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Graphics: Good and Bad

Preparing for the International Teaching Assistant English Language Exam at UCSB

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Line Graphs: Keep It Simple

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Bad

Avoid copying graphics that have too much detail. Here, the dotted and dashed lines are difficult to tell apart. Unneeded labels should be removed.

https://reshamas.github.io/graphs-are-the-next-frontier-in-data-science/

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Bad

Avoid copying graphics that were designed for a different format, such as a web page or article. Here, the dotted and dashed lines are difficult to tell apart. Labels/text should be enlarged or removed.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Feeding-Characteristics-of-an-Amoeba-(Lobosea:-Upon-Xinyao-Miao/6cc1cf8bf613bd4f5aaf87c2244de013620e0296

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Better

Two or three lines, especially when colored, are easy to read quickly.

https://sites.google.com/site/piggraphy/home/graphical-skills/lines-graphs

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Better

Sometimes, a histogram or bar chart can be easier to read than a line graph.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-graph-nov-28-2018.html

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Images: Keep It Simple

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Probably too complex

Avoid labeled diagrams. Avoid multiple images/diagrams on one slide. Consider splitting one slide into two or three.

https://www.topperlearning.com/answer/write-down-the-steps-involved-in-nutrition-in-amoeba/bwxctjee

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Better

Images should contain only those details which you plan to cover in your talk.

https://www.epicentrofestival.com/

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Avoid using too much text.

Only a key word or phrase, or a brief outline of your talk, is enough to put on one slide. If your slide is all text, like this one, you may not need a slide at all.

https://www.ques10.com/p/12644/define-and-explain-the-process-of-communication--1/

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Math Formulas: �How Much Is Too Much?

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Too much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_(mathematics)

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Too much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_(mathematics)

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Okay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_(mathematics)

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Data in Tables: �How Much Is Too Much?

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Too Much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goleta,_California#Climate

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Probably Too Much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Santa_Barbara

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Okay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goleta,_California

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Chemical Formulas: �How Much Is Too Much?

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Bad

https://preparatorychemistry.com/images/molecular_formula_dianabol_.gif

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Better

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_reaction#/media/File:Combustion_reaction_of_methane.jpg

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Questions?

For more information, see our website:

https://www.ems.ucsb.edu/graduate/ta-info

For further assistance, email us at:

ITAEnglishExam@linguistics.ucsb.edu