Writing Guidelines:• Organization and Content |
Writing Guidelines
Using Graphics
All graphics should serve a purpose (i. e., They should illuminate and explain the information in the text of the paper.)
All graphics should be numbered, beginning with Table 1 and Figure 1.
Tables generally present large quantities of numerical data. Figures include anything that is not a table: (drawings, graphs, charts, photos).
Give each graphic a functional and descriptive title. Descriptive titles typically identify all the variables in the graphic.
Introduce each graphic in the text of your paper and explain key points about it ("Table 1 shows . . . ."). In other words, don't assume that the graphic speaks for itself. Use present tense verbs when you refer to graphics.
Any graphic taken out of context should make sense on its own. The title, footnotes, and construction of the graphic should allow the reader to make sense of the graphic without reading the text. Use labels rather than keys or legends to identify elements of the graphic. If the graphic is not an original construction, cite the source you used to construct the graphic.
Position the graphic just after the first point of reference to the graphic in your text. This is typically after the first paragraph in which you refer to the graphic.
The example below demonstrates how the writer has introduced the graphic in the text of the paper in the paragraph which precedes the graphic:
Most algae are phototropic organisms that can fabricate their own food materials through photosynthesis by using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Most algae contain chlorophyll a, a molecule that absorbs the light to enable photosynthesis. Chlorophyll a absorbs light in the blue (450 nm) and red (650 nm) wavelengths, as shown by the two peaks in Figure 4, and emits light in the green wavelength.2
Figure 4. Absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a
Source: Steer, James. Structure and Reactions of Chlorophyll.
