DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Analyzing a Graphic

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DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ACTIVITY

Analyzing a Graphic

This diagram is from a government report. The questions below ask you to think about diagrams, as discussed as discussed in "Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphics."

Click on the document to view a larger version.

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Source: Defense Intelligence Agency, 2003: www.dia.mil.

Question 12.1

1. This design resembles a pie chart, but it does not have the same function as a pie chart. What message does this design communicate? Is it effective?

Question 12.2

2. Do the colors communicate any information, or are they merely decorative? If you think they are decorative, would you revise the design to change them in any way?

Question 12.3

3. What does the phrase “Future Environment,” above the graphic, mean? Is it meant to refer only to the “Technology” and “Process” shapes?

Question 12.4

4. Is the explanation below the graphic clear? Would you change it in any way?

Additional Document Analysis Activity

To analyze an interactive graphic, go here.

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How Hard the Wind Will Hit Your Area, and When
From Tom Giratikanon and David Schutz, “How Hard the Wind Will Hit Your Area, and When,” Boston Globe, August 26, 2011. Copyright © 2011 Boston Globe. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.