What is a Figure?
A figure is any visual in a paper other than a table: a graph, chart, diagram, map, photograph or drawing. Figures show patterns, relationships and processes that would take paragraphs to describe.
Common Types of Figures
- Bar charts: compare values across groups.
- Line graphs: show change over time.
- Scatter plots: show the relationship between two variables.
- Diagrams and flowcharts: explain a model or a process, such as participant flow in a trial.
- Photographs, maps and images: show materials, sites or results that are visual by nature.
Formatting in Major Styles
- APA (7th edition): the figure number in bold above the image, the title on the next line in italic title case, and a note below for explanations, sources and copyright.
- MLA: label the figure "Fig. 1" and put the caption and source below it.
- Chicago and most science journals: the number and caption below the figure; journals often call the explanatory caption a figure legend.
In every style, number figures in the order you mention them (see figure numbering) and refer to each in the text by number.
How to Write a Figure Caption
Start with a title that says what the figure shows, then add what a reader needs to interpret it without the text: what the symbols, colours and error bars mean, the sample size, and any abbreviations. For example: "Figure 2. Mean recall scores by study condition. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals; n = 120."
List of Figures
Theses and long reports usually need a list of figures after the table of contents. In Word, add each caption with Insert Caption, then build the list with Insert Table of Figures.
Best Practices
- Use one figure for one message, and put the most important data where the eye lands first.
- Label axes with units, and keep fonts readable at the printed size.
- Choose colour schemes that still work in greyscale and for colour-blind readers.
- Export graphs as vector files (PDF, SVG or EPS) or as high-resolution images, often 300 dpi or more.
- If you reproduce or adapt someone else's figure, cite it in the note and check whether you need permission.
Figures usually appear in the results section, next to the text that discusses them.
Use case: Thesis writing assistant