Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Basic rules of writing
- 2 Comments on scientific language
- 3 Drafting the manuscript
- 4 Choosing a journal
- 5 Preparing a graph
- 6 Drawings
- 7 Figure legends
- 8 How to design tables
- 9 Title
- 10 Authors
- 11 Abstract
- 12 Introduction
- 13 Methods
- 14 Results
- 15 Discussion
- 16 Acknowledgments
- 17 References
- 18 Ph.D. and other doctoral theses
- 19 Letters and case reports
- 20 Numbers
- 21 Abbreviations
- 22 How to present statistical results
- 23 Typing
- 24 Dealing with editors and referees
- 25 Correcting proofs
- 26 Authors‘ responsibilities
- Literature needed on your desk
- Further reading
- Literature cited
- Index
7 - Figure legends
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Basic rules of writing
- 2 Comments on scientific language
- 3 Drafting the manuscript
- 4 Choosing a journal
- 5 Preparing a graph
- 6 Drawings
- 7 Figure legends
- 8 How to design tables
- 9 Title
- 10 Authors
- 11 Abstract
- 12 Introduction
- 13 Methods
- 14 Results
- 15 Discussion
- 16 Acknowledgments
- 17 References
- 18 Ph.D. and other doctoral theses
- 19 Letters and case reports
- 20 Numbers
- 21 Abbreviations
- 22 How to present statistical results
- 23 Typing
- 24 Dealing with editors and referees
- 25 Correcting proofs
- 26 Authors‘ responsibilities
- Literature needed on your desk
- Further reading
- Literature cited
- Index
Summary
A figure legend or caption may include two items:
(1) the title, which states the topic of the figure, and
(2) the message, which explains the contents of the figure.
In some cases a message alone will suffice.
However, most legends do not convey a message. Figure 7.1, with its typical legend, could be improved as shown in Figure 7.2.
In the revised illustration, Group A has been changed to Treated women and Group B to Controls so that the reader does not have to search in the main text to interpret these terms. The tick marks now face outwards, so that they do not encroach on the curve between 26 and 30 on the horizontal axis.
An illustrative example of a legend including the message alone is presented in Figure 8.1.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- How to Write and Illustrate a Scientific Paper , pp. 40 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008