Charts theory © EIT, Author Gay Robertson, 2017

What is a chart? A display of data in graphic form Easier to read and understand the data from the worksheet Examples on what a chart can be used for: Visually analyse data to show comparisons Visually analyse data to show trends Visually analyse data to show proportions Charts are best understood when they are approximately 1/3rd of a page in size

Column Chart… Used to show comparisons among items Or used to show data changes over time

Bar chart … Used to show comparisons among individual items

Pie chart … Used to show proportional size of items that make up a data series

Line chart … Used to show trends in data at equal intervals

Parts of a chart … Plot area is the most important part – this should be enlarged so that the reader gets a better understanding of the charted data

Editing a chart … Use the Chart Tools tab

Editing a chart … Click on any chart and you will see Click here to edit elements Click here to format Click here to change contents

Let’s hope that helped! But, if it didn’t make much sense – I can go through this again!

Why would I use a chart? In business, your workbooks will be generally a lot more complex and a lot larger than the little exercises you are working with and the data will be more difficult to analyse

Why else? Complex data is much easier to read and understand when in graphic format – easy to change display for better understanding