Visual & Data Integration

Learn

How this skill works

Read this first. Everything after it assumes these ideas.

Read the frame before you read the numbers

Most mistakes on chart questions happen before any thinking about the data, because the reader jumped to the tallest bar without checking what is being measured.

Title — what is this figure about?
Axis labels — what does each direction represent?
Units — dollars, percent, minutes, thousands? A percent chart and a count chart answer different questions.
Time span — what period is covered, and does the text discuss the same period?
Source note — where did the data come from, and does the text cite the same source?

Test tip

Say out loud what the figure shows in one sentence before you look at the question. If you cannot, you are not ready to answer, no matter how clear the bars look.

The figure and the text do different jobs

A figure and its surrounding text are not two copies of the same information. The text usually makes a claim; the figure usually supplies the measurement behind it. Questions turn on the relationship between them.

Question type	What it asks	Where to look
Read a value	What was the figure for a particular category?	The figure alone
Compare values	Which is larger, and by how much?	The figure alone
Connect	Which detail in the chart supports the author's point?	Text first, then figure
Integrate	What can be concluded from the chart and the text together?	Both — the answer is in neither alone

What a figure cannot tell you

Charts invite conclusions they do not support. A chart shows what happened; it rarely shows why, and it never shows what will happen next unless the text says so.

A chart shows association, not cause. Two lines rising together do not establish that one caused the other.
A chart covering three years does not establish a long-term trend.
A chart of percentages hides the size of the group. Fifty percent of six people is three.
If the answer choice contains information not in the figure and not in the text, it is wrong regardless of how sensible it sounds.

Integrating more than one source

The final outcome of this course asks you to combine sources. When two sources address one topic, work through them in order: what does each say, where do they agree, where do they differ, and what can you conclude only by holding both at once?

Check whether the sources measure the same thing over the same period. Often they do not, and that is the answer.
Agreement between two independent sources strengthens a conclusion.
A disagreement is information. Ask what would explain it before deciding one source is wrong.

See It

A worked example

Watch the reasoning before you try it. Notice the order of the moves — that order is the skill.

Connecting a chart to the argument beside it

The Cost of Getting There

Data / Charts125 words

When a training program reports its completion rate, the number is usually explained in terms of academics: the material was too hard, or students arrived underprepared. Program staff who track the reasons students actually give tell a different story.

In an exit survey at one workforce program, students who withdrew were asked to identify the primary reason. Academic difficulty appeared, but it was not the largest category. Transportation and schedule conflicts together accounted for more than half of all withdrawals.

The distinction matters because it points to different fixes. A program that believes its students are underprepared invests in tutoring. A program that knows its students cannot reliably get to class invests in bus passes, evening sections, and attendance policies that survive a missed shift.

FigurePrimary reason given for withdrawing, one workforce program exit survey

Bar chart of withdrawal reasons. Transportation is the largest category at 31 percent, followed by schedule conflict with work at 24 percent, child care at 18 percent, academic difficulty at 16 percent, and other reasons at 11 percent.
Reason given	Share of withdrawals
Transportation	31%
Schedule conflict with work	24%
Child care	18%
Academic difficulty	16%
Other	11%

Illustrative figure created for instruction. Not drawn from a published dataset.

Original passage and figure — BEOC Academic Bridge

The question

Which detail in the figure most directly supports the author's point in paragraph 2?

Thinking it through

Read the frame first.
Title: primary reason for withdrawing, one program's exit survey. Units: share of withdrawals, in percent. One program, one survey — so conclusions cannot extend past that.
Restate the author's point in paragraph 2.
Two claims: academic difficulty is not the largest category, and transportation plus schedule conflicts together exceed half.
Check the first claim against the figure.
Academic difficulty is 16 percent. Transportation is 31 and schedule conflict is 24, both larger. The claim holds.
Check the second claim by combining bars.
31 plus 24 is 55 percent. That is more than half, so "more than half" is exact rather than loose. This combination is the strongest support.
Guard against the overreach.
I cannot conclude that transportation causes withdrawals at other programs, or that bus passes would fix it. The figure reports reasons students gave, at one program.

The answer

Transportation at 31 percent and schedule conflict at 24 percent sum to 55 percent — more than half of all withdrawals — while academic difficulty accounts for 16 percent. That combination supports both halves of the author's claim.

Take this with you

When text says two categories together exceed some threshold, add the bars and check. That arithmetic is the support the question is asking about.

Try It

Your turn, with support

One question, with a hint available. Nothing here is graded.

Who Is Online at Home

Data / Charts65 words

Applications for jobs, benefits, and housing have moved online faster than home internet access has spread. A household without a home connection is not cut off entirely — phones fill part of the gap — but filling out a long form, uploading a document, or joining a video appointment on a phone is meaningfully harder than doing it on a computer with a fixed connection.

FigureHouseholds with a home broadband subscription, by annual household income

Bar chart showing broadband subscription rates rising with income: 57 percent under 25,000 dollars, 74 percent for 25,000 to 49,999, 87 percent for 50,000 to 99,999, and 95 percent for 100,000 dollars and above.
Household income	Has home broadband
Under $25,000	57%
$25,000–$49,999	74%
$50,000–$99,999	87%
$100,000 and above	95%

Illustrative figure created for instruction. Not drawn from a published dataset.

Original passage and figure — BEOC Academic Bridge

Question 1Chart / dataFoundation

Based on the figure, how much higher is the broadband subscription rate for households earning $100,000 and above than for households earning under $25,000?

A.24 percentage pointsB.38 percentage pointsC.57 percentage pointsD.95 percentage points

Practice

Practice on a full passage

A longer passage with several questions. Check each answer as you go.

When the Clinic Is Open

Health134 words

A neighborhood clinic tracked how often its appointment slots went unused across a full year, sorted by the time of day the appointment had been scheduled.

Staff had expected the worst performance in the earliest slots, on the assumption that patients would struggle to arrive before work. The data did not support that expectation. The 8 a.m. slots were among the better-attended hours. Midday performed worst by a wide margin.

The explanation the clinic settled on was that patients who could come at 8 a.m. were arranging their day around the visit deliberately, while a midday appointment competed directly with a work shift that most patients could not leave without losing pay.

The clinic responded by shifting several midday slots into an evening block. It has not yet published results for the evening hours.

FigureShare of appointment slots unused, by scheduled time of day (one clinic, one year)

Bar chart of unused appointment slots by time: 8 a.m. 12 percent, 10 a.m. 17 percent, noon 29 percent, 2 p.m. 26 percent, and 4 p.m. 19 percent.
Scheduled time	Slots unused
8:00 a.m.	12%
10:00 a.m.	17%
12:00 p.m.	29%
2:00 p.m.	26%
4:00 p.m.	19%

Illustrative figure created for instruction. Not drawn from a published dataset.

Original passage and figure — BEOC Academic Bridge

Challenge

A harder, TABE-style set

Denser text and less obvious answers — closer to what the test will ask of you.

Read both texts and the figure before you answer. Before you combine them, check what each source actually counts — most of these items turn on it.

Text A: Spring Report to the Pantry Board

Data / Charts155 words

This spring was the busiest stretch our pantry has had since it opened. Visits held fairly steady from January through March, then jumped in April and stayed high through June. Between March and June, monthly visits grew by more than half.

The figure below shows every visit recorded at our sign-in table this year, month by month. The pattern is hard to miss. Once April arrived, the monthly count never came close to its winter level again.

The message for the board is simple: we are serving far more families than we were in the winter. By the last Saturday in May, our shelves were nearly bare, and volunteers had to give half orders to the people at the end of the line.

I am asking the board to approve a larger monthly food order starting in July, so that no one who waits in that line goes home with less than a full order.

FigureVisits recorded at one food pantry's sign-in table, by month (January–June)

Bar chart of visits recorded at one food pantry's sign-in table each month from January to June: 310 in January, 295 in February, 340 in March, 480 in April, 505 in May, and 520 in June.
Month	Visits recorded
January	310
February	295
March	340
April	480
May	505
June	520

Illustrative figure created for instruction. Not drawn from a published dataset.

Original passage and figure — BEOC Academic Bridge

Text B: Notes From the Sign-In Table

Informational168 words

I have worked the sign-in table every Saturday since last fall, so I see nearly every household that comes through the door. The spring rush was real. In May, the line reached the corner more than once.

The monthly totals leave out a change the pantry made on April 1. Until then, each household could pick up groceries once a month. Starting in April, households could come twice. Many people I signed in on the first Saturday of a month were back two weeks later.

Last week I went back through the sign-in sheets and counted each household only once per month, no matter how many times it came. In March, 340 different households signed in. In June, 365 did.

So we are seeing some new faces, and we are seeing familiar faces more often. Both mean more food going out the door. But they are not the same thing, and the board should know which one it is looking at before it decides how much to order.

Original passage — BEOC Academic Bridge

Answer Review

Why each answer is right or wrong

The reasoning behind every choice, including the ones designed to catch you.

Work through the practice first, then open a question below to see the full reasoning. Reading why a wrong answer is wrong is what stops you from choosing it again on the test.

Practice set

Q1According to the figure, which time slot went unused most often?

Correct answer: C. 12:00 p.m.

Why: The noon bar is the tallest at 29 percent, just above 2 p.m. at 26 percent.

Every choice, explained

A.8:00 a.m. — The lowest bar at 12 percent — the best-attended slot, not the worst.
B.10:00 a.m. — 17 percent, the second-lowest.
C.12:00 p.m. — Correct. 29 percent, the tallest bar in the figure.
D.4:00 p.m. — 19 percent, in the middle of the range.

Q2Which statement about the figure supports the author's point in paragraph 2 that staff expectations were wrong?

Correct answer: B. The 8 a.m. slot had the lowest unused rate of any time shown, while the two midday slots were highest.

Why: Staff expected the earliest slots to be worst. The figure shows 8 a.m. best at 12 percent and midday worst at 29 and 26 percent — the reverse of the expectation.

Every choice, explained

A.The 4 p.m. slot had a higher unused rate than the 8 a.m. slot. — True from the figure, but it does not address the expectation about early slots being worst.
B.The 8 a.m. slot had the lowest unused rate of any time shown, while the two midday slots were highest. — Correct. It contrasts exactly the hours the expectation was about.
C.Every slot had some unused appointments. — True and uninformative. It says nothing about which hours performed worse.
D.The unused rate declined between noon and 4 p.m. — True, but the decline after noon is not what the staff expectation concerned.

Q3Which conclusion is NOT supported by the passage and the figure together?

Correct answer: B. Moving midday slots to the evening has reduced the clinic's unused-slot rate.

Why: Paragraph 4 says the clinic made the change but has not published results for the evening block. The outcome is unknown, so no conclusion about it is supported.

Every choice, explained

A.Midday appointments at this clinic went unused more often than early-morning appointments. — Directly supported by the figure — 29 and 26 percent versus 12 percent.
B.Moving midday slots to the evening has reduced the clinic's unused-slot rate. — Correct — this is the unsupported one. The passage explicitly says results are not yet available.
C.The clinic's staff expectation about early appointments was not borne out by its own data. — Supported by paragraph 2 read against the figure.
D.The clinic attributed midday no-shows to conflicts with work shifts. — Supported by paragraph 3, which gives the clinic's explanation.

Challenge

Q1In paragraph 1 of Text A, the coordinator writes that between March and June, "monthly visits grew by more than half." Which calculation from the figure correctly checks this claim?

Correct answer: D. 520 − 340 = 180, and 180 is more than half of 340, so the claim is supported.

Why: Find the two months the claim names — March at 340 and June at 520 — and subtract: 520 − 340 = 180. Growing "by more than half" compares the increase to the starting value, and half of 340 is 170. Since 180 is more than 170, the figure supports the claim. Notice what the claim and the figure both count, though: visits.

Every choice, explained

A.520 − 310 = 210, and 210 is more than half of 310, so the claim is supported. — The conclusion is right, but the numbers are not. 310 is the January bar; the claim starts in March, so the starting value must be 340.
B.480 − 340 = 140, and 140 is less than half of 340, so the claim is not supported. — 480 is the April bar. The claim runs to June, so the ending value must be 520. Stopping one month early makes a supported claim look unsupported.
C.520 − 340 = 180, but 180 is less than half of 520, so the claim is not supported. — The subtraction is right, but the comparison uses the wrong base. Growth is measured against where visits started, 340 in March, not where they ended. Half of 340 is 170, and 180 is more than that.
D.520 − 340 = 180, and 180 is more than half of 340, so the claim is supported. — Correct. March is 340 and June is 520, an increase of 180. Half of 340 is 170, so an increase of 180 is more than half.

Q2Which conclusions are supported by the texts and the figure together — conclusions you could not reach from any one source alone? Select all that apply.

Correct answer: A. Visits grew by 180 between March and June, while the number of different households grew by only 25. • C. The biggest one-month jump in visits came in April, the first month households were allowed a second visit.

Why: A combined conclusion needs a piece from each source. Choice A takes visits from the figure and households from Text B. Choice C takes the April jump from the figure and the April 1 rule change from Text B. Choice B is true but needs only the figure, and choices D and E go beyond anything either source says.

Every choice, explained

A.Visits grew by 180 between March and June, while the number of different households grew by only 25. — Correct. The 180 comes from the figure (520 − 340) and the 25 from Text B (365 − 340). Neither source has both numbers.
B.June had more recorded visits than any other month from January through June. — True, but the figure alone shows it: June's bar, at 520, is the tallest. It does not need either text, so it is not a combined conclusion.
C.The biggest one-month jump in visits came in April, the first month households were allowed a second visit. — Correct. The figure shows the biggest jump, from 340 to 480, arriving in April, and only Text B says April is when households could first come twice.
D.Visits rose this spring because more families in the neighborhood lost work. — Neither source mentions anyone losing work. This reads a cause into the pattern and supplies it from outside knowledge.
E.Visits will stay above 500 a month for the rest of the year. — Both sources stop at June. A figure cannot tell you what happens after the last month it shows, and neither text predicts it.

Q3Text A treats the rising bars as proof that the pantry is "serving far more families." What does Text B add that the figure cannot show?

Correct answer: B. It explains that the figure counts visits, not households: from April on, one household could come twice a month, and the number of different households rose only from 340 to 365.

Why: The figure measures visits. Text A reads visits as families; Text B shows why that reading fails after April 1, when one household could account for two visits. Visits rose by 180 while different households rose by 25, so most of the extra visits were return trips. Checking whether two sources measure the same thing is often the whole answer.

Every choice, explained

A.It confirms that the pantry was busier in the spring than in the winter. — Text B does agree — "The spring rush was real" — but the figure already shows a busier spring. This adds nothing the bars cannot show.
B.It explains that the figure counts visits, not households: from April on, one household could come twice a month, and the number of different households rose only from 340 to 365. — Correct. The figure has no way to show who made each visit. Text B supplies the rule change and the household counts that reveal the difference between visits and families.
C.It shows that the coordinator's visit counts are wrong and that the pantry was not really busier this spring. — Text B never disputes the counts. Its March total of 340 households matches the 340 visits in the figure, because each household could come only once that month.
D.It shows that visits will drop once families no longer need a second trip each month. — Neither source says the twice-a-month rule will end or predicts what visits will do next. This goes beyond both texts.

Q4In three or four sentences, write a conclusion about the pantry's spring that could not be reached from Text A, Text B, or the figure alone. Use at least one number from the figure and one from Text B.

Model response: The pantry did get much busier this spring, but mostly because the same households came more often, not because many more households came. The figure shows monthly visits rising from 340 in March to 520 in June, an increase of 180. Text B explains that households could come twice a month starting in April, and that the number of different households grew only from 340 to 365, an increase of 25. The coordinator is right that more food is going out the door, but the claim that the pantry is "serving far more families" does not hold up once both sources are read together.

Why: A complete answer does three jobs: it states one conclusion, supports it with a number from the figure and a number from Text B, and shows why the two together say something neither says alone. The trap is writing Text A's conclusion, because the figure by itself leads straight to it.

Mastery Check

Check yourself

A short formative check. It is not recorded — use it to decide whether to move on or review.

One short passage with a figure, four items. If you miss one, the review below each answer will tell you which part of the lesson to revisit.

Waiting for a Child-Care Spot

Data / Charts100 words

A neighborhood child-care center keeps a separate waiting list for each age group. In September, the director counted the families on each list so she could give parents an honest answer when they asked how long they might wait. The infant list was the longest by far. Infant rooms need the most staff for each child, so the center has the fewest infant spots to offer. From there, the lists grew shorter as the children got older. The director reminds parents that the counts change every month, as children move up to the next room and spots open behind them.

FigureFamilies on the waiting list, by child's age group (one child-care center, September)

Bar chart of families on one child-care center's waiting lists in September, by the child's age group: 26 for infants under age 1, 17 for toddlers age 1, 11 for twos, and 5 for preschool children ages 3 to 5.
Age group	Families waiting
Infants (under age 1)	26
Toddlers (age 1)	17
Twos (age 2)	11
Preschool (ages 3–5)	5

Illustrative figure created for instruction. Not drawn from a published dataset.

Original passage and figure — BEOC Academic Bridge

Write It

Now write it yourself

The same skill, going the other direction. Nothing here is submitted from this page — you will copy your paragraph into Brightspace when it is ready.

By the end of this lab you will be able to

Course outcomes covered

How this skill works

Read the frame before you read the numbers

The figure and the text do different jobs

What a figure cannot tell you

Integrating more than one source

A worked example

Connecting a chart to the argument beside it

The Cost of Getting There

Your turn, with support

Who Is Online at Home

Practice on a full passage

When the Clinic Is Open

A harder, TABE-style set

Text A: Spring Report to the Pantry Board

Text B: Notes From the Sign-In Table

Why each answer is right or wrong

Practice set

Challenge

Check yourself

Waiting for a Child-Care Spot

Now write it yourself

Sentence frames

Score your own draft

Which sentence earns which strand

Turn it in

Keep going