Ch12 slides

Chapter 12. Creating Graphics © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

Graphics serve five functions:

• They can catch readers’ attention and interest.

• They can help writers communicate information that is difficult to communicate with words.

• They can help writers clarify and emphasize information.

• They can help nonnative speakers of English understand information.

• They can help writers communicate information to multiple audiences with different interests, aptitudes, and reading habits.


Graphics offer benefitsthat words alone cannot:

• Graphics are indispensable in demonstrating logical and numerical relationships.

• Graphics can communicate spatial information more effectively than words alone.

• Graphics can communicate steps in a process more effectively than words alone.

• Graphics can save space.

• Graphics can reduce the cost of documents intended for international readers.


An effective graphic has five characteristics:

• It serves a purpose.

• It is simple and uncluttered.

• It presents a manageable amount of information.

• It meets readers’ format expectations.

• It is clearly labeled.


Follow these six suggestionsto create honest graphics:

• Cite your source and obtain permission.• Include all relevant data.• Begin the axes in your graphs at zero—or mark

them clearly.• Do not use a table to hide a data point that

would be obvious in a graph.• Show items as they really are.• Do not use color or shading to misrepresent an

item’s importance.


Follow these five guidelinesfor integrating graphics and text:

• Place the graphic in an appropriate location.

• Introduce the graphic in the text.

• Explain the graphic in the text.

• Make the graphic clearly visible.

• Make the graphic accessible.


The process of creatinggraphics includes four steps:

• planning• producing• revising• citing


As you plan graphics,consider the following:

• audience• purpose of the graphic and the document• kind of information you want to communicate• physical conditions in which readers will use the

document• time• money• equipment• expertise


When producing graphics, chooseone of the following four approaches:

• use existing graphics• modify existing graphics• create graphics on a computer• have someone else create the graphics


Use color effectively:

• Don’t overdo it.• Use color to emphasize particular items.• Use color to create patterns.• Use contrast effectively.• Take advantage of any symbolic meanings

colors may already have.• Be aware that color can obscure or

swallow up text.


Use color to establish patterns:

Source: Myers, 2010, p. 72.


Use color to create effective contrast:

The text is hard to read because of insufficient contrast.

Effective contrast makes the text easier to read.


Choose the category of technicalinformation you want to communicate:

• numerical information• logical relationships• process descriptions and instructions• visual and spatial characteristics


Five kinds of graphics helpillustrate numerical information:

• tables• bar graphs• pictographs• line graphs• pie charts


Two kinds of graphics helpillustrate logical relationships:

• diagrams• organization charts


Three kinds of graphics help illustrate process descriptions and instructions:

• checklists• flowcharts• logic trees


Four kinds of graphics help illustrate visual and spatial characteristics:

• photographs• screen shots• line drawings• maps


A typical table has these parts:

Table number

Table title

Column head

Column subheads

Stub

Row

Data cell

Source statement

Footnotes


Follow these nine guidelinesfor creating effective tables:

• Indicate the units of measure.• In the stub (the left-hand column), list the

items being compared.• In the columns, arrange the data clearly and

logically.• Do the math.• Use dot leaders if a column contains a “blank”

spot: a place where there are no appropriate data.


Follow these nine guidelinesfor creating effective tables (cont.):

• Don’t make the table wider than it needs to be.• Minimize the use of rules.• Provide footnotes where necessary.• If you did not generate the information

yourself, indicate your source.


Horizontal and verticalbar graphs look like this:


Follow these six guidelinesfor creating effective bar graphs:

• Make the proportions fair.• If possible, begin the quantity scale at zero.• Use tick marks (marks along the axis) to

signal the amounts.• Arrange the bars in a logical sequence.• Place the title below the figure.• Indicate the source of your information if you

did not generate it yourself.


This is an effective bar graph:


The basic bar graph has five variations:

• grouped bar graph• subdivided bar graph• 100-percent bar graph• deviation bar graph• stratum graph


This is an effective pictograph:


This pictograph is misleading:


Follow these three guidelinesfor creating effective line graphs:

• If possible, begin the quantity scale at zero.• Use reasonable proportions for the vertical

and horizontal axes.• Use grid lines—horizontal, vertical, or both—

rather than tick marks when your readers need to read the quantities precisely.


This is an effective line graph:


Follow these eight guidelinesfor creating effective pie charts:

• Restrict the number of slices to six or seven.• Begin with the largest slice at the top and work

clockwise in order of decreasing size.• Include a miscellaneous slice for very small

quantities.• Label the slices (horizontally, not radially)

inside the slice.


Follow these eight guidelinesfor creating effective pie charts (cont.):

• To emphasize one slice, use a bright, contrasting color or separate the slice from the pie.

• Check to see that your software follows the appropriate guidelines for pie charts.

• Don’t overdo fill patterns.• Check that your percentages add up to 100.


How effective is this graphic?

Source: Defense Intelligence Agency, 2003 <www.dia.mil/thisisdia/DIA_Workforce_of_the_Future.pdf>.


Use these four techniques to show motion:


Follow these five guidelinesfor presenting photographs effectively:

• Eliminate extraneous background clutter that can distract readers.

• Do not electronically manipulate the photograph.

• Help readers understand the perspective.• If appropriate, include a common object to

give readers a sense of scale.• If appropriate, label components or important

features.


Line drawings offer threeadvantages over photographs:

• Line drawings can focus readers’ attention on desired information better than a photograph can.

• Line drawings can highlight information that might be obscured by bad lighting or a bad angle in a photograph

• Line drawings are sometimes easier for readers to understand than photographs are.


Line drawings offer a uniqueadvantage over other graphics:


The basic line drawing has three variations:


Follow these six guidelines for creatingeffective graphics for multicultural readers:

• Be aware that reading patterns differ.• Be aware of varying cultural attitudes toward

giving instruction.• Deemphasize trivial details.• Avoid culture-specific language, symbols, and

references.• Portray people very carefully.• Be particularly careful in portraying hand

gestures.

Ch12 slides

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