Interpreting data from charts and graphs: Are you an outlier?

Analyze charts and graphs, listen to a talk from a data journalist, and express your opinion while learning English.

Learn English while listening to REAL programs, stories, news, audiobooks, and podcasts. This listening segment, “What we miss when we focus on the average, ” by Mona Chalabi comes to us from TED.

What is this story about?

When interpreting charts and graphs, we tend to focus on the averages. However, we can miss important information and unique contexts and stories if we only pay attention to the averages. Data journalist, Mona Chalabi directs our attention to the data that is outside the normal range, to the outliers or “lost birds” as she calls them. What can this type of data tell us?

Before you listen…

To prepare for the listening, see if you can answer these true or false questions about looking at data. This will help you become familiar with the topic and practice some of the vocabulary words that you will hear.

Listen to the TED talk by Mona Chalabi about what data can tell us…

Study Tips!

• Listen to the audio. You may want to take notes if it doesn’t interfere with your comprehension. In general, focus on the main ideas and key points of the listening segment.
• Are there questions you missed or parts you didn’t understand? Go back and listen to where each question is located in the audio (see quiz below), turn on the subtitles, and/or click on the button below to follow along with the transcript.

Listen and then take the quiz.

Click on “read transcript” on the TED talk page.

Take the quiz…

Continue Learning! Click on page 2 to practice new vocabulary words.

Let’s practice vocabulary words and expressions from the TED talk about interpreting charts and graphs. Read through the examples. Then, try it below.

First, read through the vocabulary words:

Study Tip! Tap or scroll over the list below to see their definitions.

1. *Outlier
2. Deviate
3. Plummet
4. Marginalize
5. Gone astray
6. Bird’s-eye view
7. Break apart the data
8. Scatterplot
9. Chaos
10. Undervalue

Now, look at how these words are used in context in the TED talk.

In this listening you heard:

1. “So instead, I look for the outliers. They can offer a better reflection of this chaos we call life.”
2. “And where there are outliers, the typical approach is to undervalue them, to see them as a deviation from the average or from what society thinks is normal.”
3. “According to the CDC, between 1997 and 2019, the percentage of American high school students who smoked plummeted from 36 to just six percent.”
4. “So what first seemed like this great success story is actually an indicator of how much work we need to do to reach some of the most marginalized communities.”
5. “But I like to call these outliers ‘lost birds.’ It’s a nickname I use for something or someone who has gone astray.”
6. “But when we dig into the deviations, we get to see the bigger picture. One from a bird’s-eye view.“
7. “When you break apart the data and look at the outliers, it is a totally different picture.”
8. “In general, when we present data as a scatterplot, the average would usually look like this.”

After reading the quotations, what advice do you think the speaker would give to someone who is interpreting data?

What do you think?

1. In the TED talk, Mona Chalabi considers us all outliers. In what ways do you consider yourself to be an outlier? Explain.
2. Can you think of a situation where someone or something deviates from the norm in a positive way?
3. Why do you think outliers are often undervalued in statistical analysis? Provide an example from your field of study.
4. Give an example of someone you know or a famous person who has gone astray? Did this have a positive or negative impact on their life ? Explain.

Got it? Now practice the vocabulary words in context below.

Learn English Grammar! Click on page 3 to practice grammar in context.

Learn transition words and phrases to introduce examples in speaking and writing. Then see how much you understand by taking a short quiz.

Here are some common transition words you can use to introduce examples while giving a presentation or writing a paper.

Introductory phrases/transition words

1. For example
2. For instance
3. Such as
4. Namely
5. In particular
6. To illustrate
7. Specifically
8. Including
9. Consider
10. As in the case of
11. This can be seen in

Now, look at how introductory phrases are used in a TED talk about interpreting data.

Notice how these words signal to the listener that there is an example that the speaker is about to explain.

1. “Take, for instance, the stats around teens and cigarettes.”
   • The phrase “Take, for instance” introduces a specific example to support the preceding discussion.
2. “So instead, I look for outliers.”
   • The word “instead” indicates a shift to a different approach or perspective.
3. “According to the CDC, between 1997 and 2019, the percentage of…”
   • “According to the CDC” introduces a citation of a source being presented.
4. “Like my mom, for example. She doesn’t like being on camera…”
   • “For example” emphasizes that the following case (the speaker’s mom) serves as a specific illustration of a broader idea.
5. “If you look hard enough, you’ll find that these lost birds pop up everywhere.”
   • “You’ll find” indirectly introduces examples (implying multiple cases outliers).

***After looking at the introductory phrases and above examples, which of these terms do you typically use while speaking or writing? Which words aren’t as familiar to you? Are there some that are more common for speaking or writing? Explain.

What about writing? Using the correct punctuation with transition words in writing:

Let’s look at this graph about smoking from the CDC. How would you describe this graph? What is the title and purpose? What overall patterns or trends and outliers stand out to you?

Now, pay close attention to the punctuation used in the introductory phrases to present these examples.

What do you notice about the periods, commas, and semi-colons being used?

1. For example/ For instance

The transition word “For example” can go in the beginning or middle of a sentence.

• Beginning of sentence
• E-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product among youth. For example, 5.9% of youth use E-cigarettes.
• Middle of sentence
• E-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product among youth; for example, 5.9% of youth use E-cigarettes.
• Middle of the sentence
• E-cigarettes, for instance, remain the most commonly used tobacco product among youth.

2. Such as/like

“Such as” and “like” introduce examples and can go within a sentence, following an idea, or be a part of a dependent clause.

• Within a sentence (list)
• The graph highlights the prevalence of different tobacco products among youth, such as E-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, cigarettes, and cigars to name a few.
• Following an idea
• The bar graph shows the prevalence of different tobacco products among youth, like the percentage of youth who use hookahs.
• Part of a dependent clause
• Certain trends, such as the frequency of E-cigarettes, are evident in this bar graph.

3. As in the case of

“As in the case of” is a way to talk about a particular situation. This phrase can be found at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

• At the beginning of a sentence
• As in the case of the bar graph, a key pattern is that the overall use of traditional tobacco products, such as cigarettes (1.4%) and cigars (1.2%), is relatively low compared to electronic forms.
• In the middle of a sentence
• Certain tobacco products, as in the case of traditional forms of smoking, have declined.
• At the end of a sentence
• The results show that alternative forms of tobacco are more popular, as in the case of electronic cigarettes.

4. Specifically/Namely

“Specifically” and “Namely” can be used as stand-alone phrases after a comma or mid-sentence.

• As a stand-alone clarification
• Two statistics stand out as outliers in the data set, specifically hookah usage (0.7%) and pipes (0.5%).
• Mid-sentence
• Two tobacco products, namely hookahs and pipes, stand out as outliers in the data set.

5. In particular

In particular can be used to highlight specific examples. This transition word can be found at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.

• At the beginning of a sentence
• In particular, this graph helps identify trends in tobacco use among middle and high school students in the U.S.
• In the middle of a sentence
• The bar graph, in particular, emphasizes the prevalence of tobacco use in the U.S.

What do you think?

1. Does anything surprise you about these statistics? Explain.
2. Is this graph accurate according to your own personal experiences or knowledge of today’s youth?
3. Do you think the data in this chart is troubling or encouraging? Explain your point of view.
4. How do you think that this graph would compare to data from tobacco use in youth from 15 years ago?
5. Based on the data in this graph, what public health strategies would you adopt to target these statistics?

Got it? Now practice using introductory phrases in this short quiz.

Continue to page 4 to share your own unique thoughts, opinions, and ideas with learners from around the world.

What do you think about outliers? There is not a correct answer. You are sharing your own unique thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Don’t forget to come back and see how other English learners responded!

Thank you for sharing your answers! Visit the page anytime to see how other learners responded.

Recap…

The talk today taught us about the importance of looking beyond averages in data to focus on outliers, or “lost birds,” as they reveal deeper insights into marginalized communities, unique stories, and broader societal challenges. In addition, we learned vocabulary words related to the listening and practiced using transition words to introduce examples in speaking and writing. Next time you look at a data set, don’t forget what you learned today! Thanks for participating and learning with REALIA!

You did it! Way to go! Keep up the good work!

Come back to “www.gorealia.com” every week to practice English and listen to stories that inspire!

Sources

Chalabi, Mona. “What we miss when we focus on the average.” TED, Nov. 2021, https://www.ted.com/talks/mona_chalabi_what_we_miss_when_we_focus_on_the_average?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare