How to read charts, labels, maps and schedules
TEAS 7 outline: Interpret and apply information from charts, graphs and other visuals
- Read the title, labels, units, and key before any number.
- In a table, the answer sits where the right row meets the right column.
- Check footnotes and symbols for exceptions, then do only the math asked.
- Nutrition Facts amounts are per serving; two servings means double.
- 5% DV or less is low; 20% DV or more is high.
Key facts
- Read the title and caption first to learn what the visual shows.
- A key or legend explains what each symbol, color, line style or mark means; without it you cannot tell what the marks stand for.
- In a table, the first row and first column name the categories; the answer sits where the right row meets the right column.
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- On a time graph, time runs along the horizontal axis and the measured value runs up the vertical axis.
- On a map, the legend explains symbols such as roads and boundaries, and the scale turns map distance into real distance.
- Every amount on a Nutrition Facts label is for one serving; two servings means double the calories, nutrients and %DV.
- On a Nutrition Facts label, 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is low and 20% DV or more is high.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
Reading the Label on a Can of Soup
A community health newsletter printed the Nutrition Facts label from a can of vegetable soup, along with a few tips based on FDA guidance.
Every amount on the label refers to one serving, not to the whole container. If you eat two servings, you get twice the calories, twice the amount of each nutrient and twice the % Daily Value (%DV). The serving size is a standard measured amount; it is not a recommendation of how much you should eat.
The %DV column shows how much of a day's reference amount of a nutrient one serving provides. As a quick guide, 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low, and 20% DV or more is considered high. The FDA lists saturated fat, sodium and added sugars as nutrients to get less of, and dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium as nutrients to get more of.
Nutrition Facts: Servings per container: 2. Serving size: 1 cup (245 g). Calories per serving: 110.
| Nutrient | Amount per serving | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Total fat | 2 g | 3% |
| Saturated fat | 1 g | 5% |
| Trans fat | 0 g | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| Sodium | 690 mg | 30% |
| Total carbohydrate | 18 g | 7% |
| Dietary fiber | 4 g | 14% |
| Total sugars | 4 g | — |
| Includes added sugars | 1 g | 2% |
| Protein | 5 g | — |
| Vitamin D | 0 mcg | 0% |
| Calcium | 30 mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1.8 mg | 10% |
| Potassium | 470 mg | 10% |
Using the newsletter's guide to %DV, which nutrient is high in one serving of the soup?
Correct answer: C.
To judge whether a nutrient is high or low, read the % Daily Value column, not the amount column. The newsletter's guide says 20% DV or more per serving is high and 5% DV or less is low. Only sodium, at 30% DV, reaches 20% or more.
A Total carbohydrate has the largest gram amount on the label (18 g), but its %DV is only 7%; this comes from reading the amount column instead of the %DV column.
B Dietary fiber is a nutrient to get more of, but 14% DV is below the 20% cutoff for high.
C Correct: sodium provides 30% DV per serving, which is above the 20% cutoff for high.
D Potassium provides 10% DV, which is neither low nor high by the guide.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: To read any visual, start with the frame: the title, the labels or headings, the units, and the key or legend that explains symbols. Then find the exact row, column, bar or symbol the question names. Check footnotes and symbols for exceptions, do only the math the question asks, and answer from the visual, not from memory.
1 What should you read before any number?Read the frame of a visual before any number, because the frame tells you what each number means. 1 min
Read the frame of a visual before any number, because the frame tells you what each number means. Use these five steps on every table, graph, map or label.
- Title and caption: what does the visual show, and for whom?
- Labels: column and row headings, or what each axis measures.
- Units: hours, mg, %, miles, a.m. or p.m.?
- Key, legend and footnotes: what do the colors, symbols and marks like * mean?
- Find the spot: go to where the row the question names meets the column it names, and read only that.
2 How do you read each kind of visual?Each type of visual has one or two parts that hold the meaning. 1 min
Each type of visual has one or two parts that hold the meaning. Check those parts before you answer.
| Visual | Check first | Typical question |
|---|---|---|
| Table | First row and first column | "Which value is in row X, column Y?" |
| Bar or line graph | Axis labels, units, key | "Which group is highest?" "When did it change?" |
| Map | Legend, scale, direction | "What does this symbol mean?" "How far apart?" |
| Diagram | Labels and the order of any numbered parts | "Which part does this job?" |
| Schedule | Day and time headings, symbols | "Which trip or time works?" |
| Nutrition label | Servings, serving size, %DV | "How much in the whole package?" |
On a time graph, time runs left to right along the bottom axis. A map scale works like a ruler: measure on the map, then read that length against the scale.
3 How do you read a schedule with a key?A symbol in a schedule points to a note in the key, so always look it up. 1 min
A symbol in a schedule points to a note in the key, so always look it up. Here is an original example.
| Service | Monday–Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Blood draw lab | 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | 8 a.m.–noon* |
| X-ray | 8 a.m.–6 p.m. | Closed |
* Saturday: fasting blood tests by appointment only.
Question: Can a patient walk in on Saturday at 9 a.m. for a fasting blood test without an appointment?
- Title and labels: services down the side, days across the top.
- Find the spot: blood draw lab, Saturday, 8 a.m.–noon. The time fits.
- Symbol: the * says fasting tests need an appointment on Saturday.
- Answer: no.
A student who reads only the hours answers "yes" and falls for the classic trap.
4 How do you read a Nutrition Facts label?Every number on the label is for one serving, so check the servings line first. 1 min
Every number on the label is for one serving, so check the servings line first. Then use the %DV column to judge high or low.
- Servings per container: if a bag has 2 servings and you eat the bag, multiply every amount by 2.
- Serving size: a measured amount, not a recommendation of how much to eat.
- %DV: how much of a day's reference amount one serving gives. 5% or less is low; 20% or more is high.
Example: a snack bag lists 2 servings and 160 mg sodium (7% DV) per serving. The whole bag has 320 mg sodium, or 14% DV.
5 Which wrong answers catch students?Tempting wrong answers often come from reading the right visual in the wrong place. 1 min
Tempting wrong answers often come from reading the right visual in the wrong place. Watch for these patterns.
- Neighbor row or column: the value one line above or below the right one.
- Wrong column: grams instead of %DV, or hours instead of trips.
- Skipped symbol: ignoring *, †, "only," "except" or a footnote.
- One serving vs. whole package: forgetting to multiply.
- Outside belief: choosing what seems true in real life instead of what the visual says.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: The value in the neighboring row or column, not the one the question names.
Watch out: The grams or milligrams column, not the %DV column, when the question asks whether a nutrient is high or low.
Watch out: Reading past a symbol such as * or †, not checking the key for the exception it marks.
Watch out: One serving's amount, not the whole package, when the person ate the entire container.
Watch out: What you believe about the topic, not what the visual shows.
How to remember it
Remember "frame first, facts second," which means reading the title, labels, units and key before you touch a number. The key is literally the key that unlocks the symbols.
Self-check:
- Grab any food package and say its servings per container out loud.
- Find one nutrient that is high (20% or more) and one that is low (5% or less).
- Work out how much of one nutrient is in the whole package.