reports: illustrations

If you are conveying two or three short pieces of statistical information, incorporate them into a sentence in the text.

Show more extensive information in the form of a table or, in order to highlight relationships and trends, in the form of a chart, graph or diagram. A well-prepared illustration can take the place of several paragraphs or even pages of text, and help the author make, explain or emphasize a point strongly and succinctly.

Although illustrations can be grouped together in an appendix, the best place for them is in the text, as close as possible to their first mention. Each illustration should be identified by a figure or table number and a caption.

Guidelines for tables and graphs

Significant aspects of the tables or graphs should be interpreted in the text. Create tables and graphs using the appropriate functions in your word-processing or spreadsheet program.

Follow these guidelines on form and content:

• Limit the amount of data in graphs and tables to essentials.
• Keep the display simple, with clear and concise headings (column heads) at the top of each column.
• If symbols are being used, place them at the head of each column.
• Singular forms are preferred in the column heads, e.g. Country of origin, Currency.
• Currency symbols can be placed before the first entry of each column, but do not repeat unit designations.
• With large sums, space can be saved by placing a notation such as (in thousands) or ($000) directly beneath the column head.
• Explain abbreviations in the reference notes.
• Be consistent in the use of capitalization, fonts, italics and spacing in tables and charts.
• Make sure that bar and pie charts are visually accurate and that tables add up.
• Place footnotes for tables immediately below the graphic presentation and indicate them with a superscript number, letter or symbol (see reference notes: footnotes).
• Give a source reference at the end of the table, where appropriate.

Consult Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Council of Biology Editors, 677-99) for further information on tables, graphs and illustrations.

Model table

The model table below illustrates many of the recommendations made in this section:

Table A