How to write a chart title that states the finding

A label title names the measure: Access to electricity. A finding title says what happened: Kenya more than tripled its share with electricity.

The finding tells the reader where to look, and the line under it still says what was measured.

A label title still fits a reference chart, where readers look up their own country rather than follow a story.

Five steps on a chart of access to electricity in eight African countries. Each picture shows the control to use, ringed in gold.

1. 1

   Click the title on the chart. It starts as the name of the measure. Press the icon button Use the finding as the title in the bar above it.

   
2. 2

   GeoLens writes what the drawn data shows, here Kenya rose 54.4 points since 2004, and moves the measure to the line below.

   
3. 3

   Type over the title when you can say it better. Keep one sentence a reader can check on the chart.

   
4. 4

   Select the line under the title and press the icon button Write a caption to put the measure, unit and years in your own words.

   
5. 5

   Open Download and choose PNG image.

   

TipSay each fact once: the unit and the years go under the title, not in it.

Name the country and the direction: rose, fell, passed, doubled.

Use a number only if the chart shows it, and round it the way the chart does.

Keep it short enough to read on a phone, about ten words.

Read the title alone, then look at the chart. If the chart does not show it at a glance, rewrite the title or highlight the country it names.

Then show it to someone who has not seen the data. If they can say the finding back to you, the title works.

Skip questions and puns: a reader scrolling past should get the answer, not a riddle.

Read it aloud. If you run out of breath, it is too long.