These directions are based on MS Excel 2010, but they should help for other versions of Excel as well. In some cases, there’s
more than one way to achieve a desired goal - if you know or discover a different way, great, go for it!
Some of these windows and options work slightly differently on different operating systems (especially Macs!) - you may need to explore a
bit by trial and error.
If you're using Excel 2013, these tips
might help. With persistence, you should be able to achieve each of the changes listed below.
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Start by clicking on your graph and going to Layout in the Chart Tools Tab. Note: you must click on your graph in order to see the Chart Tools Tab. You should see these options at the top of your spreadsheet:
Here are descriptions of these options going from left to right, but saving Text Box to last (more on that later).
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Chart Title: This option is self-explanatory. Usually in formal scientific writing, figure titles go below figures, so I recommend setting this option to “None” and adding a figure title and description below your graph when you paste it into another application, such as MS Word or Powerpoint. (Note: graphs, photos, and drawings are all examples of figures; titles and descriptions go below figures. Visuals with rows and columns are tables; table titles and descriptions go above tables.)
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Axis Titles: You should always include clearly labeled Axis Titles. Don’t forget units when appropriate! For Primary Vertical Axis Title, choose Rotated Title.
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Legend: In some cases, it’s helpful to include a legend, particularly if you have multiple types of data represented in the same graph. However, if you only have one type of data displayed, you don’t need a legend because your axis labels should communicate what’s being displayed. Turn the legend off by setting the Legend to None.
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Data Labels: These are only useful for certain types of specialized graphs - for most graphs, set this option to None.
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Axes: The Axes option is really important for formatting your graph! For each axis (the Horizontal, or “x” axis, and the Vertical, or “y” axis), select “More Primary Horizontal (or Vertical) Axis Options” to get the most flexibility in adjusting your graph. It’s often helpful to select “Fixed” as shown in the screen shot below. This feature allows you to adjust the minimum and maximum values displayed along each axis, and to set the interval for tick marks (referred to in Excel as the Major unit). Also, in some cases you will want to turn the Axis labels off - if so, change the Axis labels setting to None.
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Gridlines: Whether to display Gridlines is largely a matter of taste. If you think they help you or others interpret the graph, use them. In many cases, they are unnecessary.
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Plot Area: This feature allows you to adjust the look of the area within your plot, such as adding a background color. Though this may be tempting, use with caution. A great rule for formatting graphs is the simpler, the better. Only add features that communicate important information. Excessive use of color or other features (such as 3-D effects) may look cool, but can actually distract from the information being presented.
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Text Box: This feature can be extremely helpful when you want to add certain types of labels that are otherwise difficult in Excel. A common example is when categorical labels are needed along the x-axis of a scatterplot (such as those in Figure 1.1 below). To label the x-axis as shown, go to Axes, Primary Horizontal Axis, More Primary Horizontal Axis Options, and set Axis labels to none. Then select Text Box, type in the appropriate category or categories (such as northern and southern), and drag and re-size the text box appropriately.
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With these tools, you should be able to adjust your graph as needed. TIP: take the time to play with these options and learn how they affect your graphs. Chances are, if you’re reading these directions, you’ll be building many graphs in the future and it’s worth getting comfortable with these options in Excel!
Figure 1.1. Scatterplot showing mountain lion weight for the
two populations in Example 1.