Topics · Primary Maths · Graphs & Tables
Reading graphs and tables
A graph is a table you can see. Almost every mark on this topic comes from reading one carefully — checking the scale, checking the labels, and answering the question that was actually asked.
- 406 exam papers analysed
- appears in 90% of P6 Maths papers
- ~4 min read
01 Read the frame before the data
The commonest mistake is to look at the bars and start answering. Spend the first few seconds on everything that is not data.
- The title — what is being counted at all.
- The axis labels — what each direction means, and in what unit.
- The scale — what one square or one gridline is worth. This is the one that costs marks: a scale going up in 2s or 5s makes every read-off wrong if you assume 1.
- The key, if there is one, when two sets of bars share the chart.
02 The four questions they ask
Whatever the chart, the questions come in the same small set. Recognising which one you have been given is most of the work.
- Read off one value. Find the bar, follow it across to the axis. Watch the scale.
- Compare two. Subtract for “how many more”. Divide for “how many times as many”. The words differ by one number and mean completely different sums.
- Total or sum. Add the values you were asked for — not always all of them. “How many on Monday and Tuesday” is two bars, not five.
- Interpret. Which was greatest, on which day did it fall, what might happen next. These want a sentence, not a number.
03 Tables, and the row-and-column trap
A table holds the same information without the picture, and the risk is reading the wrong cell. Put a finger on the row and another on the column and read where they meet — a habit that costs nothing and prevents the error entirely.
Tables often carry a total row or column. Check whether the question wants one of the parts or the total, because both are sitting right there.
| Class | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4A | 18 | 16 | 34 |
| 4B | 15 | 20 | 35 |
| 4C | 17 | 14 | 31 |
04 Line graphs show change
A bar chart compares separate things. A line graph shows one thing changing, usually over time, and the questions are about the shape as much as the values.
Going up means increasing; going down means decreasing; flat means no change — not zero. A flat line at 30 means it stayed at 30, which children often read as nothing happening at all.
The steepest part is where the change was fastest, and that is a frequent question in its own right.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- axissayAK-sissmore than oneaxes
One of the two lines a graph is drawn against. The plural is axes, said AK-seez.
- scalemore than onescales
What one gridline or square on an axis is worth. Check it before reading any value off.
- bar graphmore than onebar graphs
A chart comparing separate things using bars whose heights are the values.
- line graphmore than oneline graphs
A chart showing one thing changing, usually over time, with the points joined up.
- keymore than onekeys
The small box saying what each colour or pattern stands for, when a chart shows more than one set of data.
- datasayDAY-tuh
The set of numbers a table or graph is showing.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Picture graphs where each symbol stands for one, and simple tables.
Practise P2 Graphs & Tables — 10 questions →62% of P2 papers
- P3
Bar graphs, and picture graphs where one symbol stands for more than one.
Practise P3 Graphs & Tables — 10 questions →63% of P3 papers
- P4
Tables with rows and columns, and bar graphs with a scale other than 1.
Practise P4 Graphs & Tables — 10 questions →59% of P4 papers
- P5
Line graphs, and using data from a table inside a word problem.
Practise P5 Graphs & Tables — 10 questions →45% of P5 papers
- P6
Pie charts, several sets of data at once, and questions where the graph supplies only part of what is needed.
Practise P6 Graphs & Tables — 10 questions →90% of P6 papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“Each square is 1, so that bar is 4.”
Check the axis. If the numbered marks go up in 3s, that bar is 12. Assuming a scale of 1 is the single most expensive habit on this topic.
“How many times as many? I subtracted.”
Subtracting answers “how many more”. “How many times as many” is a division — 18 and 6 differ by 12, but 18 is 3 times 6.
“The line is flat, so nothing was sold that week.”
Flat means unchanged. A line flat at 35 means 35 were sold that week too — a line at zero would mean none.
“I added every number in the table.”
Read what was asked. Adding a total column into the sum counts everything twice.
“I found the tallest bar, so that is the answer.”
Only if the question asked which was greatest. Often it asks for the value, or the difference, or the one that came second.
Now try it
50 questions across 5 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.