How to Read Numbers

Ahead of the midterm elections, here's what you need to know before you check the polls. Learn more on today's episode of Grammar Minute!

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Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and as we’re heading into midterm election season, this is your regularly scheduled reminder to be careful when you’re looking at the voter polls.
And no, this isn’t directly about grammar, but it is about communication, which I think is closely related. So when you see that one candidate is three percentage points ahead of another, stop, drop to the top or bottom of the page, and look for the margin of error. Make sure that difference is statistically significant.
Also, when you see a graph, make sure you look at the axes. If they aren’t labeled, that’s automatically a strike against trustworthiness. If the Y-axis doesn’t start at zero, that could also be a problem. There’s a book with a great title, called How to Lie with Statistics, which goes to show just how easy it is to be deceived by numbers in a world where we’re more used to reading words.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.