This bar graph aims to show that Asia’s
universities are “gaining ground on their Western counterparts”, by plotting
out the number of universities in each Asian country that are in the Top 100 in
Asia. The representation here is clear, with Japan having 22 universities in
the top 100, while Malaysia only takes up one slot in the list. However, the
graph does not adequately prove what the article tries to say. First, there is
no comparison with the universities in the Western world. Even though Japan may
have 22 universities out of the top 100 in Asia, it does not necessarily mean
that Japan fares well on the international level. Without the comparison to the
universities in Western countries, readers cannot decide whether the statements
in the article are true or not. Second, there is no trend line of the changes
in numbers. If the article tries to prove that Asia’s universities are “gaining
ground”, then the graph needs to show a continuously increasing number of Asian
universities in the top international lists.
However, some information presented on the bar
graph can be interesting to address. First, the visual can show a comparison
between the population size or land area and the number of top universities a
country has, and study if there is a correlation between having a larger
population and having a greater number of top universities. If there is no
correlation there, then what should countries try to do in order to get better
educational institutes? Second, there can also be an exploration of the correlation
between the number of top universities in the country and the enrolment rates
in these universities. Although the graph does present the gross enrolment rate
in each of these countries, is there any link between this and the number of
top universities that a country has? Or is it that the population figure
affects enrolment rates? These are the questions that can be asked by readers,
and the graph should answer them.
In general, given that education is such a
complex system, and there can be multiple factors that affect its proficiency,
more facts need to be given for the reader to understand what allows Japan to
have such a great number of top universities, and how proficient the Asian
universities are in comparison to their Western counterparts. This means that
the simplistic bar graph will not be sufficient in proving the point of the
article, and the information can be represented in other ways to allow readers
to understand the issue better.
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