GRAPH DESCRIPTION dạy kĩ năng viết mô tả bảng biểu trong đề thi học sinh giỏi quốc gia

.stract TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG CHUYÊN LÀO CAI ĐỀ TÀI: DẠY KĨ NĂNG VIẾT MÔ TẢ BẢNG BIỂU TRONG ĐỀ THI HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA Họ tên giáo viên thực hiện: ĐỖ NGỌC HOA Tổ chuyên môn: Ngoại Ngữ 0|Page TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Aims of the study and research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Organization of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical background of interpreting Graphs and Charts Types of graphs and tables Writing graph interpretation process Challenges with Graph interpretation CHAPTER II: RESEARCH AND APPLICATION Step 1: Identifying a problem/paradox/ issue/difficulty 1.1 Participant Observation 1.2 Questionaires 1.3 Interview 1.4 Document review 1.5 Discussion Step 2: Thinking of ways to tackle the problem 2.1 Expanding students’ lexico resource 2.2 Guiding students to interpret charts or graphs 2.3 Train time management skills Step 3: Implementing the action Step 4: Evaluating the action Step 5: Modifying the future practice 10 PART III: CONCLUSION PART IV: APPENDICE PART V: REFERENCES 31 32 39 1|Page PART I: INTRODUCTION This section provides the research problem, rationale for the study, its scope and significance The two research questions are also presented together with the aims and objectives of the study and the organization of the study Statement of the problem and rationale for the study With the development of science and technology and the increasing demand of scientific inquiry skills in the 21 st century, students are required to have not only strong academic knowledge, the ability to apply their knowledge to solve practical situations but also the skills to process information and interpret data, for example, to make inferences from provided information, find trends, compare and contrast data, relate different sources to evaluate visual data presentation in the form of graphs and tables Plus, being able to build and interpret statistical charts is also regarded as an important part of statistical literacy (Watson, 2006) Therefore, mastering data analysis skills will help students to better their understanding of information encountered daily such as the data provided through the media, weather report, stock market, medical results and financial figures (Nirit Glazer, 2011) By dint of its position in today digital age, the ability of interpreting data always grabs the headlines and become one of criteria widely used to assess students in many countries However, teaching this skill is often given minimal class time partly due to its level of difficulty and students’ lack of motivation According to Gal (2002) data comprehension is a complex task To be capable of reading and describing charts, students need to achieve necessary competences such as the competence of interpreting and critically evaluating the statistics based on the information provided as well as formulating a reasoned opinion about such information At Lao Cai specialized upper secondary school, teaching graph interpretation is mainly conducted at English major classes, particularly for advanced students due to its complex nature Despite a lot of time and effort spent on this activity, most students still have to struggle to complete the task In fact, many students reported that they find challenging to organise and analyse the complex data logically and fluently, 2|Page particularly when dealing with multiple graphs Others stated that they failed to describe graphs smoothly and have the tendency to use repeated words and structures Moreover, teachers who are the main supervisor of this activity are not fully aware of the problems influencing the poor performance of students in describing charts or graphs, thereby being unable to give effective guidelines to students As a result, the misinterpretation of graphs, together with the ambiguity in expression has led to the poor performance of students in the exam It also brings about the confusion and hesitation among students while doing the task Therefore, there is a need to conduct a study on the problems and solutions to improve students’ data processing skills Aims of the study and research questions The aim of this study is first to clarify the problems that students have encountered when interpreting and describing charts It then shares the techniques and strategies that have been used by teachers to monitor change and empower the students to achieve graph interpretation skills Two research questions that this study is expected to answers are: What problems that students may encounter while interpreting and describing chart? What techniques and strategies can be applied by teachers to help students improve their chart describing skills? Scope of the study Due to limited time, the study was carried out with a small group of 11 advanced students who studied at 12th English Class The study focuses mainly on clarifying factors that influence the quality of student writing through marking and giving feedback to students’ assignments The 12th grade students and their assignment papers were therefore chosen as research subjects Significance of the study The data analysis skills is proposed to be one of the central skills in this century due to its practical use in reality The findings of this study will firstly help teachers to have better insight into their teaching data interpretation skills to students Secondly, it helps 3|Page students who are struggling to accomplish this task to find out the main problems that affect their writing, which will enable them to employ more effective writing strategies to enhance their performance This study may also provide some useful information for other writers who want to have further research into this issue Organization of the study The paper consists of these following parts: Part I: Introduction Part II: Development Chapter 1: Literature review Chapter 2: Research findings and Application Part III: Conclusion – summarizes the major findings of the study 4|Page PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical background of interpreting Graphs and Charts Writing is an essential skill that ESL leaners have to develop There are several types of writing, and each type represents a different purpose of writing As mentioned above the aim of this study is to develop students’ writing ability of interpreting graphs and charts; or analysing data in the form of tables, points, lines, bars, and pie charts Statistics and data analysis appeared as a vital part of the school mathematics curriculum during the 1990s (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1989, 2000) Shaughnessy states in Garfield, & Greer (1996) that the current meaning of data analysis from graphical representations reflects the use of visual displays of quantitative data According to Gal (2002) data analysing activities may present in two main kinds of context: ‘enquiry’ and ‘reading’ In inquiry researchers, statisticians and students participate in empirical study of actual data and usually have to interpret data and results, infer the information from data and report findings and conclusions The reading contexts involve in everyday situations in which an individual sees and illuminates graphs Without noticing the readers are actually engaged in the research while watching TV, reading a newspaper, looking at advertisements; going shopping and surfing Internet sites Another definition about interpretation of graphs (e.g., Cleveland, 1987; Noss, Bakker, Hoyles, & Kent, 2007) is the process of reading and understanding a graph which is built by encoding accurately and efficiently the information using different elements like geometrical figures or colours; then the information visually decoded in a process of graphical perception (Cleveland, 1987) Therefore, in order to read and understand statistical graphs and tables, learners have much to learn about the processes involved in 5|Page reading, analysing, interpreting and comparing information presented in different data graphs and tables According to Wainer (NCTM, 2000; Wainer 1992), there are three major levels of graph interpretation: 1) Elementary comprehension level focuses on extracting particular data points from a graph Students are only expected to locate and read the specific data point 2) Intermediate level of understanding concentrates on finding trends and relationships in the data 3) Advanced comprehension level requires extrapolation from the data and analysis of relations expressed in the data, for example: generalising to a population, making a prediction about an unknown, a comparison of trends and observing groupings And in writing section of English tests, graph describing task often combine two or three levels of reading Types of graphs and tables To achieve comprehension and analysis for any types of graphs and tables that are often appeared in examinations for excellent students, learners should understand the purpose of representing data in different types and the process of analysing this data Below is demonstration of different types of tables and charts that are used to express social studies data a Bar graphs 6|Page A graph contains rectangles with lengths that represent a quantity Bar graphs are typically used to demonstrate comparisons or contrasts (Shah et al., 2005) b Circle graphs A graph in the shape of a circle which had been divided into percentages used for the presentation of proportion data (Shah et al., 2005) c Line graphs 7|Page A graph contains points that are connected by a line Typically, line graphs are used to show changes over time and/or space (Barbara M Waxer – 2010.p7) d Table It is used to show information by using columns and rows in order to demonstrate differences, similarities, and changes over time (K E Possler, Continental Press – 1995) e Combination 8|Page The use of multiple charts, graphs and/or tables to demonstrate trends, patterns, differences and/or similarities (Elizabeth Reding, Lynn Wermers, 2013) Writing graph interpretation process Among the types of writing, graph describing is considered as the most complex style that requires interpreting the information correctly As such, data are not collected randomly, but based on some questions that the researcher expects to answer Antonius (2003) reveals that there are two methods used to analyse data, called qualitative and quantitative Schurink et al (2011); Atkins and Wallace (2012) and Tuckman and Harper (2012) also state that a qualitative study involves an inseparable relationship between data collection and data analysis in order to build a coherent interpretation of data On the other hand Morgan and Krueger (1998) voices an important opinion that the analysis of qualitative methods must be systematic, sequential, verifiable and continuous While qualitative method is aimed at comparing, seeking to enlighten and entertaining alternative explanations by using words (concepts, terms, symbols, etc.); quantitative method is expected to produce findings by using procedures and techniques to analyse data numerically On the whole, in order to produce findings, data should be analysed to transform data into findings Regarding qualitative and quantitative analysis of data, Kreuger and Neuman (2006) provide a useful outline qualitative and quantitative methods of 9|Page whole task The frequently students practise, the better they control their writing By familiarizing themselves with the interpretation in the time regulated, students can prepare well for their test Step 3: Implement the action (week to week 10) The plan was implemented according to the following steps Week Week Steps taken by researchers Identify problems of writing Steps taken by students - Start writing task, Collect data (questionnaires, questionnaires and interviews - Hand in the questionnaires, interviews, interviews, students’ and write assignments Week assignments) Investigate and analyse the - Continue practise writing Week Week problems Draw up the plan of action Guide students to practise - Continue practise writing - Practise interpreting the data and graph and chart analysing the main features interpretation - Practise comparing and contrasting the Week answer the data of each different types of graphs, Week Guide graph students and charts, tables practise - Practise comparing and contrasting the chart data of each different types of graphs, interpretation Week Guide students to practise - Practise comparing and contrasting graph Week charts, tables and chart mixed graphs and charts interpretation Guide students to practise - Practise using synonyms, and other techniques to enlarge lexico alternatives to synonyms resources and some useful - Working with writing samples sources for students to selfWeek study Guide students to practise - Introduce techniques of time 27 | P a g e time management skills management - Practise setting time limit for each task Week 10 Have students practise and practise timing - Practise writing with the time limited writing as guided Week 11 Have students practise - Practise writing with the time limited writing as guided Week 12 Evaluate and modify for the - Practise writing with the time limited future practice A DETAILED LESSON PLAN DESCRIPTION OF GRAPHS OR CHART I Aims: At the end of the lesson, Ss will Educational aim: - Students know how to apply the strategies and techniques to write a description of a chart or graph - They are able to interpret, analyse, and synthesize the data Knowledge: - Students know how to use expressions, structure and vocabulary used in writing a chart or graph description effectively - Students can set their time limit and follow it strictly Skills: - Writing skills, analysing skills, interpreting skills, another related skills II Methodology: integrated, communicative approach, collecting papers and giving feedback III Preparations: - Students: handout, paper, materials - Teacher: lesson plan, projector, pictures IV Procedures: Activity 1: Identify and analyse the problems of writing Time Week 1-2-3-4 Teacher’s activities Students’ activities - Observe students, create - Answer questions in questionaires, interview questionaires students - Write the chart or graph - Assign students to write some description as given description of graphs or charts - Hand in the paper and get - Collect students’ papers, the feedback correct and give students 28 | P a g e feedbacks - Synthesise all the data collected, then analyse the problem - Plan the actions for improvement - Practise other writings Activity 2: Plan the action Time Week 8-9 Teacher’s activities 5-6-7- Enlarge students’ lexico resource Step 1: - Provide sources for learning vocabulary - Have students all write about one line graph - Ask students to exchange their writing paper with their friends Ask them to correct their peers’ writing Require students to think of other ways to improve the sentences and write them down on their friends’ paper Step 2: - Provide model sample of writing task (must be a high quality writing piece) - Have sts to underline and take note all the good expressions and phrases - Ask them to write again based on what they collected - Collect the paper and give feedback Guide students to read the data - Provide a graph or chart - Ask students to catch the main features - Ask sts to compare and contrast with the questions - Ask them to practise with Students’ activities - Learn vocabularies through sources - Students write a graph or chart description as required - Exchange their papers - Give feedback to friends - Thinks how to improve their friends’ sentences by using the sources provided - Read the samples analyse them and - Learn the structures and expressions - Hand in the papers and get feedback - Practise reading the task in group - Answer questions and practise grouping information 29 | P a g e many kinds of charts or graphs Practise setting time limit - Have students set time for each - Set time limit and practise part - Ask them to follow strictly - Ask students set time for the whole task then practise Activity 3: Evaluate and modify Time Teacher’s activities Week 10-11- - Get the papers and give feedback each week 12 - Moderate their writing habits and ask them to correct - Think about next actions to improve their writing Students’ activities - Practise as guided Step 4: Evaluate the action After a period of nearly 12 weeks of identifying the problems, planning the action and implementing it, there were some improvements in students writing As it was observed, students felt more comfortable when dealing with different types of charts and graphs Also, they did not feel scared when being asked to analyse the mixed data The writing pieces (Appendix 5) collected after the time of using different strategies and techniques showed their progress in their writings compared to the prior ones In each task given, they showed a competence of using a variety of words and expressions to rephrase their ideas Although there were some limitations in making comparison when dealing with more than one graphs or charts at a time, students developed their ability in figuring out the main trends and features among these graphs, charts or tables The time management skill as observed was one of the issues that students made progress the most Most learners fulfilled the task assigned in the time given Just only one or two students sometimes failed to finish the tasks for not making the clear outline or structure before writing 30 | P a g e Step 5: Modify the future practice (Implications) After evaluating the results gained from the research Researchers found that implementing different writing techniques and strategies has a great influence on the writing quality of students There are some benefits as mentioned in above sections such as the better language use, the higher competence of data analysis and the acquirement of good time management skills However, there are some still limitations that teachers will need to take into consideration so that they can help students more in the future, for example, the effective use of words and structures, the ability of grouping the data, efficient ways of comparing and contrasting the figures provided or the essential skills to deal with mixed data All these issues require researchers more time and efforts to investigate and modify This study is expected to be a good source for further practice PART III: CONCLUSION The paper shows the critical role of interpreting and describing graphs or charts to English learners, particularly to students who join the nation exam for gifted students Besides, it is essential to students who are going to take IELTS test – an international exam for the candidates to different countries in the world This study was conducted with the view to not only identifying the main challenges that students in Lao Cai specialized upper secondary school have encountered but also figuring out the issues 31 | P a g e that other students when learning about graphs or charts are struggling to overcome such as the lack of vocabulary, the low competence of data analysis as well as the failure in managing time This papers also offer some suggestions that can be helpful for teachers who can be more aware of their students’ problems, therefore, will have better solutions to address their own issues It also can be valuable for students who are searching for the techniques or strategies for their matters Besides the benefits that the study is expected to bring about to teachers and students in the understanding of visual data interpretation, there are still some inevitable shortcomings existing Due to the time strain and the small group of subjects or participants, the results gained from the study can’t fully reflect the general issues about graphs or charts description that all students have encountered Therefore, the researchers expect to get constructive feedback and contributions from all the fellow teachers and students to make it a better research PART IV: APPENDICE APPENDIX 1: OBSERVATION RECORD SHEET - OVERALL CLASS MOTIVATION Instructor evaluated Course Number of students present Date 32 | P a g e Evaluator(s) _ Purpose: The purpose of this classroom observation is to provide a database about students’ motivation in writing class Instructions: Please consider each item carefully and mark the number for each statement below The observer(s) should remain in the classroom for the full class period It is suggested that the observer(s) arrange a pre-visit and post-visit meeting with the instructor Not really very much Teacher’s performance a Effectively organizes learning situations to meet the objectives of the class presentation b Uses instructional methods encouraging relevant student participation in the learning process c Demonstrates enthusiasm for the subject matter d Encourages critical thinking and analysis Students’ attitude a Paying persistent attention to the lesson b Being interested in the lesson c Writing activities are challenging for the students d Being active in writing activities APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed for my research into motivation in speaking activities in the classroom Your answer is used for research purposes only Thank you for your cooperation! 33 | P a g e How important is graph describing skill to you? A Very B Rather C Little D Not at all E Don’t mind How often you feel unwilling to write in class or practice at home? A Always B Usually C Sometimes D I write whenever I am told to APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW Graph interpretation and data analysis skill This interview is carried out in class for our research into the factors leading to students’ low motivation in Graph interpretation and data analysis lesson All the data collected in this interview is ONLY for the purpose of the survey with the hope that students will answer these questions accurately and honestly Why you learn Graph interpretation and data analysis? 34 | P a g e Students’ answer: 1) Graph interpretation and data analysis is necessary for their future job 2) Graph interpretation and data analysis is part of tests or exams 3) They are interested in Graph interpretation and data analysis skill 4) Others: How you find writing chart or graph description? 1) Very challenging 2) Quite challenging 2) Normal 3) Easy What problems you often encounter with writing chart and graph description? Specify these problems ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 4: Sample The graphs illustrate the total number of books as well as types of books consumed per capita in the period from 1980 to 2010 Overally, there was an upward trend in the consumption of both paperback and hardback while paperback always made a bigger profit than its counterpart A change in book preference was experienced as self-help books rose gradually, in contrast with other types’ trend 35 | P a g e In 1980, each person bought 20 paperbacks, comparing to only hardbacks In the first 15 years, the sum of paperbacks consumed increased by 10 despite a slight fall in 1990; whereas that of hardbacks rose steadily to just under in 1995 Although paperback and hardback’s sales fell back to 25 and 2,5 in 2000 respectively, they soared in the last 10 years when paperback’s figures stopped at 42, outstripping 7,5 hardback books reported Turning to four types of books purchased namely biography, history, self-help and political, in 1980, people read about politics the most with 22 books per capita, followed by biography, history and self-help with 16, and respectively Despite its rise from 1980 to 1990, political books’ sales halved to 11 in 2010, sharing a downward trend with history and biography Self-help was the only category to advance its consumption by 14 times to 28 in 2010, overtaking all other three (Hoang Anh Ninh – 12 English) Sample The chart gives information about variations in the rate of three main areas of crime in Newport city between 2003 to 2013 Overall, the number of burglaries saw a considerable decrease while that of car thefts and robberies fluctuated over the period shown In can be easily seen from the graph that there were about 3500 and 2800 incidences regarding burglary and car theft, respectively These figures were considerably higher than that of robberies, which was at about 600 cases While burglary rate reached its peak in 2004, at about 3700 cases, the number of car thefts and robberies remained stable The year 2008 marked the remarkable decrease of about 2500 cases in terms of burglary from the 2004’s figure In contrast, the figure of robbery incidents slightly fell from approximately 800 in 2004 to 500 in 2008 After a sudden increase to 2000 in 2006, car theft rate gradually rose to 2700 in 2012 Over the last years, burglary and robbery incidences did not show any significant changes despite undergoing fluctuations (Hong Hanh Tran – 12 English) APPENDIX Here are some samples collected after the application of techinques and strategies Sample 36 | P a g e The graph gives information about the revenue percentage that the UK economy earned from agriculture, manufacturing and business and financial sector from 1990 to 2000 Overall, while the contribution of agriculture and manufacturing decreased, that of business and financial sector increased over the period shown It can be easily seen from the graph that in 1900, the UK economy mainly depended on agriculture and manufacturing’s contribution, at around 50% and 45% respectively These figures are considerably higher than that of business and financial portion, which was approximately 3% However, in the next 50 years, while both agriculture and business and financial figure saw an increase of about 5%, there was a steady decrease to around 37% in manufacturing industry In 1975, agriculture contribution fell considerably to about 10%, a decrease of approximately 40% from 1950’s statistic Over the last 25 years, both agriculture and manufacturing experienced a significant decrease, to about 2% and 15%, respectively In contrast, business and financial sector rose from 22% in 1975 to 33% in 2000, taking predence among selected branches (Hong Hanh Tran – 12 English) Sample The graph presents data about the previous and current obesity rates in nine countries, as well as gives prediction about the figures measured from 1970 to 2020 Overall, all countries experienced an upward trend and America is forecasted to be the dominant As it can be seen, the top three countries with the fastest growth rate were America, England and Australia America was the first nation to be recorded with 48% in 1970 After a slight fall in 1980, its overweight rate gradually rose to more than 60% in 2000, then the number is supposed to reach 69% in 2010, making it the most obese country in the list Having its initial measurement ten years later, England soon became the second most overweight country with 48% and had significantly grew to 57% within one decade In accordance, it is predicted that this figure will rise to 62% in the 2020 Likewise, only about one-third of Australian were obese when it was first measured at the end of 1980, however, a sharp increase had allowed it to be in the top with 59% in 2010 In the next decade, it is predicted that these three countries will maintain being in the top 3, in which America outweighs its other two opponents with an expecting percentage of 72% In addition, other countries namely Canada, Spain, Austria, Italy, France and Korea also ascended but remained steadily under 60% During the 1980s and 1990s, Spain, Austria and France experienced an average of 35% while Canada was in the 37 | P a g e top with 60% During the next decade, the number of obese people in these countries experienced fluctuation, with a decrease of 10% in Canada while Spain increased sharply to 49% and soon outnumbered Canada by 1% in the 2010 with 52%, ,the remain countries stayed below 50% during this period Korea, the only Asian country in the list, stayed at the bottom line with 25% and is expected to remain its position in 2020 (Hoang Anh Ninh – 12 English) Sample (Bao Long Tran – 12 English) 38 | P a g e REFERENCE Antonius, R (2003) Interpreting quantitative data with SPSS Sage Arteaga, P., Batanero, C., Contreras, J M., & Cañadas, G R (2015) Statistical graphs complexity and reading levels: a study with prospective teachers Statistique et Enseignement, 6(1), 3-23 Atkins, L., & Wallace, S (2012) Qualitative research in education SAGE publications Becker, R A., & Cleveland, W S (1987) Brushing scatterplots Technometrics, 29(2), 127-142 Chinn, C.A., & Brewer, W.F (2001) Models of data: A theory of how people evaluate data Cognition and Instruction, 19(3), 323–393 Delport, C S L., Fouché, C B., & Schurink, W (2011) Theory and literature in qualitative research Research at grass roots: For the social sciences and human service professions Freedman, E.G., & Shah, P.S (2001, November) Individual differences in domain knowledge, graph reading skills, and explanatory skills during graph comprehension Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Orlando, FL Gal, I (2002), Adult's statistical literacy: Meaning, components, responsibilities International Statistical Review, 70(1), 1-25 Kent, P., Noss, R., Guile, D., Hoyles, C., & Bakker, A (2007) Characterizing the use of mathematical knowledge in boundary-crossing situations at work Mind, culture, and activity, 14(1-2), 64-82 39 | P a g e Kershner, R., 2000 Developing student teachers' understanding of strategies for teaching sen children Education Today, 4(50): 31-39 Monteiro, C., & Ainley, J (2004) Interpretation of media graphs and critical sense: implications for teaching and teachers In 10th International Congress on Mathematical Education Moore & K Stenning (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twenty Third Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp 1048–1053) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Morgan, D L., & Krueger, R A (1998) Analyzing and reporting focus group results (Vol 6) Sage National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989) Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) Principles and standards for school mathematics Reston, VA: Author Neuman, W L (2006) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches 6th Edition, Pearson International Edition, USA Nirit Glazer (2011): Challenges with graph interpretation: a review of the literature, Studies in Science Education, 47:2, 183-210 Norton, L S (2009) Action research in teaching and learning: A practical guide to conducting pedagogical research in universities Routledge Tuckman, B W., & Harper, B E (2012) Conducting educational research Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Trafton, J.G., & Trickett, S.B (2001) A new model of graph and visualization usage In J.D Reding, E., & Wermers, L (2013) Microsoft Excel 2013 for Medical Professionals Cengage Learning Shah, P., Freedman, E., & Watkins, P (April, 2003) The influence of prior content knowledge and graphical literacy skills on data interpretation Paper presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL Shaughnessy, J M., Garfield, J., & Greer, B (1996) Data handling In International handbook of mathematics education (pp 205-237) Springer, Dordrecht 40 | P a g e Watson, J.M (2006), Statistical literacy at school: growth and goals, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Wainer, H (1992) Understanding graphs and tables Educational Researcher, 21(1), 14–23 Westwood, P., 2006 Teaching and learning difficulties: Cross- curricular perspective Victoria: ACER press 41 | P a g e ... or within graphs or charts provided Group information into paragraphs For multiple charts or graphs, students can get confused with the complicated level of the data They often describe two graphs... charts in one paragraph The writing therefore will become confusing and illogical To avoid this mistake, students should group ideas in separated paragraph i.e a paragraph for a graph, chart, or... answer the other two questions “How you find chart and graph description? ”, “What problems you often encounter with writing chart and graph description? Specify these problems” (Appendix 3) Here