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.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Source and review status
Core coverage follows the detailed SAT skills in Appendix B of the September 2026 framework. The conditional School Day Essay is separate. The framework is maintained rather than issued as an annual subject syllabus.
Original teaching and explained self-check practice are available. Independent subject-specialist review and difficulty calibration remain pending; this is not an exam-board endorsement or a mastery certificate.
Official source specification / guide