Justifying functions, formats and conventions

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which is a justification for using a line chart to show monthly rainfall over a year?

A A line chart is the best because it looks nicer than the other charts.

B A line chart suits this data because it is a time series and the line shows the trend from month to month.

2. A dashboard is for busy school leaders who need a quick overview. Which justification links the design to the audience?

A I used large headline numbers because the leaders have little time and need the key result at a glance.

B I used large headline numbers because I like big text.

3. Which justification for choosing a pie chart is stronger?

A A pie chart suits this data because it shows how 4 categories make up parts of a whole 100%.

B A pie chart suits this data because pie charts are popular.

4. Which sentence correctly uses 'because' to justify a colour choice in a chart for colour-blind readers?

A I used blue and orange because they are easy to tell apart for people with colour vision deficiency.

B I used red and green because they are bright colours.

5. Which statement is a justification of a design choice, not just a description?

A I used a scatter graph with blue dots and a title.

B I used a scatter graph because the purpose is to show the relationship between two numeric variables.

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Column chart, because it compares totals across categories		AThe reason is personal preference and does not mention the audience, purpose or data.
2Red for low stock, because managers need to spot problems quickly		BThe reason is only personal opinion. It does not link to the purpose, audience or data type.
3Justifying a format by linking it to the audience: the reason must refer to who will read it		CA justification that links a colour choice to the audience's needs and the purpose of the visualisation
4Justifying a chart by linking it to the type of data: the reason must say what kind of data is shown		DLine chart, because the data is time series and the purpose is to show a trend over months
5I used a pie chart because it looks nice.		EA justification that links the chart choice to the purpose (comparison) and the type of data (categories)
6I chose blue and green because they are my favourite colours.		FLarge 18pt font, because Year 7 students will view this on a classroom projector

Definitions

Justify a design choice

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Line chart _______ the data is time-based.

Bar chart because the data is ___________.

Large text because the ________ is Year 7.

Dashboard because the _______ is to monitor.

Choice: scatter graph Reason: both fields are _______ data.

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Choice: line chart

B Data: sales split by category

C Purpose: show trend over time

D Reason: it suits time data

Question 2

A Choice: pie chart

B Data: share of votes by party

C Audience: Year 7 students

D Reason: shows change over time

Question 3

A Choice: dark blue text

B Background: white

C Reason: it looks nice

D Audience: readers of a report

Question 4

A Choice: large 24pt headings

B Used in: a wall poster

C Reason: posters are read close

Question 5

A Choice: scatter graph

B Data: names of 5 teams

C Purpose: show a relationship

D Reason: plots pairs of values

Answer Key

Justifying functions, formats and conventions

Section A: Quick Questions

B — A line chart suits this data because it is a time series and the line shows the trend from month to month.

A — I used large headline numbers because the leaders have little time and need the key result at a glance.

A — A pie chart suits this data because it shows how 4 categories make up parts of a whole 100%.

A — I used blue and orange because they are easy to tell apart for people with colour vision deficiency.

B — I used a scatter graph because the purpose is to show the relationship between two numeric variables.

Section B: Match the Pairs

Column chart, because it compares totals across categories → A justification that links the chart choice to the purpose (comparison) and the type of data (categories)

Red for low stock, because managers need to spot problems quickly → A justification that links a colour choice to the audience's needs and the purpose of the visualisation

Justifying a format by linking it to the audience: the reason must refer to who will read it → Large 18pt font, because Year 7 students will view this on a classroom projector

Justifying a chart by linking it to the type of data: the reason must say what kind of data is shown → Line chart, because the data is time series and the purpose is to show a trend over months

I used a pie chart because it looks nice. → The reason is only personal opinion. It does not link to the purpose, audience or data type.

I chose blue and green because they are my favourite colours. → The reason is personal preference and does not mention the audience, purpose or data.

Section C: Definitions

Justify a design choice — Give a reason for a design choice (chart, colour, format) that links it to the purpose of the solution, the needs of the audience and the type of data. Use 'because' to link them.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Line chart because the data is time-based.

Bar chart because the data is categorical.

Large text because the audience is Year 7.

Dashboard because the purpose is to monitor.

Choice: scatter graph
Reason: both fields are numeric data.

Section E: Spot the Error

B — A line chart is justified because the data is ordered over time. The data line should describe time-based data, such as sales for each month, not categories.

D — A pie chart shows parts of a whole, which matches share-of-votes data. Showing change over time is a job for a line chart, so the reason should be 'parts of a whole'.

C — A justification must link to the purpose, audience or data using 'because'. 'It looks nice' is only an opinion. It should say something like 'high contrast to read'.

C — Large headings are justified because a wall poster is read from a distance. Saying posters are read up close contradicts the choice and the context. It should say readable from afar.

B — A scatter graph is justified by data with two numeric variables. Team names are text categories and cannot be plotted as pairs, so the data line should say two numeric variables.