UNIT 11

GRAPHS AND CHARTS

Objectives
After learning this unit, you are expected to be able to:
1. interpret graphs and charts;
2. write a graph or chart narration;
3. use present and past participles in sentences.

Pre - reading Activities

Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1. How many types of graphs do you know?
2. What is the function of a graph?
3. How do you interpret a graph?
4. Have you ever written a narration based on a certain graph before?

Reading Selection
Text 1
Interpreting Graphs and Charts
Graphs and charts are diagrams representing
numerical relationships in visual terms. The term graph is
usually reserved for a diagram showing the relationship of
two variable quantities, each measured along one of a pair
of lines called axes, whereas charts can be of many
different types.

Figure 1
The simplest graph, such as the one shown in figure 1,
gives a visual indication of a series of changing values. Figure
1 shows the number of glasses of lemonade sold each day for
a week. To find the number of glasses sold on day 3, first
locate the number 3 on the horizontal axis and then find the
point directly above it. The position of this point
corresponding to the vertical axis
1

is 10, meaning that 10 glasses were sold on day

3. On day 1, the number of glasses sold can be
judged by eye to be 19. Though this graph, like
most graphs, is not as accurate as a list of
numbers, it more clearly illustrates the overall
trend that lemonade sells better towards the end
of the week than in the middle of the week.
This use of graphs is very common in
everyday life, and similar ones are to be seen
daily in newspapers and magazines. Graphs are
used to show trends in such matters as
inflation, voting patterns, sales, share values,
fuel consumption, and population movement
even the relative positions of golfers over the 18
holes of a match.

Figure 2
Another use of graphs
is
in
the
representation, and sometimes the solution,
of mathematical equations. The graph in figure 2
illustrates this type of use. Suppose it is known
that Yolanda is four years older than Xavier. Using
y for Yolandas age and x for Xaviers age, this
relationship can be written as y = x + 4. There
are many possible solutions for this equation: one

possible pair of values for x and y is x = 1 and y =

5, which can be written briefly as (1,5). In figure
2, distances from left to right represent values of
x, and the horizontal axis is called the x-axis.
Distances upward from the x-axis represent
values of y, and the vertical axis is called the yaxis. The set of all the pairs (x,y) for which y = x
+ 4 is represented by the blue straight line
plotted in figure 2. In addition to knowing that
Yolanda is four years older than Xavier, it is also
known that Yolanda is three times Xaviers age: y
= 3x. The problem is to find values for x and y
that make the equations y = x + 4 and y = 3x
both true at the same time.
In figure 2, these two equations are
plotted together; the solution of these
simultaneous equations is the point at which the
two graphs intersect, (2,6), which shows that
Xavier is two years old and Yolanda is six years
old. These simple mathematical uses of graphs
can be extended to cover very complex
equations. Many physical laws have been
discovered by analysis of the raw data produced
by experiment when they were plotted on graphs.
The field of mathematics called calculus is
relevant to the study of graphs. It is concerned
with such things as calculating the gradient, or
slope, of a line plotted on a graph from the
equation defining that line. The gradient of a
curve can reveal important information. The
steeper the curve, the more rapidly the quantity
shown is varying. Thus, in a graph of numbers of
cases of infectious disease against time, the
steeper the curve, the more rapidly the disease
is spreading, and the greater the cause for alarm.
2

From "Graphs and Charts." Microsoft Encarta 2006

Answer these questions based on text 1.

1. What is a graph?
2. What is a graph used for?
3. Look at figure 1, what happens in the first day of
lemonade sale?
4. What is the tendency of lemonade sale during the first
three-day sale?
5. What kind of visual indication is shown in figure 1?
6. What are x- axis and y-axis?

Text 2
Television Viewing, Reading, and School
Achievement

How do you spend your free time? Do

you head for the pub? Do you hit the malls
with friends? Do you settle back to take in a TV
show or two? Or do you pick up a book and
relax by reading it?
The way you answer these questions
may determine how much you know about
important topics and ultimately how well you
do in college. According to a recent study by
Ravitch and Finn, students who spend
considerable time viewing television know less
history than students who watch T V for fewer
hours each day. Students who spend many hours
each day in front of a TV set had much lower
average proficiency scores on a history
achievement test than those who spend just a
couple of hours. (See Figure 4). Similarly,
students who spend some free time each day

reading on their own for pleasure have more

knowledge of literature than those who never
read. (See Figure 5)
Research tells us that the knowledge
readers bring to reading determines what they
get out of a textin other words, their
comprehension. As Ravitch and Finn explain,
Some background knowledge is necessary to
understand
and
interpret
any
text
...............................................................................
The more advanced the text, the more
background knowledge is necessary to
read
it
with understanding. Furthermore,
those students who have a fund of knowledge
on a topic are able to think critically about it,
draw conclusions, and make judgments.

Figure 4 Column Chart Showing the Relationship between TV

Watching and History Test Scores

Television Viewing Per Day and Average Scores

on HistoryTest
300
2
9
5
2
9
0
2
8
5
2
8
0
2
7
5
270

urs of
TV
Watch
ed

265
260
255
250
0 - 2 hours
35 hours
6 or more
h
ou
rs
Ho

Total average history score Female

average history score Male average
history score

Figure 5 Column Chart Showing the Relationship

between Reading Activity and Literature Test
Score

Personal Reading Activity and Average Scores

on Literature Test
310
3
0
0

2
9
0

2
8
0
Total
average
literature
score
270
260
250
Daily
1-2
Less than 1

ti
m
es
/w
ee
k
ti
m
e/
w
ee
k

History Proficiency Scores

Perso
nal
Read
ing
Activi
ty

Female
average
literature
score Male
average
literature
score

Never

What do these data mean to youa

student who wants to succeed in college? Think
about the question. Hopefully you will spend
more time reading and less time doing things
that do not add to your knowledge base.
Hopefully too, some of your independent reading
will focus on subjects like history, science, and
literature that you must take in college.

Literature Proficiency Scores

Source: Reading with Meaning, 1999 pp. 226-7

Based on text 2, say whether the following statements are

True or False.
1. True False
In general, male students scored higher
on the history proficiency test
than female students did.
2. True False
In general students who spent six hours
or more in TV Viewing each day
scored, on average, more
than 20 points less on a
history proficiency test than
those who spent zero to two
hours in TV viewing per day.
3. True False
In general, female students who spent
some time each day reading on
their own scored the same
on a literature proficiency
test as male students who
read each day.
4. True False
In general, the scores of female students
on a literature proficiency test
decreased as they spent less time reading
on their own.
5. True False
In general, the scores of female students
on a literature proficiency test
increased as females spent more time
reading on their own.
Answer these questions.
6. Write down two conclusions you can draw
based on your interpretation of the graphs and
your reading of the passage.

__________________________________________
____________________________
__________________________________________
____________________________
__________________________________________
____________________________
7. What can you do to increase your chances of success in
college?
__________________________________________
____________________________
__________________________________________
____________________________
__________________________________________
____________________________

Vocabulary
Here are some examples of charts which are
usually used to describe some graphic data.

: pie chart

: column chart
5

: line chart

: bar chart

: area chart

: scatter chart

: doughnut chart
In reading a graph, you should notice table or
chart first whether the information is fixed in time
or changed over time. If the information changes
over time, you need to express those by using
words and phrases which describes how it
changed. Notice that figure can increase,
decrease, fluctuate, or stay the same. Figures
can be in a peak that is reaching a high point.
They can be also in the bottom out or reaching
a
low
point.
Increases,
decreases,
and
fluctuations can be expressed in SUBJECT + VERB
+ ADVERB.
Look at the SUBJECT + VERB + ADVERB form below:

SUBJECT

The computer sale

Furthermore, it can be expressed by this form

THERE + BE + SUBJECT (adjective + noun) +
ADVERB. Look at these examples:
THERE + BE

There was
6

Notify the different words and phrases which are

used to express the data changes. Look at these
examples

Figure 6 The Chart Displaying the Number of Foreign Tourists

in Bali
The Number of Foreign Tourists in
Bali
3

1.000.000
750.000

2
:

s
h
a
r
p

4
500.000
250.000

5
1995
Terms
to
describe
the
trends in the
chart:
1:
steady drop

1996
2002

1997

r
i
s
e
3
:
p
e

a
k
4:
dra
mat
ic
fall/
sha
rp
dro
p 5:
bott
om
out
6: a plateau
7
:
r
e
m
a
i
n
s
t
e
a
d
y
8
:
g
r
a
d
u
a

l
i
n
c
r
e
a
s
e

Gramma
r Focus
Participles
Look at the
sentences
taken from
the
reading
text
above.

2005

2008

1. Graphs and Charts are diagrams representing

numerical relationships in visual terms.

2.

The simplest graphs, such as the one

shown in figure 1, give a visual indication of a
series of changing value.
7

The underlined words above are nonfinite verbs

which are used to modify the sentences. The
form of verbs in the sentences are V-ing and V3. These forms of verb are called participles.
Based on the example, the participle is divided
into present participle and past participle .

1. Present participles are formed by

adding -ing to the verb stem. As an
adjective, a present participle modifies
a noun that affects someone or
something else.
The new song is interesting.
The new song was interesting.
2. Past participles are formed by adding
-ed, to the verb stem, but some of the
irregular forms may end in -d, -en, -n, or -t.
As an adjective, a past participle modifies a
noun that is affected by someone or
something else.
The
fans
are
intere
sted
in the
new
song.
The
fans
were
intere
sted
in the

new
song.
Participles generally come before the noun they
modify. They may also be linked to the subject
of the sentence by a linking verb such as to be
or to feel.
The park is a frightening place at night.
Steve felt frightened as he walked alone in the
park at night.
Exercise
In the sentences below, fill in the correct participles of the
verbs in parentheses.
1. People who constantly complain are very __________
(annoy) to me.
2. Whenever Adrian gets __________ (bore), he goes fishing.
3. The students were __________ (confuse) by the Professors
lecture.
4. Most of the news on television is __________ (depress).
5. The Ruttles were very ________ (excite) to learn that their
concert was sold out.
6. Babysitting young children can be __________ (exhaust) for
many people.
7. Steve was so __________ (fascinate) by the book that he
finished it in one evening.
8. Would you be __________ (frighten) if you saw a vampire?
9. After eating a __________ (satisfy) meal, the cat washed
her face.
10. When Dagmar looked in the mirror, she was
__________ (surprise) to see that she had a leaf in
her hair.
Source:
http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing

Writing Practice
Look at Figure 6: The Chart Displaying the
Number of Foreign Tourists in Bali above. To
practice the vocabularies stated above, write a
narration based on Figure 6.

Summary
1. Charts and graphs are used to describe some graphic
data.
2. In reading a graph, you should notice whether the
information is fixed or changed over time.
3. Data in a graph can increase, decrease, fluctuate or stay
the same.
4. Present participle is
the nonfinite verb in
the form of V-ing.
Example: It was a
worrying situation.
5. Past participle
is the nonfinite
verb in the form of
V-3. Example: We
were
all
very
worried.

Reflection
In this unit, you have learned how to interpret
graphs and charts, write a graph or chart
narration, and use present and past participles.
Put a check on the column based on your selfassessment.
Objectives
To interpret graphs/charts
To write a graph or chart
narration
To use present and past
participles

For more practice, you can go to the following site on how to

interpret a graph or a chart:
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?
id=399402
More practice on present and past participles can be
obtained from the following site:
http://www.grammar-quizzez.com/