Lesson 3 of 4 · 7 min

Charts that tell a story

Use line charts for trends over time, bar charts for comparing categories and pie charts only for parts of a whole.

Always label axes and remove clutter — gridlines and 3D effects rarely help.

Practice

Chart monthly sales for a year and pick the chart type that best shows the trend.

+50 pts

Show the festival’s growth

You have ticket sales for each of the last twelve months. The team wants to see the trend.

1. Which chart best tells that story?

Pie chartLine chartScatter plotDonut chart

2. Pie charts are for…

TrendsParts of a wholeCorrelationRankings

Optional resources

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Practice formulas and charts in a browser spreadsheet.

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