Tips for Working with Figures

Beginning with your design strategy document and continuing as you describe your final design and report the results of functional testing, you will incorporate diagrams, CAD drawings, flow charts, and tables and graphs of data into your documents. These visuals will help readers visualize your solution and readily understand the significance of the results you report.

All visuals, from simple tables to elaborate schematic diagrams, function best when they are organized to support your textual argument. While your figure or table needs to be able to stand alone (many readers skim the figures in a document to determine whether the rest of the document is worth reading), it also needs to be explained and contextualized in the text. It’s in this discussion that you assign meaning to the figure or the results you are reporting.

Consider the following tips as you begin working with visuals:

• Label system drawings or schematics to highlight key features or pinpoint particular innovations. This will make your design easier to understand and may even provide a focal point around which you can organize your writing.

Make data readable and understandable in tables and graphs. Use unambiguous symbols, clearly label all axes and headings, avoid distracting backgrounds or fills, and consider the conservative use of color and shading to highlight the points you plan to make.

• Number each visual and include informative captions so that readers can tell, without reading the main document, what the figure is about.
• Discuss all your tables, diagrams, and figures in the main document. You may use a sentence to refer to a figure (Figure 2 illustrates a circuit diagram for the design components) or in parentheses (Our design includes three related subsystems [see Figure 2]).  Position diagrams and figures near the text to which they refer, rather than at the end of the document (except in the case of Appendices).
• Choose high level drawings and/or calculations to represent your work in the main document. Detailed drawings or extensive calculations and data should be placed in an appendix to avoid disrupting the flow of your main document. Always refer readers to your appendices for more information.