Organization of a graph

Table 13-2 lists the parts of a typical graph.

Table 13-2: Organization of a graph

Part of graph

What it is

Title

An optional title for the graph. The title appears at the top of the graph.

Value axis

The axis of the graph along which the values of the dependent variable(s) are plotted. In a column graph, as shown in the preceding graph, the Value axis corresponds to the y axis in an XY presentation. In other types of graphs, such as a bar graph, the Value axis can be along the x dimension.

Category axis

The axis along which are plotted the major divisions of the data, representing the independent variable(s). In the preceding graph, the Category axis corresponds to the x axis. It plots four categories: Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. These form the major divisions of data in the graph.

Series

A set of data points. There are three series in the preceding graph: Stellar, Cosmic, and Galactic. In bar and column charts, each series is represented by bars or columns of one color or pattern.

Series axis

The axis along which the series are plotted in three-dimensional (3D) graphs.

Legend

An optional listing of the series. The preceding graph contains a legend that shows how each series is represented in the graph.