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Free ATI TEAS 7 Reading guide

October 2026 - Finding Information in Visuals Study Guide

Charts, graphs, labelled diagrams, scales, maps and product labels all carry testable information, and the Reading section treats them as text. Read the title, the axis labels and the units before you look at a single data point — unit errors are the most common way to lose these marks.

Reading guide Integration of knowledge and ideas · 15 scored questions 6 min read

The reading order that prevents mistakes

Every visual is read in the same order, and the data comes last. Skipping to the numbers is what produces confident wrong answers.

  1. Title
  2. Axis or column labels
  3. Units and scale
  4. Legend or key
  5. The question
  6. Only now, the data

Which visual does what

VisualShowsWatch for
Bar chart Comparison between categories An axis that does not start at zero, exaggerating differences
Line graph Change over time Uneven spacing on the time axis
Pie chart Parts of one whole Percentages that are of different totals, so slices cannot be compared
Scatter plot Relationship between two variables A pattern read as cause rather than association
Table Exact values Row and column headings — read both before taking a cell
Labelled diagram Structure and position Labels pointing to a region rather than a single part
Product or drug label Instructions and quantities Per-dose against per-container amounts

Check what the axis is counting in before comparing anything. An axis in thousands, a scale that starts at 40 rather than 0, or a chart whose two halves use different units will all produce a plausible answer that is wrong by an order of magnitude.

Question types and how to attack them

  • Read a value — find the row and column, or the point and both axes. Nothing else in the visual matters.
  • Compare two values — check they are in the same units and on the same scale first.
  • Describe a trend — say what happens overall, and note any reversal. A rise with a dip is not a steady rise.
  • Draw a conclusion — stay inside the data. A chart of one hospital supports nothing about hospitals in general.
  • Find what is missing — some questions ask what the visual does not tell you, which is often the denominator.

Terms to know

X-axis
The horizontal axis. It usually carries the independent variable, such as time.
Y-axis
The vertical axis. It usually carries what was measured.
Legend
The key explaining what each colour, line or symbol represents.
Scale
The interval each step on an axis represents.
Trend
The overall direction of change across a data set.
Outlier
A value far from the rest, which can distort an average.
Denominator
The total a proportion is out of. A percentage without it can mislead.

What the TEAS asks most

The same core ideas appear in different wording. If you can answer these without stopping to think, you have what this section requires.

According to the graph, what was the value in a given year?

Read from the axes and the units. Check whether the axis is in ones, tens or thousands.

Which statement is supported by the chart?

Only what the data shows. Anything about cause, or about a wider population, goes beyond it.

Between which two points was the increase largest?

Compare the size of each step, not the height of the values. The tallest bar is not the biggest rise.

What information would you need that the visual does not give?

Usually the total the figures come from, or what was measured in the comparison group.

Key points

  • Read title, labels, units and legend before any data point.
  • Match the visual type to what it can show: categories, change, parts of a whole, or relationship.
  • Unit and scale errors cause more lost marks here than misreading values does.
  • A trend is the overall direction; note reversals rather than smoothing them over.
  • Conclusions must stay inside the data set shown.

Review quiz

4 questions on this topic, each with the reasoning worked through. Pick an answer to see how it went, or open the explanation straight away.

Read the passage, then answer the questions below

Table: Falls recorded on four wards, by quarter

Ward A — Q1: 12, Q2: 9, Q3: 10, Q4: 4. Ward B — Q1: 3, Q2: 4, Q3: 3, Q4: 5. Ward C — Q1: 18, Q2: 15, Q3: 14, Q4: 13. Ward D — Q1: 6, Q2: 11, Q3: 9, Q4: 8.

Note: Ward C has 34 beds; Wards A, B and D have 20 beds each. Figures are counts of recorded falls, not rates.

  1. Question 1 of 4

    According to the table, which ward recorded the largest fall in its quarterly figure between any two consecutive quarters?

    Answer choices for question 1

    Show the answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. Ward A, between Q3 and Q4

    Ward A drops from 10 to 4, a fall of six, which is larger than Ward C's three-point drop from 18 to 15. Ward D between Q1 and Q2 is an increase of five rather than a fall, and Ward B's two-point change is the smallest on the table.

  2. Question 2 of 4

    A reader concludes that Ward C is the least safe of the four wards. Why does the table not support that?

    Answer choices for question 2

    Show the answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. The table gives counts, and Ward C has 34 beds against 20 on the others, so the counts are not comparable.

    Comparing raw counts across wards of different sizes is precisely the error the note warns against; per-bed rates would be needed. The declining trend is real but not the central problem, dismissing falls as a safety measure overstates the case, and a single year is a weaker objection than the missing denominator.

  3. Question 3 of 4

    Which statement about Ward D is supported by the table?

    Answer choices for question 3

    Show the answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Its figure rose sharply in Q2 and then declined for the rest of the year.

    Ward D runs 6, 11, 9, 8 — a jump then a decline, which is not a steady increase and does not end at its lowest point, since Q1's 6 is lower than Q4's 8. Ward B's figures are lower than Ward D's in every quarter, not higher.

  4. Question 4 of 4

    What additional information would be most useful for comparing the four wards fairly?

    Answer choices for question 4

    Show the answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. The number of patient bed-days on each ward in each quarter

    Bed-days supply the denominator, turning counts into rates that can actually be compared across wards of different sizes and occupancy. Last year's counts have the same problem as this year's, ward managers are irrelevant to the comparison, and injury severity answers a different question about seriousness rather than frequency.

Put this TEAS topic into practice

Build a set on finding info in visuals and use the rationale on every question to reinforce what you just reviewed.

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