The axes are the question
Graphics Interpretation (GI) shows a graph or chart plus one or more statements with drop-down blanks you fill from menus. If a statement has two menus, you must get both right for credit. The graphic might be a scatter plot, line graph, bar chart, pie chart, or a statistical curve.
The method
Read the furniture before the data. Axis labels, units, scale (does it start at zero? is it linear?), and the legend decide most GI answers — and the errors are usually committed before any "thinking" happens.
- Study the graphic: what's plotted, on what axes, in what units, and any marked values.
- Read the surrounding text — it often supplies a number or definition the graphic itself lacks but the question needs.
- Read every option in each drop-down before choosing — the menu reveals what kind of answer is wanted (a trend? a ratio? a specific value?).
- Pick what the data supports, not what merely seems plausible.
What GI tends to ask
- Read or compare values off the graphic.
- Find a rate of change (the steepness between two points on a line).
- Identify a relationship (positive/negative/no correlation on a scatter plot; which variable leads).
- Draw a conclusion or pick the statement the data makes most accurate.
"Closest to" means estimate. When a blank is preceded by nearest to or closest to, you're meant to approximate from the graphic, then pick the option nearest your estimate — not to demand an exact read the chart can't give.
Units in the text may differ from units on the axis. A graph in thousands with a caption in millions is a classic GI trap. Reconcile units before you compute, and never assume the graphic is drawn to scale.
Rate from a line. If a revenue line climbs from $40k in 2021 to $70k in 2024, the average rate of change is thousand dollars per year — read both endpoints honestly off the axis, then divide by the elapsed time. "Growth is slowing" would mean the line still rises but its slope decreases, not that revenue falls.
Re-read the completed statement. After choosing, read the whole sentence with your answer in place — if it now sounds false or illogical, you picked the wrong menu item.
Checklist
- Read axis labels, units, scale, and legend first
- Check the text for data not shown on the graphic
- Reconcile units between text and graphic
- Read all drop-down options before choosing
- "Closest to" → estimate; then re-read the full statement
Sample Questions
8 practice questions
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