UMAT TRAINING: TIPS ON ANALYSING GRAPHICAL INFORMATION IN UMAT

Many questions in section 1 involve reading graphs or diagrams and although you may think there’s not much to it, your speed and accuracy must be excellent in order to perform well in the UCAT. Here are a few tips that help most students perform faster and better at graphical questions:
  

1. Read the title
   It may seem obvious, but one of the most important feature of a graph or a diagram is the title, as it usually summarises the content of the figure in a short and simple sentence. Without a title, the meaning of graphs and diagrams can be pieced together by examining the various labels and legends; however reading the title first will give you guidance on how to interpret a confusing or complex diagram and help you deconstruct the information a lot faster. This will save you precious seconds during the test.
    

2. Pay close attention to wording
   UMAT® Exam questions are designed to test your ability to assess information accurately and under time pressure. As a fully-fledged doctor, this can quite literally be a difference between life and death. When analysing a graph, you must demonstrate your ability to be detail-oriented, which means paying close attention to the wording of the title, labels or legend. 
    

3. Don’t forget to read legends or footnotes at the bottom of the graph
   UMAT® Exam being big on testing your attention to details, footnotes or legends printed in small characters at the bottom of a graph are not to be overlooked. For instance, a footnote can provide crucial information on how data groups are defined or how data collection was performed. UMAT® Exam questions will often hinge on your noticing this information.
    

4. Don't confuse proportions and frequencies with absolute numbers
   Proportions are quantitative representations of a part in relation to a whole, while frequencies represent the rate at which something occurs in a given sample.
   
   Frequencies and proportions differ from absolute numbers as the meaning of a proportions or frequencies will vary according to the size of the group or sample they are measured against, whereas absolute numbers always stay the same.
   
   It is therefore important that you always identify when numbers on a graph are given to you in absolute numbers, rather than as a frequency. When identifying a frequency, you must also have a clear understanding of which data group it refers too. 
   
   Frequencies can be easily recognized when they are expressed as %, however, you should also look out for any Y-axis label that contains the words “per” or an equivalent.
    

5. Watch out for intervals and scales
   Questions hinging on scales and units for instance, are commonly used to test your attention to details.
   
   For instance, a Y axis may be labelled “numbers affected (1000 people)”, and it is important to identify this and remember to multiply readings from the graph by 1000.
   
   Another common mistake is failing to notice when intervals on an axis are not constant, or continuous.
    

6. Understand the meaning of slope on a line graph
   In a line chart, the slope indicates the rate or the yield of a process. The unit of that rate is the ratio of the Y-axis unit and the X-axis unit. In a non-linear line graph, the slope of the line at any given point can be obtained by drawing a tangent. 
   
   Some of the most common types of line charts in UMAT® Exam questions are variations of the distance vs. time chart. A recurrent theme in these questions is differentiating between positions, speed and acceleration. Therefore, it is important that you can confidently identify and distinguish these variables on graphs and that you also pay close attention to the questions’ wording.
   
   For instance, you should know, without hesitation, that the slope of the tangent in a distance vs time graph indicates speed, while that same slope on a speed vs. time indicates acceleration. 
   
   Try keeping these pointers in mind when solving UMAT® Exam questions and you'll find your speed increases and you make fewer mistakes! And remember that only practice makes perfect so happy studying!