14-10 Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles
Tips for Preparing Figures and Tables
Figures Other than Graphs
▪ Use arrows or other indicators to point out important items in a figure so that readers do not need to search for them. ▪ Be sure your figures will be readable after they are reduced for publication. When preparing figures with lettering or symbols on them, think about how big the letters or symbols will be if the figure is printed only 1 column wide. ▪ Avoid using color in your figures unless it is absolutely necessary for the reader to understand them; most journals will require you to pay for the cost of color printing.
▪ Whenever possible, put information on the figure itself rather than in the figure legend.
▪ Be sure to include any relevant information that does not appear on the figure itself in the accompanying legend. General guidelines for legends include the following: ▪ Give enough information that the reader can understand the figure without referring to the text of the article. ▪ State briefly the message you wish the reader to receive from the figure or the most important finding evident in the figure.
▪ State original magnification and stain, if applicable.
▪ Define abbreviations and explain symbols used in the figure.
▪ Name the method used; describe the method in detail if that is the journal’s style.
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Keep the legend as short as possible.
▪ Put the legends for all the figures on a separate page, not on the figures themselves.
▪ Follow the journal’s guideline s regarding acceptable file formats, file naming conventions, and other electronic figure requirements.
Graphs
▪ Keep your graphs simple. Be selective about which PowerPoint or Excel features you use.
▪ Label the axes on your graphs so that readers can tell what variable is shown on each axis and what the units of measure are.
▪ Make sure that the increments on the axes are appropriate for the data shown and are uniform.
▪ Use 3 dimensions only if you are plotting 3 variables.
▪ Make sure the symbols that represent data points are big enough to read and are easily distinguishable from each other.
▪ Whenever possible, put the key that identifies lines or bars on the figure itself rather than in the legend.
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