A methodology is presented here for deriving true experimental axial stress–strain curves in both tension and compression for monolayer graphene through the shift of the 2D Raman peak (Δω) that is present in all graphitic materials. The principle behind this approach is the observation that the shift of the 2D wavenumber as a function of strain for different types of PAN-based fibres is a linear function of their Young’s moduli and, hence, the corresponding value of Δω over axial stress is, in fact, a constant. By moving across the length scales we show that this value is also valid at the nanoscale as it corresponds to the in-plane breathing mode of graphene that is present in both PAN-based fibres and monolayer graphene. Hence, the Δω values can be easily converted to values of σ in the linear elastic region without the aid of modelling or the need to resort to cumbersome experimental procedures for obtaining the axial force transmitted to the material and the cross-sectional area of the two-dimensional membrane.