Excel for Beginners Part 6 Creating Clear Charts

Choose an appropriate chart, connect it to clean data and remove distractions so the message is obvious.

What you will learn

• Choose charts that match the question
• Create a chart from a table
• Format titles, labels and axes clearly

Before you begin

Open Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application that supports standard Excel formulas. Create a practice copy so mistakes are safe to undo. Complete each action yourself rather than only reading it.

Choose the chart

Column and bar charts compare categories. Line charts show change over time. Pie charts are useful only for a small number of parts of one whole.

Start with the question. If the reader needs to compare product sales, a sorted bar chart is usually clearer than a decorative chart.

Create it correctly

Select the category labels and numeric values, including their headers, then choose Insert and the chart type.

If categories and series are reversed, use Switch Row/Column. Keep the source in a table so the chart can expand with new rows.

Make the message clear

Write a specific chart title. Remove unnecessary legends, gridlines or effects. Use data labels only when exact values matter.

Never use a truncated vertical axis to exaggerate small differences without making that choice obvious.

Guided practice

1. Create monthly sales data for six months.
2. Insert a column chart and give it a specific title.
3. Create a line-chart version and compare which answers the question better.
4. Remove any element that does not help interpretation.

Knowledge check

1. Which chart is normally best for change over time?
2. When is a pie chart appropriate?
3. Why should chart decoration be limited?

Completion standard

You are ready for the next part when you can complete the guided practice without copying the instructions word for word and can answer the knowledge-check questions in your own language.