Power Tools for Technical Communication:
Instructions Formatting 3


In this lab, you add headings, lists, and illustrations to the unformatted text of a set of instructions:
  1. Copy the text below this box, and paste it into your preferred word-processing software.
  2. Study the unformatted text carefully, rearrange the paragraphs as necessary, add headings, and reformat text as numbered or bulleted lists as necessary.
  3. Copy the graphics for this text (below the unformatted text). Insert those graphics where they belong in the text, and add labels, figure titles, and cross-references.
  4. Put your name, Instructions, and the date on this document, and print it out for your instructor.


In a worksheet, numbers are entered in cells and are displayed as rows and columns. A chart is graphic presentation of numerical data in which data is presented as bars, lines, columns, pie slices, or other shapes. Integrating charts in your document makes your data clearer, more vivid, and more interesting to read. These instruction will show you step by step how to create charts, modify charts, and delete charts. Because creating charts is a rather advanced task, these instructions assume you have some experience with Excel, such as getting around within Excel and entering data in cells. To create a chart, you need to have data in your worksheet. To practice how to create a chart, enter some numbers in the column A and B, and from the 1st to 5th row as shown in Figure 1. The task of creating a chart entails creating a chart from worksheet data, modifying a chart according to your needs. Select cells in which you have entered data from the column A to B and the row 1 to 5. Click on Insert in menu bar and click on Chart in the drop-down menu. Select the chart type you want to use to present your data as shown in Figure 2. Click on Next > button in the Chart Wizard. To select a data range you want to plot, click on the button at the end of Data Range as shown in Figure 3. In your case, the range is automatically entered because you have selected cells as the beginning. Click on the tab labeled Series. Excel automatically assigns the first column of data in X axis and the second column in Y axis. If you want to change them, select data in X Values and Y Values. You can also type a name of the data series in Series. Click on Next > to display step 3 in the Chart Wizard, then type the chart title and the names of the X and Y axes. Click on Next >. At step 4 of Chart Wizard, select the option for creating your chart either as an object in the worksheet or as an individual chart in a new sheet. Then click on the Finish button. The completed chart will look similar to the one shown in Figure 4. You can modify almost anything in a chart so that it looks the way you want. To size a chart and chart area, click on a chart or chart area (gray area) and drag your mouse. Then, resize them.To format axes, double click on X or Y axis. The menu give you options to change pattern of the axis, scale, font, types of number, for example, date, %, currency, scientific, and so on. To position of a chart title, select a chart title by clicking, and drag it to a place where you want to put it. To format a legend, double-click on the legend. You'll see a menu which gives you options for reformatting the legend. For example, you can format a border-line or specify a different fill, font and location. To delete a chart that you don't need, just click on a chart and press Delete button in your keyboard. (There is another way to delete the chart. Select the chart by clicking on it and right-click. When the Cut menu appears, select Clear.)




Information and programs provided by hcexres@io.com.