Placement and context are crucial requirements of effective visuals.  Carefully consider where they should be placed and what information to provide to prepare your readers for the message within that graphic. In other words, visuals should be effectively integrated into the text of the report.

• Introduce a graphic in the paragraph preceding the visual. That is also a good place to provide the source material for the information in the graphic, if applicable.
• Give the visual a label, even if that is simply “Table 1” or “Figure 1” for easy reference.
• Make sure the graphic, and the role the graphic plays in your discussion, is clear to your audience.
• Cite the source at the bottom of the graphic.
• Write follow-up text after the graphic. This might be an interpretation or a final comment about the implications of the information in the visual.