Diagram Atlas

AnalysisDRAFT ENTRY

Line chart

A quantitative chart connecting ordered observations to reveal trend, rate of change, and turning points.

Use this diagram to generate

USE WHEN

Time or another continuous variable is the x-axis.

AVOID WHEN

The categories have no meaningful order.

VISUAL GRAMMAR

01continuous axis02series03scale04annotations

SEMANTIC RULES

Keep series count low.
Use direct labels when possible.
Annotate meaningful changes rather than every point.

QUESTIONS IT ANSWERS

What is the trend?
When did direction change?

DRAFT MACHINE CONTRACT

id: line
status: draft
family: analysis
reading_task: Read trend and change over a continuous axis.
grammar:
  - continuous_axis
  - series
  - scale
  - annotations
checks:
  - keep_series_count_low
  - use_direct_labels_when_possible
  - annotate_meaningful_changes_rather_than_every_point

Line chart

Choose by the question you need to answer.