Redraw a chart that tells the truth and misleads anyway

Find a published chart whose numbers are correct and whose construction does the arguing — a truncated axis, a dual axis, a cumulative total shown as growth, an area chart encoding a single value. Redraw it fairly and say what changed. Then draw the line: state where you think legitimate emphasis ends and distortion begins, and name a case where the choice you just criticised would be the right one.

Part of the Statistics & Data Literacy course~60 minutesEvidence: a write-upWe mark it against a checklist you can read first

01 · What counts as done

What you have to hand in

The original, with its source.
The construction choice named, and its effect on a reader's impression.
A rough sense of how much the impression is exaggerated.
A redraw of the same data with the distortion removed and none added.
An explicit rule for where emphasis ends and distortion begins.
One case where the criticised choice would be legitimate.

02 · How it will be marked

The checklist, published before you start

We score your work against each line below, and every score has to quote the part of your work it is based on. You read all of it first, so you can argue with any score on the specifics.

The distortion is identified30% of the grade
The submission says what the original chart's construction does to a reader's impression.
1. AbsentSays the chart is misleading without saying how.
2. DevelopingNames a problem that is cosmetic rather than the distorting one.
3. Competent— this is the pass markNames the construction choice and its effect on the reader.
4. StrongNames it, and quantifies roughly how much the impression is exaggerated.
The redraw is fair30% of the grade
The new chart shows the same data without the distortion, and without introducing another.
1. AbsentThe redraw distorts in a different direction.
2. DevelopingFixes the named problem and introduces a smaller one.
3. Competent— this is the pass markSame data, fairly encoded.
4. StrongFair, and the encoding chosen suits the comparison being made.
The line is drawn explicitly25% of the grade
Not every axis choice is dishonest. The submission says where it thinks legitimate emphasis ends and distortion begins.
1. AbsentTreats all axis choices as equally wrong.
2. DevelopingImplies a rule without stating it.
3. Competent— this is the pass markStates a rule and applies it consistently.
4. StrongStates it, applies it, and names a case where the opposite choice would be right.
The original is checkable15% of the grade
The chart being criticised is reproduced or linked with its source, so a reader can verify the criticism rather than take it on trust.
1. AbsentNo source, or a description of a chart the reader cannot see.
2. DevelopingA source that cannot be located from what is given.
3. Competent— this is the pass markThe original reproduced or linked, with its publisher and date.
4. StrongReproduced with the underlying figures, so the redraw can be checked too.

03 · What this proves

The skills a pass would prove

Pass, and these skills count as proven, with this piece of work attached as the evidence.

This brief is part of the Statistics & Data Literacy course

Starting it starts the course: every skill above, in the order they depend on each other, with this brief at the end as the thing you hand in — marked against the checklist you have just read and nothing else.

About three minutes to set up: what you want to do with Statistics & Data Literacy, where you are starting from, and how many hours a week you actually have. The subject we already have from this page.Start the Statistics & Data Literacy course

See the whole Statistics & Data Literacy course, or every graded brief we run.