HBR Guide to Better Business Writing (HBR Guide Series)

Chapter 7

Use graphics to illustrate and clarify

When you’re writing about complex ideas, for example, or looking for useful ways to break up a long stretch of text, you can use a simple, elegant chart to convey critical information at a glance. Such graphics especially serve people who want to skim what you’ve written.

A few crucial principles:

• Make sure your graphics illustrate something discussed in the text.
• Place them near the text they illustrate, preferably on the same page or on a facing page.
• Use legends and keys that readers can easily grasp.

To learn how to produce effective graphics, consult the books of Edward Tufte, especially Envisioning Information and Beautiful Evidence. You’ll marvel at the amount of learning and the sophisticated ...