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Graphs and charts

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8.4 · Chapter 8 · AS Level IT · Hodder Education

Graphs and Charts

Choosing the right chart type, creating and formatting bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, and combo charts — including secondary axes and exporting to PDF.

📊 Bar / Column Chart

🥧 Pie Chart

📈 Line Graph

🔀 Combo Chart

The Big Idea: Choosing the right chart type is always the first decision — before touching Excel. Ask yourself: does my data compare parts of a whole, show a difference between items, or show a trend? That determines whether you need a pie chart, bar chart, or line graph.

8.4.1Chart Types — Choosing the Right One

🥧

Pie Chart

Use when: comparing parts of a whole

Shows how individual values contribute to a total. Best for displaying percentages. Each slice represents a proportion of the full 100%.

Example: percentage of salary budget per department · market share by product

📊

Bar Chart (Column)

Use when: showing differences between items

Shows comparison between discrete categories. Vertical bars are called Column charts in Excel. Best when categories are clearly separate items rather than a continuous scale.

Example: number of employees per department · sales by region

📈

Line Graph

Use when: showing trends between two variables

Shows how one variable changes over time or in relation to another continuous variable. Best when data points are connected and the trend matters more than individual values.

Example: cumulative rainfall over months · temperature over time

🤔 How to decide: Three questions

Does the data compare parts of a whole? (Do the values add up to a meaningful total?)

→ Pie chart

Does the data show a difference between distinct items/categories?

→ Bar/Column chart

Does the data show a trend or continuous change between two variables?

→ Line graph

Do you need to compare two variables with different scales on the same chart?

→ Combo chart + secondary axis

⚠️ Excel naming: What most people call a "bar chart" (vertical bars) is called a Column chart in Excel. A true "bar chart" in Excel has horizontal bars. The textbook uses "bar chart" to mean vertical bars — just be aware of this naming difference.

8.4.2Creating a Chart — The Process

Decide the chart type first

Look at your data and apply the three-question decision guide above. Never jump straight into Excel — identify what the data is trying to show before touching any menus.

Select the data

Contiguous data (all together in one block): click and drag to select. Non-contiguous data (separate ranges): hold Ctrl while selecting each range. Include column/row headings — they become chart labels automatically.

Insert the chart

Insert tab → Charts group → select the chart type icon. Choose the specific subtype from the dropdown (e.g. 2-D Column first option, 2-D Pie first option, 2-D Line first option). The Recommended Charts icon can help but doesn't always pick correctly.

Add and format labels

Click within the chart title and edit it to a clear, descriptive title. Add axis titles via: Chart selected → Design tab → Chart Layouts group → Add Chart Element → Axis Titles → Primary Horizontal / Primary Vertical.

Format and refine

Pie Chart — Specific Formatting

Technique

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