EP. 15 Year Olds With Low Literacy Levels

Education
5. Think about the key trends or patterns you can Technique

see in the graph and answer the questions.
When writing about graphs,
a. How many lines show an upward trend look at the visual information
overall without focusing on the
overall? details. You will usually be
b. How many are downward? able to identify three or four
main trends or patterns. Circle
c. Is any line consistently higher and/or
or draw arrows on the graph to
consistently lower in general? highlight the key features and
d. Can you see any patterns by comparing the patterns. Consider: upward
and downward movements,
start and end points shown? highest and lowest points and
e. Why has this type of graph been used and the start and end points for the
range of information shown.
not a diagram or pie chart?
Identifying key trends will help
6. Look at the exam task below and answer the you structures your writing.
questions.
a. How much time do you have to complete the task?

b. How many words do you need to write?
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The graph shows the percentage of 15 year olds with low literacy (reading
and writing) levels in four countries.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Read the model text below. Match paragraphs a-d with summaries 1-4.
1. Gives an overview _______________.
2. Describe main upward trends __________________.
3. Describes the main downward trend ______________.
4. Introduction describing data set ___________________.

a The graph provides information about the literacy rates of 15 year olds in four
European countries over a period of nine years.
b There are two clear trends visible. Only one country, Denmark, experienced a
slight fall in poor literacy levels, as numbers dropped marginally from around 17
per cent in 2000 to 15 per cent in 2009. This minor dip nevertheless gave
Denmark the lowest percentage overall by the end of the period shown.
c Conversely, in the majority of countries the proportion of children with low

literacy levels increased, the biggest rise being evident in Austria. This country
had the highest number of children with weak literacy throughout the period,
except in the year 2000 where, at 15 percent, the numbers were approximately
2 per cent lower than those in Denmark. However, by 2003 Austrian numbers
had reached just over 20 per cent and rose again more steeply to a high of
around 27 per cent in 2009. Ireland and Sweden both saw steady upward trends
in their totals, beginning with around 11 percent and 13 percent respectively and
ending at a similar percentage of 17 percent.
d Therefore, with the exception of Denmark, the percentage of 15 years olds with
literacy problems generally went up. The difference between the countries was
relatively low in 2009, ranging from around 11 per cent, but this difference grew
and by 2009 spanned from approximately 15 per cent to over 27 per cent.
Guided model
8. Look at the graph. Quickly check the title and axis to find out:
a. what the chart shows.
b. what the numbers refer to.
9. Identify three to four key tends in the graph. Use the questions below to help
you.
a. How many of the lines show an upward trend? How many show a
downward trend?
b. Which line is consistently higher? Which is consistently lower?
c. What are the similarities and differences between the start and end
points?
10. Look at the summary table now. Complete the table with notes about the graph.
1 Introduction Data identified – 4 types of course in China
Data specified - 2008-2012
2 Downward trends
3 Upward trends
4 Overview Final summary
Technique
You need to identify key trends and patterns in the data, and use details to support
this information. If you list a lot of information about each part of the graph
separately, you will not be demonstrating an ability to select and group information
effectively. If you do not include supporting details, you will lose marks. Spend two
or three minutes identifying key trends and use this to structure your answer. Add
supporting details after identifying the main features.
11. Read the example question and model answer below. Ignore the gaps. Number the paragraphs a-d
in the correct order. Does the model answer contain information to your notes?
The graph shows the number of students enrolled on different course types
in China.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main information.
Write at least 150 words.
a The first key feature shows that literacy courses had the lowest number of
participants overall for the whole period. This type of course is the only one
which showed a __________, beginning with just over 1.5 million students in
2008 then __________ almost 0 by 2010. Uptake __________ slightly in 2012
to just under a million but this course type remained the lowest in terms of
student numbers.
b Overall, with the exception of literacy, the number of students on all the other
courses climbed _________ with undergraduates easily outnumbering all other
types of student.
c The graph _________ the number of people enrolled on four different types of
educational course in China in the period 2008 to 2012.
d On the other hand, the proportion of students on undergraduate courses

showed the highest increase throughout the period and numbers on this type
of course __________ from around 19 million in 2008 to 23 million in 2012.
These courses had approximately four times as many students as the other
types of course. Similarly, numbers of students enrolled as postgraduates and
using online courses followed a similar __________ and increased moderately
from 2008 to 2012, ending with around 2 million and 5 million participants
respectively in 2012.
12. Read the model answer again in the correct

order. Complete the answer with words from
the box.
demonstrates dipping to downward trend
gradually increased steadily rose upward
trend
13. Match the visuals a-d with correct names from
the box.
bar chart pie chart process diagram table
14. Look at the visuals in 13 again and answer the

questions.
a. Which two visuals figures can also show

trends? Technique
b. Which of the visuals is best for high levels of Line graphs are useful for showing
detail? overall trends. There are four other
c. Which visuals helps highlight proportions or types of visual you might write
parts within a whole data set? about in Task 1: bar chart, pie chart,
d. Which visuals helps highlight comparisons process diagram, tables.
between different categories of a data set?

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Education

5. Think about the key trends or patterns you can Technique

a. How much time do you have to complete the task?

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

1. Gives an overview _______________.

2. Describe main upward trends __________________.

3. Describes the main downward trend ______________.

4. Introduction describing data set ___________________.

c Conversely, in the majority of countries the proportion of children with low

4 Overview Final summary

d On the other hand, the proportion of students on undergraduate courses

12. Read the model answer again in the correct

14. Look at the visuals in 13 again and answer the

a. Which two visuals figures can also show

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