The Functions of Graphics

THINKING VISUALLY: Characteristics of an Effective Graphic

Understanding the Process of Creating Graphics

PLANNING GRAPHICS

ETHICS NOTE: Creating Honest Graphics

PRODUCING GRAPHICS

TECH TIP: How To Insert and Modify Graphics

GUIDELINES: Integrating Graphics and Text

REVISING GRAPHICS

CITING SOURCES OF GRAPHICS

Using Color Effectively

Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic

ILLUSTRATING NUMERICAL INFORMATION

CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Tables

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Bar Graphs

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Infographics

TECH TIP: How To Use Drawing Tools

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Line Graphs

GUIDELINES: Creating Effective Pie Charts

ILLUSTRATING LOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS

ILLUSTRATING PROCESS DESCRIPTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Analyzing a Graphic

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Interactive Graphic and

ILLUSTRATING VISUAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS

TUTORIAL: Photo Editing Basics with GIMP

GUIDELINES: Presenting Photographs Effectively

TECH TIP: How To Create and Insert Screen Shots

Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural Readers

WRITER’S CHECKLIST

EXERCISES

CASE 8: Creating Appropriate Graphics To Accompany a Report and

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GRAPHICS ARE THE VISUALS in technical communication: drawings, maps, photographs, diagrams, charts, graphs, and tables. Graphics range from realistic, such as photographs, to highly abstract, such as organization charts. They range from decorative, such as clip art and stock photos that show people seated at a conference table, to highly informative, such as a schematic diagram of an electronic device.

Graphics are important in technical communication because they do the following: