Read numbers in English
Describe a numerical change and its limits.
Read: The number of readers increased from 20 to 30. From marks the starting point and to the ending point. The increase is 10 readers, or 50 percent. Increased by 10 and increased to 30 describe different things.
If a rate rises from 20% to 30%, the difference is 10 percentage points and the relative increase is 50%. Keep the population visible: 30 percent of the readers.
Add a limit: This does not show why the increase happened. Clear English does not automatically make a causal claim sound. Several changes may explain the result.
Make your understanding visible
Describe a change from 40 to 50 using from, to, and by, then state one limit.
Compare with a reference response
The number increased from 40 to 50. It increased by 10, or 25 percent. This does not show what caused the change. The 25% comes from 10 divided by 40.
Sources & further reading
Original lesson, examples and practice