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Successful Writing at Work

Philip C. Kolin

Chapter 10

Designing Clear Visuals - all with Video Answers

Educators


Chapter Questions

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Problem 1

Bring to class printouts or screen shots of three or four home pages that use especially effective visuals. In a short memo or email (three or four paragraphs) to your instructor, indicate why and how each visual is appropriate for and convincing to a particular audience. What would each home page look like without its visual?

Emily Himsel
Emily Himsel
Numerade Educator
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Problem 2

Find a website you think includes poorly designed or inappropriate visuals. Explain to your instructor why these visuals are ineffective, and redesign two of them.

Emily Himsel
Emily Himsel
Numerade Educator
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Problem 3

Locate a print document that is visual-poor, and select an appropriate visual to accompany it. Justify your choice of visual and its inclusion in an email to your instructor.

Emily Himsel
Emily Himsel
Numerade Educator
02:04

Problem 4

Record the highest temperature reached in your town for the next five days. Then collect data on the highest temperature reached in three of the following cities over the same period: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle. (You can get this information on the Internet.) Prepare a table showing the differences for the five-day period.

Kayleah Tsai
Kayleah Tsai
Numerade Educator
00:03

Problem 5

Go to a supermarket and get the prices of four different brands of the same product (a candy bar, a soft drink, a box of cereal). Present your findings in the form of a table.

Sanchit Gogia
Sanchit Gogia
Numerade Educator
00:29

Problem 6

Recently, a government agency supplied statistics on the world production of oranges (including tangerines) in thousands of metric tons for the following countries during the years 2011-2015: Brazil, 2,098, 2,132, 2,760, 2,872; Israel, 909, 1,076, 1, 148, 1,221; Italy, 1,669, 1,599, 1,766, 1,604; Japan, 2,424, 2,994, 2,885, 4,070; Mexico, 937, $1,405,1,114,1,270$; Spain, 2,135, 2,005, 2,179, 2,642; and the United States, 7,658, $7,875,7,889,9,245$. Prepare a table with that information and then write a paragraph in which you introduce and refer to the table and draw condusions from it.

Brandon Fox
Brandon Fox
Numerade Educator
01:02

Problem 7

Keep a record for one week of the number of miles you walk, ride, or drive each day. Then prepare a line graph depicting that information.

Amrita Bhasin
Amrita Bhasin
Numerade Educator
01:45

Problem 8

Prepare a table to show the following statistical data: According to the 2000 census, the town of Ardmore had a population of 34,567. By the 2010 census, the town's population had decreased by 4,500 . In the 2000 census, the town of Morrison had a population of 23,809 , but by the 2010 census, the population had increased by 3,689 . The 2010 census figure for the town of Berkesville was 25,675 , which was an increase of 2,768 from the 2000 census.

Carson Merrill
Carson Merrill
Numerade Educator
02:47

Problem 9

Prepare a line graph for the information in Exercise 8 .

Jacquelyn Trost
Jacquelyn Trost
Numerade Educator
03:32

Problem 10

Prepare a bar graph for the information in Exercise 8 .

Zach Steedman
Zach Steedman
Numerade Educator
00:42

Problem 11

Write a paragraph (four to five sentences) introducing and interpreting the following table for a website aimed at general readers.
$$
\begin{array}{lccc}
\text { Year } & \begin{array}{c}
\text { Soft Drink } \\
\text { Companies }
\end{array} & \text { Bottling Plants } & \begin{array}{c}
\text { Per Capita } \\
\text { Consumption (Gallons) }
\end{array} \\
\hline 1945 & 750 & 750 & 10.3 \\
1950 & 578 & 611 & 12.5 \\
1955 & 457 & 466 & 18.6 \\
1960 & 380 & 407 & 17.2 \\
1965 & 231 & 292 & 15.9 \\
1970 & 171 & 229 & 15.4 \\
1975 & 118 & 197 & 16.0 \\
1980 & 92 & 154 & 18.7 \\
1985 & 54 & 102 & 21.1 \\
1990 & 43 & 88 & 23.1 \\
1995 & 45 & 82 & 25.3 \\
2000 & 37 & 78 & 27.6 \\
2005 & 34 & 72 & 30.1 \\
2010 & 31 & 70 & 32.3 \\
2015 & 30 & 69 & 31.4
\end{array}
$$

Ashley Volpe
Ashley Volpe
Numerade Educator

Problem 12

According to a municipal study in 2015 , the distribution of all companies classified in each enterprise in that city was as follows: minerals, 0.4 percent; selected services, 33.3 percent; e- and brick-and-mortar sales, 36.7 percent; wholesale trade, 6.5 percent; manufacturing, 5.3 percent; and construction, 17.8 percent. Make a pie chart to represent the distribution, and write a one- or two-paragraph interpretation to accompany (and explain the significance of) your visual.

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01:53

Problem 13

Construct a segmented bar chart to represent the kinds and numbers of courses you took in a two-semester period or during your last year in high school.

Sanchit Jain
Sanchit Jain
Numerade Educator
02:51

Problem 14

Prepare a bar chart for the different brands of the product you selected in Exercise 5 . Write a paragraph introducing your chart.

Ali Mcdillon
Ali Mcdillon
Numerade Educator
00:18

Problem 15

Find a pictograph in a math or business textbook, in a magazine, or on a website from the Census Bureau or the Department of Labor Statistics. Make a bar graph from the information contained in the pictograph, and then write a paragraph introducing the bar graph and drawing conclusions from it.

Hossam Mohamed
Hossam Mohamed
Numerade Educator

Problem 16

Make an organizational chart for a business or an agency you worked for recently. Include part-time and full-time employees, but indicate their titles or functions with different kinds of shapes or lines. Then write a brief letter to your employer explaining why your organizational chart should be distributed to all employees. Focus on the types of problems that could be avoided if employees had access to such a visual.

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01:38

Problem 17

Prepare a flow chart for one of the following activities:
a. jumping a "dead" car battery
b. giving an injection
c. making a reservation online
d. using an iPhone to check the status of a flight
e. checking your credit online
f. putting out an electrical fire
g. changing your email password
h. preparing a visual using a graphics software package
i. uploading a video to a social media site
j. joining a chat group
k. filing for an extension to pay state taxes
I. any job you do

Jennifer Stoner
Jennifer Stoner
Numerade Educator
15:33

Problem 18

Prepare a drawing of one of the following simple tools, and include appropriate callouts with your visual.
a. high-definition TV
e. swivel chair
b. iPad
f. Galaxy $\mathrm{S6}$
c. pliers
g. Compact fluorescent lightbulb
d. stethoscope
h. Makita circular saw

Vishal Gupta
Vishal Gupta
Numerade Educator
01:21

Problem 19

Draw an interior view of a piece of equipment you use in your major or on your job, and then identify the relevant parts using callouts.

Jay Patel
Jay Patel
Numerade Educator
08:18

Problem 20

Prepare appropriate visuals to illustrate the data listed in parts (a) and (b). In a paragraph immediately after the visual, explain why the type of visual you selected is appropriate for the information.
a. Life expectancy is increasing in the United States. This growth can be dramatically measured by comparing the number of teenagers with the number of older adults (over age 65 ) in the United States during the last few years and then projecting those figures. In 1970 , there were approximately 28 million teenagers and 20 million older adults. By 1990 , the number of teenagers climbed to 30 million, and the number of older adults increased to 25 million. In 2000, there were 27 million teenagers and 31 million older adults. In 2010, the number of teenagers had leveled off to 23 million, but the number of older adults soared to more than 36 million.
b. Researchers estimate that for every adult in the United States 3,985 cigarettes were purchased in 1990;4,100 in 1995; 3,875 in 2000; 3,490 in 2005; 2,910 in 2010; and 2,720 in 2015.

Chris Trentman
Chris Trentman
Numerade Educator
02:20

Problem 21

Find a photograph that contains some irrelevant clutter. The marketing department of your company wants to use the photograph. Write a letter to the department head explaining what to delete and why.

Dominador Tan
Dominador Tan
Numerade Educator
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Problem 22

Below are three examples of poorly prepared visuals with brief explanations of how they were intended to be used. Redo one of the visuals to make it easier to read and to better organize the information. Write a paragraph to accompany your new visual.
a. To illustrate a report on problems that pilots have encountered with a particular model of jet engine.
FIGURE CANT COPY.
b. To show that a hiking trail is compatible with wheelchair access laws.
FIGURE CANT COPY
c. to encourage programmers to write applications for the Android operating system.
FIGURE CANT COPY.

Emily Himsel
Emily Himsel
Numerade Educator

Problem 23

You work for a large manufacturer of industrial heat pumps and have been asked to help write a section of a report on the increased business your firm has been doing overseas. Based on the sales figures below for the years 2013, 2014, and 2015 (listed in that order) for each of the following countries, prepare two different yet complementary visuals. Also, supply a one-page description and interpretation of the statistics represented in your visuals. You may work collaboratively with one or more students in your class to prepare the visuals and to write the section of the report on international sales.
Argentina, 45, 53, 34; Australia, 78, 90, 115; Bolivia, 23, 43, 52; Brazil, 29, 34, 35; Canada, 116, 234, 256; China, 7, 100, 296; Denmark, 65, 54, 87; England, 256, 345, 476; France, 198, 167, 345; Germany, 234, 398, 429; Holland, 65, 80, 89; Italy, 49, 52, 97; Japan, 67, 43, 29; Korea, 55, 43, 28; New Zealand, 12, 69, 114; Norway, 33, 92, 104; Switzerland, 164, 266, 306; Sweden, 145, 217, 266.
In your written report, take into account trends, shifts in sales, and possible consequences for further marketing, and conclude with a specific recommendation to your employer.

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Problem 24

You have been asked to create a logo, including a visual, for one of the following new businesses opening in your town. Explain your design and why you think it is effective.
a. solar panel installation firm
b. home health care company
c. studio offering musical instrument lessons
d. outdoor apparel manufacturer
e. toxic waste removal company
f. math and science tutor

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Problem 25

Explain why the following visuals and graphic symbols would be inappropriate in communicating with an international audience and how you would revise a document containing them:
a. clip art showing a string tied around an index finger
b. a picture of a man with a sombrero on a website for Pronto Check Cashing Company
c. clip art of a lightbulb and the logo "Smart Ideas" for a CPA firm
d. clip art showing someone crossing the middle finger over the index finger (wishing sign)
e. a drawing of a cupid figure for a caterer
f. a sales brochure showing a white and blue flag for a French audience
g. a poster showing a women's track and field team used to advertise a brand of footware to an Arabic-speaking audience
h. a satisfied customer making the "okay" gesture in an ad aimed at a Japanese audience
i. an image of a rabbit on a website for an automobile manufacturer to stress how fast its cars are
j. a photograph of a roll of Scotch tape to show international readers that your company can solve problems quickly
k. a photograph of a baseball umpire holding up his hands to ask readers to repeat a step in a set of instructions
I. a drawing of a white glove to sell home and carpet cleaning supplies
$\mathbf{m}$. a piece of clip art showing a rooster for a business that opens early in the day
n. the letters $a, b, c$ in a box to indicate that a directory is alphabetically arranged
o. a pair of scissors moving along a rectangle of dotted lines to indicate a merchant offers prospective customers a money-saving coupon

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