Decide between a bar chart and a line chart
Decides whether your pasted figures suit a bar chart or a line chart, names what each would show, and flags data too thin to chart.
Task:
Decide whether the figures below should be shown as a bar chart or a line chart, and say why.
Context:
The figures measure [what is measured, with unit] across [categories or time periods]. The message I want the reader to get is [message]. The audience is [audience].
Rules:
- Base the choice on the kind of x values (separate categories or an ordered sequence) and on the message, and show what each chart type would make easy or hard to see.
- Use only the numbers I pasted. Say which figures you computed, such as a change or a total, and which you only read, and never add values that are not in the paste.
- If there are fewer than about 5 points, or the series has gaps, say the data is too thin for the trend a line suggests, and name the safer option.
- Give the axis settings that avoid misleading the reader, including whether the value axis should start at zero.
Result:
A verdict in one sentence, then a short comparison of the two chart types for this data, then the recommended axis and label settings in at most three lines.
Material:
[paste the figures here, one row per category or period]