Graphs and Charts in the 11+ — Questions, Worked Answers and Practice Papers

What examiners actually ask

Graphs and Charts appears in 109 of our 338 ready papers (546 tagged questions). It averages 5 questions a paper worth about 1.57 marks each. The typical question allows around 43 sec. It appears in 3 CSSE papers we hold.

Graphs and charts turn data into marks — if children read the scale and key carefully. Papers ask for totals, differences, most/least, and simple inferences from bar charts, pie charts and tables. Mistakes cluster around misreading axis scales (going up in 2s or 5s) and ignoring the key. Independent papers sometimes combine a chart with a follow-up calculation. Teach a habit: read the title, check the scale, answer only what was asked. Practise estimating pie-chart slices before calculating exact amounts when percentages appear. When two charts share a page, label which chart each working line refers to so answers do not get mixed under time pressure.

Common mistakes

• Misreading a scale that increases in 2s, 5s or 10s.
• Ignoring the key or legend on a dual bar chart.
• Reading the wrong bar or category when labels are close together.
• Calculating a pie-chart angle or percentage from the wrong total.

Papers with the most Graphs and Charts questions

Ranked from our tagged catalogue — open a paper to practise the questions that actually test this topic.

Related topics

• Probability
• Word Problems
• Percentages
• Addition and Subtraction
• Averages
• Fractions