tasks remove the scaffolding; application tasks ask you to justify a method or interpretation in context.
Guided practice
Guided 1
Use the displayed Site A/Site B table. Evaluate: ‘Site B had the greater proportion of imported objects.’ Give the two proportions and the comparison.
Show a starting hint
The total for each site is the denominator.
Compare with the explained answer
- For A, divide 18 by 60 to get 30%.
- For B, divide 16 by 40 to get 40%.
- B's proportion is 10 percentage points higher despite its smaller imported count.
Answer / response criteria: Supported: 30% at A and 40% at B.
Guided 2
Read the displayed bar graph of imported-object percentages. Which bar is higher, by how many percentage points, and does that establish the larger imported count?
Compare with the explained answer
- Site B's bar is 40%, versus 30% for A.
- The difference is 10 percentage points.
- No: the accompanying table shows 16 imports at B and 18 at A because their totals differ.
Answer / response criteria: B by 10 percentage points; A has the larger count.
Independent practice
Independent 1
An original line graph records seedlings surviving at weeks 1,2,3,4 as 40,36,35,34. Which interval shows the greatest loss, and does the graph show why it happened?
Compare with the explained answer
- Neighbouring losses are 4, 1 and 1.
- The largest loss is between weeks 1 and 2.
- The plotted counts alone do not identify a cause.
Answer / response criteria: Weeks 1–2; the graph shows timing and size of loss, not its cause.
Independent 2
Read the seedling line graph and identify the recorded number at week 3, the total loss from week 1 to 4, and whether the points support the claim of an equal loss every week.
Compare with the explained answer
- Week 3 shows 35 seedlings.
- The total loss is 40 − 34 = 6.
- Weekly losses are 4,1,1, so equal weekly loss is not supported.
Answer / response criteria: 35; loss 6; no equal-loss pattern.
Application practice
Application 1
A passage says a reading programme reached more children, but its share of the eligible population fell. In Year 1 it reached 120 of 200 children; in Year 2, 150 of 300. Write a sentence integrating both facts without overstating the evidence.
Compare with the explained answer
- Counts rise by 30, from 120 to 150.
- The shares are 60% and 50%.
- State the count increase and 10-percentage-point share decrease together; do not invent a reason.
Answer / response criteria: The programme reached 30 more children, while its share of eligible children fell from 60% to 50%.
Application 2
Use both Site bars and table to write a caption that accurately distinguishes percentage and count, and explains why a claim about the cause of the difference would require additional evidence.
Compare with the explained answer
- Report B's higher proportion and A's higher count.
- Include totals or percentages so the denominators are clear.
- The display does not compare mechanisms or rule out differences in sampling and context.
Answer / response criteria: ‘B has the higher imported share (40% versus 30%), while A has more imported objects (18 versus 16); the reason for the difference is not established by these counts.’
What can you explain now?
Use both Site bars and table to write a caption that accurately distinguishes percentage and count, and explains why a claim about the cause of the difference would require additional evidence.
Compare with the explanation
‘B has the higher imported share (40% versus 30%), while A has more imported objects (18 versus 16); the reason for the difference is not established by these counts.’
Explain the reasoning before comparing. This review records your self-assessment rather than an official score or mastery decision.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Source and review status
Coverage follows the named requirements and examples in the 2026–2027 ACT test guide and subject descriptions. That guide explicitly does not list every possible topic. The broader coded College and Career Readiness Standards are also mapped to conceptual teaching and practice; this does not calibrate a learner to a score band. The separate scientific-background context list and reading-complexity rubric have their own stated limits.
Original teaching and explained self-check practice are available. Specialist review and difficulty calibration remain pending. Essays require self-check or teacher review and are not automatically marked or awarded official scores.
Official source specification / guide