CREATING GRAPHICS

GRAPHICS ARE THE “PICTURES” 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:
• catch readers’ attention and interest
• help writers communicate information that is difficult to communicate with words
• help writers clarify and emphasize information
• help nonnative speakers of English understand information
• help writers communicate information to multiple audiences with different
interests, aptitudes, and reading habits
The Functions OF Graphics
Graphics offer five benefits that words alone cannot:
• Graphics are indispensable in demonstrating logical and numerical relationships. For
example, an organization chart effectively represents the lines of authority in an
organization. And if you want to communicate the number of power plants built in
each of the last 10 years, a bar graph works better than a paragraph.
• Graphics can communicate spatial information more effectively than words alone. If
you want to show the details of a bicycle derailleur, a diagram of the bicycle with a close-
up of the derailleur is more effective than a verbal description.
• Graphics can communicate steps in a process more effectively than words alone. A
troubleshooter’s guide, a common kind of table, explains what might be causing a
problem in a process and how you might fix it. And a diagram can show clearly how acid
rain forms.
• Graphics can save space.
The Characteristics of an Effective Graphic
• To be effective, graphics must be clear, understandable, and meaningfully related to the larger discussion.
Follow these five principles:
• A graphic should serve a purpose. Don’t include a graphic unless it will help readers understand or remember
information. Avoid content-free photographs and clip art, such as drawings of businesspeople shaking hands.
• A graphic should be simple and uncluttered. Three-dimensional bar graphs are easy to make, but they are
harder to understand than two-dimensional ones
• A graphic should present a manageable amount of information. Presenting too much information can confuse
readers. Consider audience and purpose: what kinds of graphics are your readers familiar with, how much do
they already know about the subject, and what do you want the document to do? Because readers learn best if
you present information in small chunks, create several simple graphics rather than a single complicated one.
• A graphic should meet readers’ format expectations. Through experience, readers learn how to read different
kinds of graphics. Follow the conventions—for instance, use diamonds to represent decision points in a flowchart
—unless you have a good reason not to.
• A graphic should be clearly labeled. Give every graphic (except a brief, informal one) a unique, clear,
informative title. Fully label the columns of a table and the axes and lines of a graph. Don’t make readers guess
whether you are using meters or yards, or whether you are also including statistics from the previous year.
Understanding the Process of Creating
Graphics
• Creating graphics involves planning, producing, revising, and citing
• Planning the Graphics
Audience. Will readers understand the kinds of graphics you want to use? Will they know
the standard icons in your field? Are they motivated to read your document, or do you need
to enliven the text
Purpose. What point are you trying to make with the graphic? Imagine what you want your
readers to know and do with the information.
The kind of information you want to communicate. Your subject will help you decide what
type of graphic to include.
Physical conditions. The physical conditions in which readers will use the document—
amount of lighting, amount of surface space available, the size of the screen on which the
information will be displayed, and so forth—will influence the type of graphic as well as its
size and shape, the thickness of lines, the size of type, and the color.
As you plan how you are going to create the
graphics, consider four important factors:
• Time. Because making a complicated graphic can take a lot of time,
you need to establish a schedule.
• Money. Creating a high-quality graphic can be expensive. How big is
the project budget? How can you use that money effectively?
• Equipment. Determine what tools and software you will require, such
as spreadsheets for tables and graphs or graphics software for
diagrams.
• Expertise. How much do you know about creating graphics? Do you
have access to the expertise of others?
Producing Graphics
• Use existing graphics. For a student paper that will not be published, some instructors allow
the use of photocopies or scans of existing graphics; other instructors do not. For a
document that will be published, whether written by a student or a professional, using an
existing graphic is permissible if the graphic is in the public domain (that is, not under
copyright), if it is the property of the writer’s organization, or if the organization has
obtained permission to use it.
• Modify existing graphics. You can redraw an existing graphic or use a scanner to digitize the
graphic and then modify it electronically with graphics software.
• Create graphics on a computer. You can create many kinds of graphics using your
spreadsheet software and the drawing tools on your word.
• Have someone else create the graphics. Professional-level graphics software can cost
hundreds of dollars and require hundreds of hours of practice. Some companies have
technical-publications departments with graphics experts, but others subcontract this work.
Revising Graphics
• As with any other aspect of technical communication, build in enough
time and budget enough money to revise the graphics you want to
use. Create a checklist and evaluate each graphic for effectiveness.
The Writer’s Checklist at the end of this chapter is a good starting
point. Show your graphics to people whose backgrounds are similar to
those of your intended readers and ask them for suggestions. Revise
the graphics and solicit more reactions.
Citing Source Of Graphics
• If you wish to publish a graphic that is protected by copyright (even if
you have revised it), you need to obtain written permission from the
copyright holder. Related to the issue of permission is the issue of
citation.
Using Colour Effectively
Color draws attention to information you want to emphasize, establishes visual patterns to promote
understanding, and adds interest. But it is also easy to misuse.
In using color in graphics and page design, keep these six principles in mind:
• Don’t overdo it. Readers can interpret only two or three colors at a time. Use colors for small items, such
as portions of graphics and important words. And don’t use colors where black and white will work better.
• Use color to emphasize particular items. People interpret color before they interpret shape, size, or
placement on the page. Color effectively draws readers’ attention to a particular item or group of items on a
page. for example, color adds emphasis to different kinds of information.
• Use color to create patterns. The principle of repetition—readers learn to recognize patterns—applies in
graphics as well as in document design. In creating patterns, also consider shape. For instance, use red for
safety comments but place them in octagons resembling a stop sign. This way, you give your readers two
visual cues to help them recognize the pattern. shows the use of color to establish patterns. Color is also an
effective way to emphasize design features such as text boxes, rules, screens, and headers and footers.
• Use contrast effectively. The visibility of a color is a function of the background against which it appears
The strongest contrasts are between black and white and between black and yellow.
• Take advantage of any symbolic meanings colors may already have
Choosing the Appropriate Kind of Graphic
• Tables
• Bar Graphic
• Infographic
• Line graph
• Pie chart
• Diagram
• Organization chart
• Checklist
Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural
Readers.
• Be aware that reading patterns differ. In some countries, people read from
right to left or from top to bottom. In some cultures, direction signifies
value: the right-hand side is superior to the left, or the reverse. You need to
think about how to sequence graphics that show action or where to put
“before” and “after” graphics. If you want to show a direction, as in an
informal flowchart, consider using arrows to indicate how to read the chart.
• Be aware of varying cultural attitudes toward giving instruction. Instructions
for products made in Japan are highly polite and deferential: “Please attach
the cable at this time.” Some cultures favor spelling out general principles
but leaving the reader to supply the details. To people in these cultures,
instructions containing a detailed close-up of how to carry out a task might
appear insulting.
Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural
Readers
• Deemphasize trivial details. Because common objects, such as plugs
on the ends of power cords, come in different shapes around the
world, draw them to look generic rather than specific to one country.
• Avoid culture-specific language, symbols, and references. Don’t use a
picture of a mouse (the furry rodent) to symbolize a computer mouse
because the device is not known by that name everywhere. Avoid the
casual use of national symbols (such as the maple leaf or national
flags); any error in a detail might offend your readers. Use colors
carefully: red means danger to most people from Western cultures,
but it is a celebratory color to the Chinese.
Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural
Readers
• Portray people very carefully. Every aspect of a person’s appearance,
from clothing to hairstyle to physical features, is culture- or race-
specific.
• Be particularly careful in portraying hand gestures. Many Western
hand gestures, such as the “okay” sign, are considered obscene in
other cultures, and some people consider long red fingernails
inappropriate
Researching Your Subject:
• Understanding the difference between Academic and Workplace Research
• Although academic research and workplace research can overlap, in most cases they differ in
their goals and their methods. In academic research, your goal is to find information that will
help answer a scholarly question:
• In workplace research, your goal is to find information to help you answer a practical
question: “Should we replace our sales staff’s notebook computers with tablets?” or “What
would be the advantages and disadvantages to our company of adopting a European-style
privacy policy for customer information?” Workplace research questions frequently focus on
improving a situation at a particular organization. These questions call for considerable
primary research because they require that you learn about your own organization’s
processes and how the people in your organization would respond to your ideas. Sometimes,
workplace research questions address the needs of customers or other stakeholders. You will
need a thorough understanding of your organization’s external community in order to
effectively align your products or services with their needs.
Understanding the Research Process
• When you perform research, you want the process to be effective and
efficient. That is, you want to find information that answers the
questions you need to answer. And you don’t want to spend any more
time than necessary getting that information. To meet these goals,
you have to think about how the research relates to the other aspects
of the overall project. The Focus on Process box provides an overview
of the research process. Although all these tasks are described as part
of the planning stage, remember that you might also need to perform
additional research during the drafting, revising, editing, and
proofreading stages. Whenever you need additional information to
help you make your argument clear and persuasive, do more research.
Choosing Appropriate Research Methods
• Different research questions require different research methods. Once
you have determined the questions you need to answer, think about
the various research techniques you could use to answer them.
• For example, your research methods for finding out how a current
situation is expected to change would differ from your research
methods for finding out how well a product might work for your
organization.
Research Method Process
• Analyse your audience.
• Analyse your purpose
• Analyse your subject.
• Visualize the deliverable
• Work out a schedule and a budget for the project
• Determine what information will need to be part of that deliverable
• Determine what information you still need to acquire
• Create questions you need to answer in your deliverable
• Conduct secondary research.
• Conduct primary research
• Evaluate your information.
• Do more research
Conducting Secondary Research
• Study journal articles and web-based sources such as online journals,
discussion boards, blogs, and podcasts.
Understanding Research Media
• Print. Books, journals, reports, and other documents will continue to be
produced in print because printed documents are portable and you can
write on them.
• Online databases. Most libraries—even many public libraries—subscribe
to services, such as LexisNexis, ProQuest, InfoTrac, Gale Virtual
Reference, and ERIC, that provide access to large databases of journal
articles, conference proceedings, newspapers, and other documents.
 Understanding Research Media
• Web site: The good news is that there are billions of pages of information on the web. The
bad news is that there are billions of pages of information on the web. Still, if you search
effectively and efficiently, you can find reference materials such as dictionaries and
encyclopedias that don’t exist in print, online versions of magazines and journals with
extra features not present in the print versions, conversion calculators and other statistical
software, current survey data, animations, audio and video podcasts, and many other
kinds of information.
• Social media. This is a broad term encompassing several kinds of media, all of which
include user-generated content. A discussion board is an online discussion that readers
contribute to by posting messages. Most discussion boards are organized by threads
(sometimes called topics). All of the posts on a thread are presented together, usually in
reverse chronological order. A blog is a web log, a web-based periodical published by a
person or group, to which readers can contribute comments. A wiki is a document or
website that users write and edit online.
Tradition Research Tools
• Online Catalogues
• Reference Work
• Periodical Indexes
There are periodical indexes in all fields. The following brief list will give
you a sense of the diversity of titles:
• Applied Science & Technology Index
• Business Source Premier
• Engineering Village
• Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature
Tradition Research Tools
• Newspaper Indexes
• Abstract Services
• Government Services
Evaluating the information
• Accurate
• Unbiased
• Comprehensive
• Appropriately technical
• Current
• Clear
Conducting Primary Research
• You can answer some of your questions by consulting company
records, by interviewing experts in your organization, by distributing
questionnaires, and by interviewing other people in your organization
and industry. Other questions call for using social media to gather
information from your customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
• Analyzing Social Media Data
• Observation and demonstration
• Inspections
Experiments

• Establishing a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an informed guess about the relationship

between two factors. In a study relating gasoline octane and miles per gallon, a
hypothesis might be that a car will get 5 percent better mileage with 89-octane gas
than with 87-octane gas.
• Testing the hypothesis. Usually, you need an experimental group and a control group.
These two groups should be identical except for the condition you are studying: in
the above example, the gasoline. The control group would be a car running on 87
octane. The experimental group would be an identical car running on 89 octane. The
experiment 06_MAR_7337_ch06_114-[Link] 134 10/29/14 12:42 PM Conducting
Primary Research 6 135 would consist of driving the two cars over an identical course
at the same speed—preferably in some sort of controlled environment—over a given
distance, such as 1,000 miles. Then you would calculate the miles per gallon. The
results would either support or refute your original hypothesis.
Experiments

• Analysing the data

• Reporting the data
Conducting Primary Research
• Field Research
• Interview
• Inquiries
• Questionaries
Research and Documentation:
• What is the literature?
• A body of work that has been distributed, written, or published on a
given topic or concept.
• Can be in multiple formats, depending on the academic subject or
discipline.
• Various intents: inform, support, persuade, update, or dispute
Literature Review
• The literature consists of the following:
• Major works: key or seminal publications on a topic
• Other works or publications that build upon or respond to the major
works.
• The literature is a continuously evolving network of scholarly works
that interact with each other.
Literature Review
• Literature generally falls into one of three categories:
1. Primary sources: first-hand accounts of events, practices, or
conditions being researched.
2. It also includes many original, creative works or artifacts.
Literature Review
Statues and laws Sciences / Health Sciences:
• Original research (articles, reports, pre-prints)
• Conference papers
• Dissertations & theses
• Interviews
• Patents & inventions
• Technical reports
• Lab notebooks
• Raw data Primary
Literature Review
• Secondary sources:
Sources that discuss, study, or comment on information from primary sources.
Examples:-Sciences / Health Sciences:
• Literature reviews
• Data analysis or refined compilations
• Reviews (systematic or meta-analysis)
• Opinion pieces
• Letters to the editor
• Articles in trade journals (non-research)
• Textbooks and books
Literature Review
• Tertiary sources:
sources that utilize and distill information from primary and secondary sources.
Reference works such as:
• Handbooks
• Standards
• Almanacs
• Encyclopedias
• Manuals
• Pathfinders (LibGuides)
Literature Review
• The process of identifying, locating, examining, and synthesizing
scholarly information and publications on a particular topic.
• One of the first things done by any student or scholar who plans to
pursue new knowledge or do research in most subject areas.
• The literature review establishes the base upon which any new work
stands.
Literature Review
• A literature review develops an understanding of a topic in four different directions:
1. Research theory and philosophy
•Establish intellectual content
• Define a concept
2. History of development
• Gain background to present history
3. Latest research and development
• Identify current thinking, issues, and arguments
• Detect a knowledge gap
4. Research methods
• Discern techniques and instrumentation
Interview
• The interview is the primary technique for information gathering
during the systems analysis phases of a development of research. It is
a skill which must be mastered by every analyst. The interviewing
skills of the analyst determine what information is gathered, and the
quality and depth of that information. Interviewing, observation, and
research are the primary tools of the analyst.
Interview
• Types of Interviews
During the analysis process, interviews are conducted for a variety of
purposes and with a variety of goals in mind. An interview can be
conducted at various times within the process for
[Link] introduction
[Link] or background
[Link] gathering
[Link] of information gathered elsewhere
[Link] of information gathered from the interviewee
[Link]-up, amplification, and clarification
Interview
• Interviewing Components
The interview process itself consists of a number of parts.
[Link] of the interviewee and scheduling time for the interview
[Link] of interview questions, or script
[Link] interview itself
[Link] of the facts and information gathered during the
interview
[Link] of the interview write up with the interviewee
[Link] of the write up, sign-off, and filing
Documenting Sources
• The Need for Documentation
• Everyone talks about the wheather but no one can do anything about
it. In the case of documentation, everyone talks about it but few do it;
however, unlike the weather, most people can document, and
document effectively.
• Documentation, however painful and tedious it may seem, is one of
the most critical tasks of analysis. The documentation produced as a
result of the analytical interviews, the analyst's observations and
research, and ultimately, the total analysis phase of the project serves a
number of purposes.
• Permanence. The need for documentation is rooted in semantics and human memory. Verbal
communications are both transitory and subject to interpretation. The average person has a language working
set of about 500 to 1000 words. The written working set, by contrast, is much larger, perhaps by as much as
an order of magnitude. Verbal communication is augmented by inflection, body language, and by a process of
feedback and interaction, all of which serve to clarify the ambiguous, the ill-defined, and ill-understood.
Human memory is imperfect. Words communicated verbally can only be recalled and examined with
difficulty, if at all.
• Precision and recall. A written document is more precise and may be reviewed repeatedly until
understanding is achieved. It has the added advantage that small changes can be made to it without having to
restate the entire premise or thought. Additionally, once an idea is written down, it may be recalled at will
exactly as first presented and may be completed by someone other than the original author, or authors.
Because there is little feedback from the written word, one can only take issue with misstatements of fact or
with ambiguous wording. If it isn't written down, it isn't there.
• Graphics. Documentation usually includes both a narrative portion and an illustration portion. These
illustrations serve to amplify and enhance the narrative. One picture can be worth many thousands of words,
if properly drawn. The graphics of the analytical documentation, whether it employs simple flowcharts, HIPO
diagrams, data flow diagrams, or powerful modeling techniques such as those based upon the entity-
relationship-attribute approach, presents the user and the analyst with a way to walk through the picture
developed from the analysis, and ultimately walk through the design developed from the analysis. These
walk-through sessions enable both to understand the environment and to detect any ambiguities and
anomalies. Illustrations have the added advantage that they can be viewed in their entirety, whereas narrative
may only be viewed in fragments.
Functions of Documentation
• Documentation serves to clarify understanding, and perhaps most
important, it provides the audit trail of the analyst. That is, it creates
the records which can be referred to at some later date and which serve
as the basis for future work and decisions.
• Good documentation precludes the need to return to the interviewee
for a repetition of ground previously covered. Good documentation
can be reviewed over and over until adequate understanding is
achieved.
What are the “rights” in Copyright?
• The rights of the copyright owner are:
• To reproduce the work
• To prepare derivative works
• To distribute copies of the work
• To publicly perform the work
• To publicly display the work directly or by telecommunication
• To publicly perform a sound recording by digital means
What doesn’t Copyright Protect?
• Titles, names, short phrases, slogans
• Facts, news and discoveries
• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes
• Works lacking a modicum of originality
• Useful articles/Items of Utility
Paraphrasing
• A restatement
• The same or different length as original
• Written with different words
• Often reorganized
• Faithful to the author’s intended meaning
• Reader-friendly
Paraphrasing Techniques
1. Change to Synonyms
2. Change Word Forms
3. Change from a Clause to a Phrase
4. Change from Quoted Speech to Indirect Speech
5. Change from Active Voice to Passive Voice
6. Interpret Meaning Identify the underlying meaning of a statement.
7. Change Transitions
Questionnaires
• A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of
questions or other types of prompts that aims to collect information
from a respondent. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of
close-ended questions and open-ended questions.
• The data collected from a data collection questionnaire can be both
qualitative as well as quantitative in nature. A questionnaire may or
may not be delivered in the form of a survey, but a survey always
consists of a questionnaire.
Report Components:
• Abstracts
An abstract is a 150- to 250-word paragraph that provides
readers with a quick overview of your essay or report and its
organization. It should express your thesis (or central idea) and
your key points; it should also suggest any implications or
applications of the research you discuss in the paper.
Introduction
• The introduction serves the purpose of leading the reader from a
general subject area to a particular field of research. It establishes the
context of the research being conducted by summarizing current
understanding and background information about the topic, stating the
purpose of the work in the form of the hypothesis, question, or
research problem, briefly explaining your rationale, methodological
approach, highlighting the potential outcomes your study can reveal,
and describing the remaining structure of the paper.
Table of contents
• A table of contents shows the reader where the various
sections of the report are located. It is written on a separate
page. It includes the page numbers of each section within
the report and any appendices that are attached to the report.
Executive Summaries
• An executive summary is a brief section at the beginning of a
long report, article, recommendation, or proposal that
summarizes the document. It is not background and not an
introduction. People who read only the executive
summary should get the essence of the document without fine
details.
Feasibility Reports
• A feasibility report generally includes explanation of the problem,
present standards on criteria, subject-items to be analysed,
examination of the scope of analysis. Feasibility reports may also
include cost-effective analysis. alternative routes available to
complete the project and a minimum time required to achieve a
breakeven point in cases where returns are expected
Investigative report
• An investigative report is created with the intent that it may be used in a
court of law. It should be succinct and focus on the mission or goal of
the investigation.
• The investigator's primary purpose is to locate information and, thus,
evidence on a precise matter, to recover significant documents, or
recover certain file types and any date and timestamps.
• The goal of the investigation will be defined by your client. Your client
could be internal to the organization you work for or another
investigator or lawyer. Spending time documenting the objective will
generally save time and reduce the cost of the examination. Always
ensure that the investigative report specifies the mission of an
investigation.
Lab reports
• This document describes a general format for lab reports that you can
adapt as needed. Lab reports are the most frequent kind of document
written in engineering and can count for as much as 25% of a course yet
little time or attention is devoted to how to write them well.
• A good lab report does more than present data; it demonstrates the
writer’s comprehension of the concepts behind the data. Merely
recording the expected and observed results is not sufficient; you should
also identify how and why differences occurred, explain how they
affected your experiment, and show your understanding of the principles
the experiment was designed to examine. Bear in mind that a format,
however helpful, cannot replace clear thinking and organized writing. You
still need to organize your ideas carefully and express them coherently.
Trip Reports
• Trip reports are a common part of organizational
communication. They generally follow the format of a
memorandum, addressed to one or more members of a group
of associates. They should include the reason for the trip, what
was found, and one or more conclusions.
Trouble Reports