Assignment: Visuals and Primary Data
Visuals separate business communication from other forms of writing. Visuals pull together data in a chart or table to depict results or compare trends. Types of visuals include tables, pie graphs, bar charts, flow charts, organization charts, maps, drawings and photos. It is important to choose the right type of visual and make the representation of data ethical (see Figure 10.29 and Figure 10.31 for unethical designs followed by ethical designs in Figure 10.30 and Figure 10.32 on pages 437-438). Decide on an order: alphabetical, chronological, highest to lowest data, or lowest to highest data. Horizontal and vertical bar graphs can be made into pictographs (see Figure 10.14 on page 422). Although visuals with their data labels and headings are designed to stand alone, they should be reinforced and referenced in the text of a report. One of the best newspapers to view visuals is USA Today.
Assignment
In this assignment you are practicing appropriate visual selection by using primary data. No class before you or after you will be like you. This class is unique in its answers on the Information Sheet. The professional article and link to another article show you ways to organize content and use visuals in your report. This assignment also gives you practice for the major report.
In this assignment, you will analyze and describe the class statistically, using primary data from the Information Sheet that you completed earlier.
When you write the report, your name should appear in the upper right-hand corner on the first and all succeeding pages.
Begin the short report by briefly introducing the class, such as course name and term offered, and noting the return rate. To determine the return rate, you will divide the number of surveys completed by the number of students in the class. For example, if there are 25 students in the class but only 20 complete the information sheet, then the return rate is 80%.
Choose three questions from the information sheet that do not have results of 100%. Write a short paragraph or a few statements, highlighting the important aspects of the data. (For example, most students write weekly while only two students write monthly. See Figure 1.) Support the results of each question with a visual. A sample of visuals is available in Chapter 10 on pages 403-404.
Include a combination of charts and tables to depict the results. Select a chart or table that is appropriate for the contents; there are no questions that can use a line graph. A minimum/total of three charts and/or tables is required. Refer to the visuals in your report (e.g., In Figure 1, see Figure 3, Table 1 depicts most students are accounting majors). Use statements about the results rather than repeat the question. Include the source (Data Source: Information Sheet Fall 2020) with each visual. A data source differs from a source since you are the one designing the visual from others’ data rather than copying a visual exactly as it appeared in another source.
