tables and figures

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hello All,

here are some more tips on the topic.

Some general considerations about Figures:

• Big or little? For course-related papers, a good rule of thumb is to size your figures to fill about one-half of a page. Readers should not have to reach for a magnifying glass to make out the details. Compound figures may require a full page.

• Color or no color? Most often black and white is preferred. The rationale is that if you need to photocopy or fax your paper, any information conveyed by colors will be lost to the reader. However, for a poster presentation or a talk with projected images, color can be helpful in distinguishing different data sets. Every aspect of your Figure should convey information; never use color simply because it is pretty.

• Title or no title? Never use a title for Figures included in a paper; the legend conveys all the necessary information and the title just takes up extra space. However, for posters or projected images, where people may have a harder time reading the small print of a legend, a larger font title is very helpful.

• Illustrations must be good-quality, unmounted glossy prints, usually 127 x 173 mm (5x7 in), but no larger than 203 x 254 mm (8 x 10 in).

• Simplify Figures.

• Check that numbers in Figures match the information provided in the text and Abstract.

• Expand all abbreviations.

• The legend should tell the reader about the most important thing displayed in the Figure.

kunda