Pupils per Teacher in Five Countries

The question

How to approach this bar chart question

A bar chart compares categories or shows change between points in time. Write an overview of the biggest differences, then compare the highest, lowest and any surprise.

1. Name the chart, the units and the time or places it covers in one sentence (paraphrase the question).
2. Write an overview: the largest and smallest categories, or the main change over time.
3. Group the bars into two body paragraphs by similarity, not one by one.
4. Quote the key numbers only, with units, and compare them.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Introduction: paraphrase the bar chart, which shows the average number of pupils per teacher in primary schools in five countries in 2024.
2. Overview: Country C has the highest ratio at 22.5, Country E the lowest at 9.7, and the other three countries lie between them.
3. Body paragraph 1: the higher ratios, Country C (22.5), Country B (17.8) and Country D (15.1), and how they compare with the average.
4. Body paragraph 2: the lower ratios, Country A (12.4) and Country E (9.7), and how the lowest compares with the highest.

Key features to spot

• Country C's ratio of 22.5 pupils per teacher is more than double Country E's 9.7.
• Country B (17.8) is second-highest, and Country D (15.1) sits in the middle of the five.
• The five ratios average about 15.5, so Countries B and C are above the average and Country D is just below it.
• Country A (12.4) is second-lowest, 2.7 pupils above Country E.
• The figures are ratios across all teachers, not class sizes, so avoid describing them as the number of pupils in each class.

Useful vocabulary

• pupils per teacher: Country C has the highest number of pupils per teacher.
• the highest ratio: Country C has the highest ratio in the group.
• more than double: Country C's figure is more than double Country E's.
• well above the average: Country C's ratio is well above the average.
• clustered: Countries A, D and E are clustered at the lower end of the scale.
• a narrow gap: There is a narrow gap between Countries D and A.
• the lowest figure: Country E records the lowest figure at 9.7.
• stood at: The ratio in Country B stood at 17.8 pupils per teacher.

Common mistakes

• Swapping the highest and lowest countries, for example describing Country E as having the largest ratio.
• Calling the figure 'class size', when the chart shows pupils per teacher across the whole school system.
• Describing the five countries in the order they appear on the chart rather than by size.
• Dropping the average reference point when the figures are close to it, such as Country D at 15.1.
• Treating the ratio as a count of teachers or pupils rather than a ratio.

Examiner tip: Name the highest and lowest bars first, then place the others in order. Keep the decimal figures and the 'pupils per teacher' unit in every sentence.