A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

A.3.1 on creating and inserting tables and figures in your paper.)8.3.1 Frame Each Graphic to Help Your Readers Understand ItA graphic representing complex numbers rarely speaks for itself. You must frame it so thatreaders know what to see in it and how to understand its relevance to your argument.1. Introduce tables and figures with a sentence in your text that states how the data supportyour point. Include in that sentence any specific number that you want readers to focus on.(That number must also appear in the table or figure.)2. Label every table and figure in a way that describes its data and, if possible, theirimportant relationships. For a table, the label is called a title and is set flush left above; fora figure, the label is called a caption (or legend) and is set flush left below. (For the formsof titles and captions, see chapter 26.) Keep titles and captions short but descriptive enoughto indicate the specific nature of the data and to differentiate every graphic from everyother one.Avoid making the title or caption a general topic:Not: Heads of householdsBut: Changes in one- and two-parent heads of households, 1970–2000Use noun phrases; avoid relative clauses in favor of participles:Not: Number of families that subscribe to weekly news magazinesBut: Number of families subscribing to weekly news magazinesDo not give background information or characterize the implications of the data:Not: Weaker effects of counseling on depressed children before professionalization of staff, 1995–2004But: Effect of counseling on depressed children, 1995–2004Be sure labels distinguish graphics presenting similar data:Risk factors for high blood pressure among men in Maywood, IllinoisRisk factors for high blood pressure among men in Kingston, Jamaica3. Put into the table or figure information that helps readers see how the data support yourpoint. For example, if numbers in a table show a trend, and if the size of the changematters, add the change to the final column. Or if a line on a graph changes in response toan influence not mentioned on the graph, as in figure 8.3, add text to the image to explainit:www.itpub.net