Analyze the information
In this lesson, we'll work on analyzing and communicating the meaning of a graph.
Here is a graph you have seen before. How could this information be used by tech manufacturers and social media services?
You can get creative. Here are some ideas:
- Overall, women use mobile devices more than the average population.
- So, mobile manufacturers should think about adult women when constructing ad campaigns.
- Women use tablets more than mobile devices, when compared with the average population.
- So, tablet manufacturers may want to target women in ad campaigns. Or, at least, not ignore them!
- Women prefer to use mobile devices for social networking.
- So, social networking apps should pay special attention to optimizing for mobile devices to attract the adult women demographic.
- Women prefer to use tablets for streaming audio.
- So, tablet manufacturers should highlight the quality of their speakers.
Imagine you work for a social networking company.
What would be the key points of the graphs? How would you use that information?
A social media company
- Women use social networking on mobile devices 12% more than the average person.
- Make sure social networking is optimized and marketed to women.
- Women use social networking a little more on mobile devices than on tablets.
- Encourage more social media use on tablets by advertising the benefit of a larger screen for photo/video social networking.
- Social networking is the only thing women prefer to do on a mobile device, compared with a tablet.
- Maybe it means social networking is best done on a device that is readily available—tablets take too long to take out and use. So keep optimizing social networking for mobile devices.
- Or, maybe it means the social networking user experience on tablets is bad. We should look into it.
A. Meaning
Here are some useful phrases:
- ...which means that...
- That could mean...
- That obviously means...
Imagine you work for a company that manufactures tablets. Look at the following takeaways from the graph. What would they mean for a tablet manufacturer?
- Compared with the average population, women were 17% more likely to use tablets to stream audio.
- Women watched videos on tablets slightly more than on mobile devices.
B. Cause
Here are some useful phrases:
- This is probably because...
- I believe the reason is...
- This could be due to...
Look at the following takeaways from the graph. Can you imagine a cause of the trend?
- Women prefer to use tablets to stream audio.
- In general, women use social networking far more than the average person.
A. Meaning
These phrases are just ideas. Your student can use any phrase they like.
- [Full sentence], which means that...[full sentence].
- That could mean...[full sentence].
- That obviously means...[full sentence].
The student works for a company that manufactures tablets.
- Compared with the average population, women were 17% more likely to use tablets to stream audio...
- which means that tablets must have high quality built-in speakers.
- Women watched videos on tablets slightly more than on mobile phones.
- That obviously means tablets are better for video.
B. Cause
These phrases are just ideas. Your student can use any phrase they like.
- This is probably because...[full sentence].
- I believe the reason is...[(that) + full sentence].
- This could be due to...[noun].
Look at the following takeaways from the graph. What is the cause of the trend?
- Women prefer to use tablets to stream audio.
- This is probably because tablets have higher-quality speakers, so the audio is better.
- In general, women use social networking far more than the average person.
- This could be due to the pressure women are under to be social, as compared to men.
NOTE: Please be sure your student doesn't fall into sexist stereotypes, i.e., that women are more social than men. If they do, you can gently question the assumptions underlying their beliefs, and discuss instead the pressure society places on women to be social.
Look at the graphs below. Imagine you work for a videogame company. Use the skills you have learned to talk about the main takeaways, the meaning and the cause.
[For more on these graphs, see this discussion post from The English Farm: "Visuals: Computer games heroes"]