✓ Show the data. ✓ Induce the reader to think about the data being presented (rather than some other aspect of the graph, like how pink it is). ✓ Avoid distorting the data. ✓ Present many numbers with minimum ink. ✓ Make large data sets (assuming you have one) coherent. ✓ Encourage the reader to compare different pieces of data. ✓ Reveal the underlying message of the data.
