MEEG104: Technical Communications
Structured Critique: Graphical Elements
Timothy Augusteijn
UD Engineering Team 105
Design Report
Figure 1 (pg. 11)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Essential: Graphical element conveys important
information that cannot be conveyed by text alone.
This drawing would be very difficult and inefficient to describe in text form alone. It
is essential that it is presented as an image.
Best Choice: Graphical element chosen is most
appropriate for the information being conveyed.
No other graphical elements would make sense to be used here.
Novel: Does not repeat information from the text or in
another graphic.
This image does repeat some information from another image in other figures, but
these images are of different views, so including all of them is not redundant.
Clear: Can be easily and correctly interpreted by
audience.
The image’s features and their captions are nicely color coded, and it is easy to see
the distinction between parts of the image. However, some of the caption text is
small and slightly difficult to read.
Embedded: Graphic is connected to the point that is
being made in the text. This includes in-text citation
when appropriate.
This graphic is embedded and includes a proper caption. Both parts (Figures 1a
and 1b) are also properly referenced in the text.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Timothy Augusteijn
UD Engineering Team 105
Design Report
Figure 10 (pg 16)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Essential: Graphical element conveys important
information that cannot be conveyed by text alone.
This staged photo contains important info regarding the orientation of components
relative to each other that would be difficult to explain in text form.
Best Choice: Graphical element chosen is most
appropriate for the information being conveyed.
A photo makes the most sense to use here, as it is meant to showcase the
appearance of the final prototype.
Novel: Does not repeat information from the text or in
another graphic.
This image only appears once, and does not contain any information made
redundant by the text.
Clear: Can be easily and correctly interpreted by
audience.
The photo is slightly blurry, and it is difficult to see where certain components are
relative to each other. This photo would benefit from some extra views of the
components to fully convey the essence of the design.
Embedded: Graphic is connected to the point that is
being made in the text. This includes in-text citation
when appropriate.
The photo is properly embedded with a figure caption, and is also properly
referenced in the text.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Timothy Augusteijn
HensNest Research Paper
Figure 1 (pg 2)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Essential: Graphical element conveys important
information that cannot be conveyed by text alone.
These photos convey information about the shape of the plastic wireframe and how
the masks are worn by users. This information would not be easily conveyed using
text.
Best Choice: Graphical element chosen is most
appropriate for the information being conveyed.
A photo makes the most sense to use here, as it is meant to showcase the
appearance of the HensNest mask product.
Novel: Does not repeat information from the text or in
another graphic.
This image doesn’t contain any redundant information.
Clear: Can be easily and correctly interpreted by
audience.
The photos are well-staged and free of any distracting elements. The left photo
could benefit from labeling the three plastic wireframe parts.
Embedded: Graphic is connected to the point that is
being made in the text. This includes in-text citation
when appropriate.
These photos are not properly embedded. The figure caption is above the images,
when it should be below them. The “Figure 1” title is also not bolded. The images
should also have their own designations, e.g “a” and “b” to make it easy to
differentiate them. This graphic is properly cited later in the text.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Timothy Augusteijn
HensNest Research Paper
Figure 2 (pg 3/4)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Essential: Graphical element conveys important
information that cannot be conveyed by text alone.
These photos convey information about the design of the 3D printed mask testing
model that is most easily presented in photo form.
Best Choice: Graphical element chosen is most
appropriate for the information being conveyed.
A photo makes the most sense to use in this case, as it is meant to show the actual
appearance of the model.
Novel: Does not repeat information from the text or in
another graphic.
Although it is not immediately clear, these photos do not appear to repeat any
information from the text or other graphics.
Clear: Can be easily and correctly interpreted by
audience.
These photos are difficult to understand. They are black and white for no apparent
reason, and they are not staged very well. The views that are used are also not
effective at conveying the appearance of the model in full detail.
Embedded: Graphic is connected to the point that is
being made in the text. This includes in-text citation
when appropriate.
These photos are not properly embedded. The figure caption is above the images,
when it should be below them. It is also on a separate page from the images. The
“Figure 2” title is also not bolded. The images should also have their own
designations, e.g “a” and “b” to make it easy to differentiate them. This graphic is
properly cited later in the text.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Structured Critique: Tables
Timothy Augusteijn
UD Engineering Team 105 Design Report
Table 3 (pg 25)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Purpose: Table was most appropriate choice to present
information. Purpose of table is clear, e.g., to compare
between groups.
A table seems like the most appropriate choice to present the needs and
wants, and the target and measured values associated with them.
Necessary: Every column and row are needed to convey
information or compare across entries.
None of the rows or columns convey trivial or redundant information.
Expected Elements: Includes table captions, header rows,
and independent variable columns.
All expected elements are included except for an independent variable column,
but for the type of comparison that this table is making, that is not necessary.
Spacing: Appropriate spacing between rows and across
columns.
Spacing between rows seems appropriate; not too little or too much.
Borders: Use borders to strategically cluster or separate
information.
Borders are not strategically used; there are borders around every cell in this
table. The number of lines from all these borders gives a busy appearance to
the table.
Page Layout: Position the table on the page so that it’s
easy to read.
One row of the table spills over onto the next page, and the table caption is not
repeated.
Extra Formatting: Use extra formatting sparingly.
No extra formatting was used, and it doesn’t appear that any was necessary.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Timothy Augusteijn
HensNest Research Paper
Table 1 (pg 3)
Element
Reviewer Reponses
Purpose: Table was most appropriate choice to present
information. Purpose of table is clear, e.g., to compare
between groups.
This table is very simple, but it seems like a table was still a good choice to
convey this information.
Necessary: Every column and row are needed to convey
information or compare across entries.
All columns and rows contain essential information that is not repeated.
Expected Elements: Includes table captions, header rows,
and independent variable columns.
All expected table elements are included. However, the title in the table’s
caption should be bolded.
Spacing: Appropriate spacing between rows and across
columns.
The row spacing is slightly tight, making it slightly more difficult to read the
table. The column spacing looks good.
Borders: Use borders to strategically cluster or separate
information.
Borders are used with different line weights, but all cells are unnecessarily
bordered.
Page Layout: Position the table on the page so that it’s
easy to read.
Some extra white space between the table and the two paragraphs above and
below it would make the table more readable.
Extra Formatting: Use extra formatting sparingly.
No extra formatting was used, and it doesn’t appear that any was necessary.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024
MEEG104: Technical Communications
Essay Question Responses
I.
II.
I have had experience creating graphical elements similar to those in these samples. I created multiple tables for
Summative 1, and I have created several types of graphs in Excel. I am also an amateur photographer, so I have some
experience with staging and taking photos.
I will need some experience creating detailed diagrams and schematics to create some of these types of graphics, as I do
not know where I would start on that type of thing at the moment.
©2020 University of Delaware | Updated 2024