Complex Multi-Chart Analysis

Warm-up: Two charts, one story

2 warm-up questions

• When a Task 1 question gives you two charts instead of one, what's your honest first reaction — and what do you do first?
• First try, 30 seconds: a line graph shows cinema attendance falling from 2000 to 2020; a pie chart shows 2020 entertainment spending, with streaming at 45% — the largest slice. Say ONE sentence that uses BOTH charts together.

Reading: Multi-Chart Questions

Read a 126-word text about Multi-Chart Questions

Analyzing Multiple Charts Band 7+ candidates can synthesize information from multiple charts effectively. Common Combinations: Two pie charts (different years) Line graph + bar chart Table + pie chart Multiple line graphs Key Strategies: 1. Find Connections How do the charts relate to each other? What story do they tell together? 2. Write a Unified Overview Don't write separate overviews for each chart Identify the main message across both 3. Group Similar Data Don't describe chart 1, then chart 2 separately Organize by themes or categories 4. Make Comparisons Compare across charts, not just within them "While Chart A shows X, Chart B reveals Y" Band 7+ Language: "A comparison of the two charts reveals..." "When the data is examined together..." "The correlation between... suggests that..."

Vocabulary: Advanced Analysis Vocabulary

6 items

Framework: The COMPARE Framework

COMPARE, 7 steps

COMPARE: A systematic approach to analyzing and comparing multiple data sources for complex Task 1 questions.

Practice: Multi-Chart Language

Gap-fill exercise, 4 items

• A ____ of the two charts reveals a strong positive relationship.
• The two trends ____ by the end of the decade.
• There is a clear ____ between the first and second data sets.
• Urban areas significantly outperformed their rural ____.

Discussion: Your mission: one unified plan

3 discussion questions

• Mission: using the COMPARE framework, talk through a full report plan for this pair — Chart A (line graph): gym membership rising in three countries from 2010 to 2020; Chart B (bar chart): average hours of weekly exercise per person in the same countries in 2020. Success = one unified overview, two grouped body paragraphs, and at least two cross-chart comparisons. (Tutor: play the examiner — every time the student describes one chart alone, ask 'where's the connection?')
• Second take: the twist — now suppose Chart B contradicts Chart A: the country with the most gym members exercises the fewest hours. How does your overview sentence change? Say the new version.
• Callback: compare with your one-sentence warm-up attempt about cinemas and streaming. Say that sentence again now — what does your cross-chart language sound like after the COMPARE framework?