Label Axes

• 1). Orient your paper in a landscape format. Use your ruler to draw a horizontal line approximately one to two inches from the bottom of the page and a vertical line one to two inches from the left-hand side of the page. The horizontal and vertical lines should intersect.
  
  
• 2). Write the x-values from your table below the horizontal line. The values should be in increasing order, with the smallest number on the left and the largest on the right. Use the vertical grid lines to ensure even spacing, such that each number is allocated the same amount of space. Beneath the numbers, write the name of the data from the table, such as months or years.
  
  
• 3). Choose a scale for the y-values. For instance, if your y-values are 54,000, 72,000 and 67,000, use intervals of 5,000, beginning with 50,000 and continuing up to 75,000. Write these numbers in ascending order to the left of the vertical line, with the smallest number on the bottom and the greatest up top. Use the horizontal grid lines to ensure even spacing so that each value usurps an equal amount of space. To the left of the values, write the name of the data, such as profit or revenue.
  
  

Create the Graphs

• 1). Plot the points (x, y) from your table onto the graph. For instance, suppose your graph is showing the profits of a small business over the years. In 2006, say that $54,000 was earned in profits, where 2006 is the x-value and 54,000 the y-value. On your graph, put a dot where these numbers intersect. Continue in this manner until all points from the table have been plotted.
  
  
• 2). Use a ruler to draw a straight line connecting each dot. This is a line graph.
  
  
• 3). Draw a short horizontal line through each dot. Each individual line should be no wider than its corresponding x-value written along the bottom of the page.
  
  
• 4). Use your ruler to draw two vertical lines, one on each edge of all the short horizontal lines from Step 3. The vertical lines should be drawn downward toward the bottom of the page, thus creating a series of narrow rectangles. This is a bar graph.