Explain charts and tables in plain English

Unit ID: AIT-M08-U04 Estimated active time: 15-20 minutes

The main idea

AI can help draft explanations, but you must check the chart.

The tool is describing what you told it about the chart. If your description was loose, the explanation will be confidently wrong about the axis or the period.

Why this matters

Chart explanations get quoted separately from the chart. A wrong sentence about a correct chart travels on its own.

Safe example

A line chart explanation must match the axis, time period, and units.

An explanation saying "steady growth over the year" for a chart covering one quarter is a common and expensive slip.

Better working habit

Provide chart context and ask for cautious wording.

Say what the axes are, what period is covered, what the units are, and what is not shown.

What to watch for

Do not claim cause from a chart unless evidence supports it.

Two lines moving together is a description. Why they move together is a separate question the chart cannot answer.

Mini practice

Write a plain-English chart explanation with a limitation note.

Check every number and every period in it against the chart itself.

Check yourself

Before moving on, answer:

• Does the explanation match the axis, period and units?
• Does it claim a cause the chart cannot show?
• Would this sentence still be true if read without the chart?