WorkKeys: Example Graphic Literacy Problems

Level 3 Sample Question (Also read this guide to solving graphic literacy problems)

Question: Based on the picture above, the greatest number of servings should come from which food group?

A. Fats, oils, and sweets B. Vegetable group C. Fruit group D. Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group
Explanation: Begin by reading the question. The question is asking which food group should provide the greatest number of servings per day. Knowing what you are looking for will help you find the answer more quickly.

Once you know this, you can easily determine that the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group should provide the greatest number of servings.
The picture explicitly states that a person should eat 6-11 servings daily, more than any other group. Thus, the correct answer is D.
You could also answer this question by eliminating incorrect answers. The larger a group appears on the pyramid, the more of that group a person should eat. You can see that fats, oils, and sweets should be "used sparingly," so you can eliminate that answer. In addition, you can see that the vegetable and fruit groups are relatively small, while the grains group is relatively large. Thus, you can also eliminate the vegetable and fruit groups as possible answers, leaving only the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group.

Level 5 Sample Question


Question: According to the above chart, which of the following is the least accurate:

A. In general, people with professional degrees have the lowest unemployment rates and the highest median salaries. B. In general, people with bachelor's degrees or a greater level of education have lower unemployment rates and higher salary rates than workers as a whole. C. People with a high school diploma, but no college, have the highest unemployment rate of all the groups listed. D. People with an associate's degree, or a lesser level of education, have lower median salaries than workers as a whole.
Explanation: The question requires you to evaluate each of the answer choices, so it's not as easy to apply the technique of reading the question first and find the answer.
It’s easiest to start by evaluating answer choice A.
According to the chart, people with professional degrees have lower unemployment rates than any other group listed above, with 2.1%. In addition, they also have the highest median salaries of any group, so choice A is true.
You can eliminate answer choice A.
Continuing to choice B, you can see that people with bachelor's degrees have unemployment rates of 4.5%, compared to 6.8% for all workers. In addition, they earn a median salary of $1,066 per week, compared to a median of $815 for all workers. Thus, choice B is accurate, so you can eliminate it.
Regarding choice C, people with a high school diploma and no college have relatively high rates of unemployment (8.3%), but not as high as people with less than a high school diploma (12.4%). Thus, choice C is not accurate, so you can mark it down as a possible answer. Even so, it's a good idea to evaluate answer choice D unless you happen to have very little time left.

According to the chart, people with associate's degrees earn $785 per week, which is lower than $815, the median for all workers. Therefore, answer choice D is accurate, so you can eliminate it.
Eliminating A, B, and D leaves only choice C as a possible answer.

Level 7 Sample Question
The following is a graph, based on fictional data, of the price vs. weight of new car models in the United
States. Each circle or diamond represents a different model of car or truck, respectively.

Question: Which of the following is the most plausible explanation for the cluster of four circles in the upper left portion of the graph?

A. To meet the needs of modest-income families, a number of large, inexpensive sedans were recently released. B. There are four models of large, high-end luxury sedans, which are targeted to affluent professionals with children. C. In order to appeal to younger buyers, several manufacturers released new models of small, inexpensive economy cars. D. Several manufacturers sell premium sports cars, which feature advanced materials that are very expensive but greatly reduce the weight of the cars.
Explanation: Like the preceding question, this type of question will require you to evaluate each of the answer choices individually. But first, read the question: the question is asking you to find a plausible explanation for the four circles in the upper left.

What can you tell about these four cars? They are all located on the left side of the graph, which means they are relatively light compared to most of the other automobiles; they only weigh between 2000 and 2500 pounds. In addition, they all cost $60,000 or more, making them much more expensive than most of the other autos shown on the graph. Thus, you need to find an answer choice that explains why these four cars would be so lightweight, yet so expensive.
Start by evaluating answer choice A, which explains that several large, inexpensive family sedans were recently released. You could reasonably expect a large sedan to be heavy. So, answer choice A would explain the existence of heavy but cheap sedans, which would be located in the lower right of the graph. However, this would not explain the cluster of light, expensive cars in the upper left. Therefore, you can eliminate A as a possible answer choice.
Answer choice B explains the existence of large, high-end luxury sedans. You could expect such a car to be both heavy and expensive, so these cars would be located in the upper right portion of the graph. This does not explain the phenomenon of light, expensive cars, so you can eliminate B as a choice.
Answer choice C explains the existence of "small, inexpensive" cars. Such cars would be located in the lower left part of the graph, not the upper left, so you can eliminate answer choice C as a plausible explanation.
Finally, answer choice D explains that some high-end sports cars incorporate lightweight materials that greatly increase the price of the cars. You could expect such cars to have relatively low weights and relatively high prices, and such cars would be located in the upper left portion of the graph. Of all the answer choices, D provides the best explanation for this cluster of circles in the upper left, so D is the best answer choice.

Tip: On some of the more difficult questions, you will have to pick the "best" answer, rather than an answer that is clearly right or wrong. For questions that require you to draw a conclusion or explain something about the graph, you should carefully read every answer choice.
Sometimes an answer may seem reasonable even though there is a better answer further down the list.