David C.

Phelps
Technical Writing
Kathleen Newport

A column chart where it is easy to compare over a single year. Over the last two years
polled each school is relatively similar in regards to enrollment.



A line chart where it is easy to see the rate of change from 2006 to 2011. As college ys
applications become less, college zs increase, and college xs stay relatively similar.


0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Number of
Applications
Application Years
Applications from 2006 to 2011 in X,Y,
and Z colleges
College X
College Y
College Z
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Number of
Applications
Application Years
Applications from 2006 to 2011 in X,Y,
and Z colleges
College X
College Y
College Z

Straight up chart data which is useful for databases and precise figures/calculations.

School Name 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
College X 2341 2410 2689 2714 2287 2868
College Y 3116 3224 2976 2840 2615 2421
College Z 1807 1784 1926 1002 2112 2267
Applications Per Year from 2006 to 2011


A) For exact figures I would definitely go with the table. I think the term exact makes
the reasoning fairly obvious.

B) The rate of change over the duration would be the line graph. Its much easier to see
and has been the standard when displaying rates of change for mathematics and the
sciences for a long time.

C) For a particular year I might go with a bar or column chart (I used column but they
are the same just vertical instead of horizontal) because it is easier to see an
individual year when compared.but I would use this column chart instead of a
bar chart because bar charts are often confusing and hard to read (going against our
x,y,z conventions that we typically are taught and are ingrained.)