We will now look more closely at two sources of graphs.

First of all, we’ll look at some graphs from the publication produced by the Office for National Statistics called Social Trends. The graphs will be familiar, the contexts may not be. This doesn’t stop you using your common sense to interpret them, though.

The emphasis in the questions will be on interpretation.

One of the main ground rules is to check the small print. Somewhere, usually at or near the top, will be a statement of the units being used – are they percentages, thousands of people, millions of pounds? This should be one of the first things you look for.

But remember that you cannot read these graphs to any high degree of accuracy. Do the best you can, perform any calculations, but round off your answer to something sensible. Don't expect people to be impressed by lots of decimal places. If you feel that the nearest million is all the graph can show, so be it!