References

• The Importance of Graphic Aids……..By Cynthia Roberson…..

2011 http://www.ehow.com/about_6362198_importance-
graphic-aids.html
• E-mail Greg Larkin at Gregory.Larkin@nau.edu
or call (520) 523-4911
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~larkin/eng302/class/rhetoric/graphic
s/lesson1-4-2.html
• M. Markel, Technical Communications, 6th ed., p. 376 …..
William Magrino…. Copyright © 2004...Rutgers University
Business & Technical Writing
…http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~bizntech/teacher_resources/th
ings_that_work/graphic_aids.html
• .
 Helping to
enhance
comprehension
According to the Montgomery College:

a visual or graphic aid is

any image that assists
you, the reader, in
understanding the text which
accompanies the visual aid.
Graphics play From newspaper
an integral articles to
computer
part in many manuals.
nonfiction
texts.
 They often enhance
information from the text and
sometimes supply
information not found in the
text
All too often, however,

either

or they

.
 provide students with the
opportunity
Vacca and to decide what parts of the
Vacca text are important,
(1993)
believe that
the use of
graphic aids and how ideas and
in text will: concepts in the text are
related.
• Graphic aids can help you better
“see” and understand the
information.
• Graphic aids can provide visual
examples of things described in the
text.
• Graphic aids help us to show and
compare information.
 Several authors support the value of
using graphic aids with text as they:

• Create both verbal and nonverbal codes

as well as connections between the two.

• Graphic aids open a range of learning

possibilities not available when
language is used alone.
Interpreting Graphic
Aids
• Provide visual explanations of
concepts and relationships.

• Easier to understand than

words alone.
• Enables students to grasp and 90
80
70
recall information easily. 60
50 Ea
40 We
No

• Authors mention graphic aids

30
20
10

at a point in which they think 0

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

the graph will help the reader.

• Length. of parallel
bars are used to
make comparisons

can
either be vertical or
horizontal.
Points are
connected to
show
There may be
relationships
between two or
one or more
more items. lines
depending on
the items.
 in which the sizes of
the slices presents part of a
whole.
 Shows steps in procedures or
processes

Uses boxes or other

shapes connected by
lines or arrows.
 FAVORITE PETS OF STUDENTS

DOGS CATS FISH BIRDS OTHER

820 700 350 320 615

Number of Cars Sold for the Month of February by Week

Week Number Number of Cars Sold
1 20
2 37
3 13
4 10
 Authors use charts and
graphs to illustrate specific
points or to present
information contained in
the text in a visual format
that is easily understood
by readers.
 • The graph makes it easier to
visualize the relationship between
the facts. The graph can help a
reader see and remember the
facts.

• Graphs and charts present numerical

data pictorially, helping readers visualize
relationships among those data.
The difference in the level of water at high
tide and low tide varies from place to place,
and from day to day. The average difference
between high tide and low tide water levels
at Portland, Maine, is 9 feet and 1 inch. At
Sandy Hook, New Jersey, it is 4 feet and 8
inches. The difference at Boston,
Massachusetts, is 9 feet and 6 inches. At Key
West, Florida, it is 1 foot and 10 inches.
 Average Differences in Water Levels: High and Low Tides

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Portland Sandy Hook Boston Key West
Tables present large amounts of
data in a simple, brief, and clear
linear format. The same data in
prose would be bulky, confusing,
and inaccessible.
 Also, tables allow the writer to
focus attention on specific pieces
of data while retaining a clear
presentation of the whole.

A table in a text can help to

emphasize data for students to
better understand. The table is
good for presenting data without
having to compare it.
http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/~steuben/graph_reading.htm
Photographs are the
most realistic and
dramatic representation
of physical features. In a
good photograph the
reader can see exactly
what the writer is talking
about.
 Canopy layer
The canopy layer contains the majority of the
largest trees, typically 30–45 m tall. The
densest areas of biodiversity are found in the
forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover
of foliage formed by adjacent treetops.
• Another common diagram, based on
a physical object, is the exploded
view, which does not aim to picture
the object, but to show the working
relationships among its parts.
• A diagram is a symbolic representation
well-suited to the presentation of
ideas.
 :

• accurately shows the facts;

• grabs the reader's attention;

• complements or demonstrates arguments

presented in the text;

• has a title and labels;

• is simple and uncluttered;

• shows data without altering the message
of the data;

• clearly shows any trends or differences in

the data;

• is visually accurate.
 • A map shows location.
• A diagram shows the parts of
an object.
• A table compares information
expressed as numbers.
 • Graphic aids improve student
performance;
• It Improves students’ reading
comprehension;
• Improves thinking and learning skills;
• Aids in Retention;
• It supports implementation of cognitive
learning theories;
• It helps students link existing knowledge
organized in schemas to new
knowledge;
 • Graphic aids communicate what
words cannot;
• Appeal to visual learners;
• Provide pictures that will aid
memory and retention;
• Save space and record information in
a concise manner;
• Clarify relationships, such as
numerical relationships;
Illustrates the steps or stages in
a process, and their
relationship to one another.
Students need to see
relationships and learn how to
link ideas;
 • are quick and direct;
• highlight the most important facts;

• facilitate understanding of the

data;

• can convince readers.

• can be easily remembered

 HOW CAN
TEACHERS USE
GRAPHIC AIDS?
• Create illustrations for embedded
questions

• Use illustrations to summarize text

• Create semantic maps

• Complete partial drawings or label

drawings
• Trace a text illustration
• Create flow charts

• Construct maps

• Create charts and graphs

• Create icons that symbolize main idea in text

• Solve mathematics and science word problem

• Use internal visual image

CONCLUSION
The text and the graphics support each
other.

, opinions and various

concepts which are presented in the
text. In this way, the reader is able to
clearly understand main ideas from
text when they are able to see
supporting information.
 References
• The Importance of Graphic Aids……..By Cynthia Roberson…..
2011 http://www.ehow.com/about_6362198_importance-
graphic-aids.html
• E-mail Greg Larkin at Gregory.Larkin@nau.edu
or call (520) 523-4911
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~larkin/eng302/class/rhetoric/graphic
s/lesson1-4-2.html
• M. Markel, Technical Communications, 6th ed., p. 376 …..
William Magrino…. Copyright © 2004...Rutgers University
Business & Technical Writing
…http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~bizntech/teacher_resources/th
ings_that_work/graphic_aids.html
• .