Many charts are being put out to-day from which it would seem that the person making them had tried deliberately to get up some method as different as possible from any which had ever been used previously. Anyone of us would be thought of as a freak instead of as a genius, if he tried to invent his own constructions for the English language and to place words in some order never before seen, yet many persons are doing something akin to this when they attempt to present data by some new and outlandish method of charting. Below are given a few rules which may be of assistance toward getting graphic presentations more on a standard basis so that they may be instantly read. These rules are included here simply as suggestions, and they should be considered as only tentative until such time as definite rules have been agreed upon and sanctioned by authoritative bodies.

RULES FOR GRAPHIC PRESENTATION

1. Avoid using areas or volumes when representing quantities. Presentations read from only one dimension are the least likely to be misinterpreted.

2. The general arrangement of a chart should proceed from left to right.

3. Figures for the horizontal scale should always be placed at the bottom of a chart. If needed, a scale may be placed at the top also.

4. Figures for the vertical scale should always be placed at the left of a chart. If needed, a scale may be placed at the right also.

5. Whenever possible, include in the chart the numerical data from which the chart was made.