7. Creating a graph

A good spreadsheet package will support all the standard graph types - bar, line, pie, scatter and so on.

And if you need to create even more complicated or creative graphs, there are specialist commercial graphing applications also available.

The typical process of graphing is as follows

1. Type in, or import the data
2. Select the data to graph
3. Select what kind of graph you require (from a menu)
4. The basic graph is created
5. Now add a title and label the axis
6. Perhaps add a legend and some annotation or explanation
7. Add a trend line or other calculated items such as error bars if relevant
8. Incorporate the graph into a presentation package of some kind (slides, multimedia, word processed document)

A good graph should illustrate the information clearly to its audience.