Purpose of a data visualisation: persuading

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which best describes the purpose of a persuading visualisation?

A To move the audience towards a viewpoint or action

B To entertain the audience with humour only

2. Which is a call to action on a poster showing rising Year 12 stress levels?

A Stress levels were recorded in Term 1 and Term 2

B Book a free wellbeing check with your school counsellor today

3. A school poster uses a large bold red number for '70% of students skip breakfast'. What design technique is this?

A Emphasis through design

B Data cleaning

4. Which choice uses data ethically in a persuading visualisation?

A Leave out data that disagrees with your message and hide the source

B Show accurate figures from a reliable source and name the source

5. A chart's y-axis starts at 90 instead of 0 to make a small rise look huge. Is this ethical?

A No, it is misleading and distorts the data

B Yes, persuading visualisations are allowed to distort data

Match the Pairs

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

Left column		Right column
1Call to action: "Sign the petition today"		AHeadline: "Bus delays up 40%" with the 40% shown in large orange text
2Bold red bar for the key result, grey for the rest		BEmphasis through design that draws the eye to the data point supporting the viewpoint
3A persuading visualisation can emphasise a message through large headline text and a highlighted figure		CA direct instruction on a persuading visualisation that tells the audience what step to take next
4Ethical use of data means a persuading visualisation stays honest and shows the source		DChart axis starts at 0 and the footer reads: Source: ABS Census 2021
5Column chart with the y-axis starting at 95 to make a 2% rise look huge		EIt cherry-picks data unethically and has no call to action, so it does not move the audience to act
6Poster shows 3 flattering statistics and hides the data that disagrees, with no next step		FThis is unethical because the truncated axis exaggerates the difference and misleads the audience

Definitions

persuading visualisation

Fill in the Blanks

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

.key-stat { _________: 48px; }

SET yAxisMin ← _

<______>Sign the petition now</button>

SET ______ ← "Source: ABS, 2023"

Spot the Error

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

Question 1

A purpose = "persuade"

B audience = "Year 10 students"

C headline = "Stop the litter"

D call_to_action = none

Question 2

A purpose = "entertain"

B headline = "Add a bike lane"

C call_to_action = "Sign now"

D highlight = "Trips up 40%"

Question 3

A chart = "column"

B base_colour = "grey"

C key_bar_colour = "grey"

D call_to_action = "Act now"

Question 4

A source = "City Council 2023"

B axis_start = 80

C key_fact = "Waste up 12%"

D call_to_action = "Cut waste"

Question 5

A title = "Save Our Beach"

B source = "EPA survey 2024"

C data = "worst year only"

D call_to_action = "Join us"

Answer Key

Purpose of a data visualisation: persuading

Section A: Quick Questions

A — To move the audience towards a viewpoint or action

B — Book a free wellbeing check with your school counsellor today

A — Emphasis through design

B — Show accurate figures from a reliable source and name the source

A — No, it is misleading and distorts the data

Section B: Match the Pairs

Call to action: "Sign the petition today" → A direct instruction on a persuading visualisation that tells the audience what step to take next

Bold red bar for the key result, grey for the rest → Emphasis through design that draws the eye to the data point supporting the viewpoint

A persuading visualisation can emphasise a message through large headline text and a highlighted figure → Headline: "Bus delays up 40%" with the 40% shown in large orange text

Ethical use of data means a persuading visualisation stays honest and shows the source → Chart axis starts at 0 and the footer reads: Source: ABS Census 2021

Column chart with the y-axis starting at 95 to make a 2% rise look huge → This is unethical because the truncated axis exaggerates the difference and misleads the audience

Poster shows 3 flattering statistics and hides the data that disagrees, with no next step → It cherry-picks data unethically and has no call to action, so it does not move the audience to act

Section C: Definitions

persuading visualisation — A visualisation that selects and emphasises data to move an audience towards a viewpoint or action, using a call to action and design emphasis, while using data ethically.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

.key-stat { font-size: 48px; }

SET yAxisMin ← 0

<button>Sign the petition now</button>

SET source ← "Source: ABS, 2023"

<h1 style="color: red">Act now!</h1>

Section E: Spot the Error

D — A persuading visualisation needs a clear call to action that tells the audience what to do. It should be call_to_action = "Join us", not none.

A — The headline, call to action and highlighted fact all aim to change opinion, so the purpose must be "persuade", not "entertain".

C — Persuasion uses design emphasis. The key bar must be a strong colour such as red so it stands out from the grey bars. Making it grey hides the main point.

B — Ethical use of data means not misleading people. Starting the axis at 80 exaggerates the difference between bars. The axis should start at 0.

C — Showing only the worst year is cherry-picking, which is unethical. A persuasive visualisation can emphasise a point but must still show all the relevant data.