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Can You Describe Data Spread in English?
Also: How to correctly use less vs. fewer
Tom Otto @ Speak Tech English
September 16, 2024
Happy Monday… Did you know that you’ll need to study for around 900 hours to go from a complete beginner to C1 level English? (EF)
I know that sounds a lot, but if you average 2.5 hours a day, you’ll get there in a year. That may still sound a lot, but luckily, you’re not a complete beginner and you’ve already started, so you’ve got a head start!
VOCABULARY
Describing the Spread of Data
The spread of data defines how far apart or close together data points are. Common measurements of spread: range, standard deviation,…
When might we need to describe the spread of data?
→ Performance monitoring
→ Database design and optimisation
→ System load
→ Data quality and validation
→ Statistical analysis and reporting
Here are 3 terms you can use to describe the spread or distribution of data. Try to use them when discussing charts, dashboards, or visualisations.
skewed - (adj.) data that isn’t evenly spread around the average
cluster - (verb) values group together
taper off - (phrasal verb) slowly become smaller at one end
In chart 1 (see above), the data is not skewed. The data points cluster around the average (in the centre), with values tapering off equally on both sides.
Imagine chart 2 represents employee salaries at a company. The values cluster around the lower end of the range, representing the salaries of most employees. The distribution then tapers off as salaries increase. The average is skewed upwards by a few high-earning employees, such as top executives.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Less vs. Fewer
Did you know that the comparative adjective ‘more’ has two opposites? It can be either ‘less’ or ‘fewer’. Here’s how to decide which one to use.
countable nouns → fewer (i.e. not as many)
uncountable nouns → less (i.e. not as much)
Rule | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
Percentages | What is the percentage of? | As a benefit, we’ve experienced 15% less downtime and 25% fewer support tickets. |
Money | Almost always a general concept and therefore uncountable. | Looking at our finances in Q4, we spent significantly less on hardware purchases. |
EXERCISES
Question 1The dev team have reported 30% __________ errors. |
Question 2The algorithm is designed to _______ similar items based on their features. |
Question 3The initial increase in sales __________ after the first quarter. |
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