Page 6 - McMurrey Notes

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DOCUMENT-DESIGN TOOLS:
McMurrey
Tables, graphs & charts
You’ve probably seen a fair share of tables, graphs and charts in your time as a student and schoolgoer. But do you know when to use these tools and how to design them? Make sure you know what they are:
A. Tables. Rows and columns of numbers, words, or symbols. They provide an efficient means of presenting comparative information about similar things (e.g. cost, horsepower, etc.). Readers can see the key compar- isons more readily in tables than in paragraphs.
B. Graphs. Shows changes in data over time (e.g. upwards curve in temperature variation over time). Multiple lines could be used to show temperature variations in different years for the same month.
C. Charts. The most common type of charts are pie charts and bar charts. Other types may be difficult to make if you have not yet created them. A pie chart shows percentages of a whole and represents them as slices of a pie. A bar chart could show the same thing, with the length of each bar representing total values. Charts typically graphical representations of data.
0When to use whi1ch?
We can often present the same information in a table, graph or chart. Tables show the greatest amount of detail but require readers to study carefully to pick out the key trends or contrasts. Graphs and charts illustrate key trends or contrasts more dramatically, but
the magnitude of these declines and rises, although at the loss of the down-to-the-penny detail.
Text as opposed to a table. We often pass up good opportunities to use tables. The info that could be presented in a table often remains in a dense paragraph that some readers will be reluctant to read.
Table as opposed to a chart or graph.
Data can also remain locked in dense tables when it could be more dramatically presented in graphs or charts.
0– Watch out for area3s in your text where you discuss lots of numeric data in relation to two or more things—that's ideal for tables or even charts or graphs.
– Watch out for areas in your text where you define a series of terms—that's ideal for tables.
ow declining market share of Company A as opposed to Company B–use a table. Use a graph or chart to convey
0How to design ta2bles/graphs/charts?
Designing tables:
A. Double-check your text for information that could be presented as tables.
B. Remember the essential components of a table–title, column and row headings, column and row subheadings, as well as the actual
sacrifice detail. To sh
columns and rows
C. Use bold or italics for the title, column headings
and row headings.
D. Design the table for horizontal comparison. E. Align columns according to the material in the
cells (be consistent).
F. Left-align or center columns with column
headings (center in cell).
G. Specify measurements in the column or row
headings (put measurement/abbreviation in
the column heading).
H. Refer to tables in nearby text and give readers
some idea as to their significance.
I. Create subcolumns and subrows as needed.
Designing graphs and charts:
A. Double-check text and tables for possibilities to represent them as graphs.
B. Include titles for graphs.
C. Label the axes of graphs (X and Y)
D. Label the graph lines or provide a legend.
E. Refer to graphs and charts in text just preceding
them, and comment on the key points in the graphs themselves.
– Always discuss tables in preceding text. Don't just throw a table, graph, or chart out there unexplained. Orient readers to it; explain its basic significance.
– Make sure your tables, charts, and graphs are appropriate to your audience, subject matter, and purpose—don't zap beginners with massive, highly technical constructions they can't understand.
– Use a title unless the table, chart, and graph is very informal. Remember that the title goes just above the table;
columns (but center the column heading). A nice touch to put a bit of right margin on this right-aligned data so
that it moves out into the center of the column rather than remaining jammed to the right edge.
– Some believe that it is easier for readers to compare vertically rather than horizontally. If you believe that, format
your tables so that your columns contain the information to be compared. For example, if you were comparing
cars, you'd have columns for MPG, price, and so on.
– Indicate the source of tables, charts, and graphs you have borrowed either part of or entirety. This can be done
in the title or in a footnote. This is explained in the section on documentation and is illustrated here in this chapter. – Indicate identifying measurement values in column or row headings—not in each cell.
– Cross-reference all tables, charts, and graphs from the preceding text. In the cross-reference, give the number
(if it is a formal table with title), indicate the subject matter of the table, and provide explanatory information as necessary.
Documenting tables, charts and sources
As mentioned earlier, it's perfectly legal to borrow tables—to copy, photocopy, scan, or extract subsets of data from them. But you're obligated to cite your sources for tables, charts, and graphs just as you are for the words you borrow. Normally, this is done in either the table title or in a footnote just below the table.
hs, below.
– Left-align words and phrases in table columns (including the column heading). Right-align numeric data in table
for charts and grap
of data.
Guidelines tables, charts and graphs