TABLE 2.
Explanation and examples of conventions of diagrams.
| Conventions of Diagrams—Prose | Examples in Figure 1 |
|---|---|
| Title | |
| • Is at the top | The title at the top: “Life cycle of Chlamydia” |
| • Tells key idea of diagram | |
| Caption | |
| • Is next to the figure number; often located below a figure | “FIGURE 1. Flow diagram showing the life cycle of Chlamydia.” |
| • Expands on key idea of diagram (what to notice) | Provides description of each panel of figure: A), B) |
| • May include abbreviations | EB = elementary body of Chlamydia; RB = reticulate body of Chlamydia. |
| Labels | |
| • Inside diagram | |
| -- Naming labels: Name parts of things | “Elementary body (EB)”, “Nucleus” |
| -- Explanatory labels: Describe what is happening in a part of the diagram | Six explanatory labels are present in Figure 1A. The first one is located at 1 o’clock. |
| -- Labels of passage of time: List amount of time that has passed between two events | The infection starts at 0 hours and progresses (clockwise) with events described at 12 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, and 48 hours. |
| Legend | |
| • Identifies what any symbols used represent | |
|
| |
| Conventions of Diagrams—Graphic Elements | Examples in Figures 1 or 2 |
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| |
| Arrows | |
| • Single shape, color, and size should mean same thing | Figure 1: The five blue process arrows show the sequence of events during Chlamydia infection. Note that the length of the arrows does not correlate with the length of elapsed time. |
| • Common to have same type of arrow mean related process instead of same process | |
| -- Process arrows: Indicate a sequence of events | |
| -- Divergent arrows: Show two processes that occur at same time OR that two possibilities exist but only one occurs | |
| Cycle or circle | |
| • Start is located at 12 o’clock | Figure 1: The life cycle is drawn as a circle. |
| • Proceeds clockwise | Figure 1. Drawings of an infected cell as it progresses through all the stages of infection. |
| • Drawings or illustrations of animals, humans, organs, cells, microbes | |
| Color | |
| • Color of symbols and graphic elements depicts relationship. OR |
Figure 1B: Change in color of arrows—from light blue at beginning of infection to dark blue at release of infectious EBs—shows direction and correlates with passage of time. |
| • Same color: Color of object is same in nature and in diagram OR |
Figure 1. The beige color of the depicted cytoplasm of the infected cells is close to the true color observed under the light microscope |
| • After staining and in diagrams. E.g., photographs of stained tissue where certain cells are stained, (e.g., a specific microbe, protein, or RNA using Gram stain, immunohistochemistry, or in situ hybridization, respectively) OR |
|
| • False color: Color of object is changed to contrast it with background or other related biological part | Figure 1: The contents of the cell, the EBs, and RBs use false color to make them easier to see. |
| Magnification | |
| • Zoom-in: Like a magnifying glass; shows a magnified part of an object | |
| • Zoom-out: Like stepping back from a leaf to see a forest; shows the object at lower magnification and as part of a bigger structure. | Figure 2. |
EB = elementary body; RB = reticulate body.