top and bottom margins (1 inch each) and divide the remaining space by
the number of lines the scale requires:
15" 2" = 13"
13" 17 = .76" or approximately 3/4" between lines.
You have determined you can use this scale for the chart and the chart
will have approximately 3/4 of an inch between horizontal scale lines.
Now that you have determined the scale for the chart, let's take a
moment and consider the horizontal lines. These lines serve two
purposes: help plot the data on the chart, and help the reader assign
values to the data plotted on the chart.
By creating a rough draft of the chart at this point and including the
scale (0,000) you intend to use, you can determine if the interval
between the horizontal scale lines are sufficient for the reader to
assign values to the plotted data (figure 13(A)).
Figure 13. Choosing scale and line weight
After studying the draft (figure 13(A)) for a moment, you readily can
see a 0,000 interval stands out and reads much easier. But the chart
still needs the 0,000 interval to maintain clarity and help the
reader assign values to the data plotted on the chart. To emphasize the
0,000 interval, you would make its lines heavier than the 0,000
interval (figure 13B).
Though the 0,000 interval stands out in figure 13(A), all the zeros
in the scale present a cluttered look, which could confuse the reader.
To remedy this problem, you remove the
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