Level 5 — Advanced · Technical & Evidence-Based Writing
Task 55: Writing About Data Precisely
Turn a number into a sentence that says what it measures, what it's compared with, and what conclusion it actually supports — the writing side of the data-reading strategy Lesson 55 taught.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you should be able to:
- State what a number actually measures, not just the number itself
- State what it's being compared with, to give the number meaning
- Avoid a conclusion the number doesn't actually support
Introduction
Lesson 55 taught you not to stop at "what number does this show" but to ask what it measures, what it's compared with, how it changed, how certain it is, and what conclusion it actually justifies. Writing about data means doing that thinking yourself, in the sentence, before the reader ever sees the raw number.
The Rule, for Writing
Core Concept
A weak data sentence just states a figure: "Sales were $50,000 in March." A strong one gives the number context — what it's measuring, what it's being compared with — and draws only the conclusion the comparison actually supports, without inflating it into something bigger.
Example
Container throughput at the terminal rose from 1,200 to 1,350 TEU per week over the quarter — an 12.5% increase compared with the same period last year. That's enough to say demand grew; it isn't, on its own, enough to say the new crane reduced turnaround time, since throughput and turnaround are different measurements.
Your Turn
Your Turn
Take one number you know from your own work or studies (a metric, a score, a statistic) and write a short passage that states what it measures, what it's compared with (an earlier period, a target, another group), and one conclusion the number genuinely supports — stopping short of a bigger claim it doesn't actually prove.
Vocabulary in Context
measureverbformal
to state precisely what a number is tracking (পরিমাপ করা)
Often with measure performance, how it is measured, measure of
“State clearly what the figure measures: waiting time, not turnaround time.”
overclaimverbformal
to state a conclusion stronger than the evidence actually supports (অতিরিক্ত দাবি করা)
Often with overclaim the results, risk overclaiming, accused of overclaiming
“The press release overclaims: six weeks of data cannot prove a permanent saving.”
Model Answer
Show a model answer
Average page load time fell from 3.2 seconds to 1.8 seconds after the new caching system was deployed — a drop of nearly 44% compared with the month before the change. That's enough evidence to say the caching system reduced load time for this site during this period. It is not, on its own, enough to claim the change increased sales, since load time and sales are two different measurements that would need their own comparison to connect.
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Did you state clearly what the number measures?
- Did you give a comparison point (an earlier period, a target, another group)?
- Does your conclusion stay within what the number actually supports?
- Did you avoid connecting the number to a bigger claim it doesn't prove?
Next: Writing 56 — Building a Quantitative Argument: using a number as genuine support for a claim, not decoration for one.