Graphing in Science
D-TAILS
D-TAILS is an acronym used to help you
remember everything you need to create a
successful graph.
D-TAILS
 Data
covers 50% of the graph area and is
accurately placed.
NO!!!
YES!!!
D-
TAILS
Title
Includes what the
graph is about and
both the
manipulated and
responding
variables.
Hours of Sleep vs. Quiz Scores
AILS
D-T
Hours of Sleep vs. Quiz Scores
Quiz Scores
Axis Labels –
manipulated
variable is always
on the x-axis and
responding
variable is always
on the y-axis
Sleep
I
D-TA LS
Hours of Sleep vs. Quiz Scores
100
Quiz Scores
Interval Marks
Consistent
spacing and
always start at
zero!
75
50
25
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sleep
L
D-TAI S
Hours of Sleep vs. Quiz Scores
100
Quiz Scores (%)
Label Units
In ( ) after the axis
label, include the
proper units (if
there are units)
75
50
25
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sleep (hrs)
S
D-TAIL
Hours of Sleep vs. Quiz Scores
100
Quiz Scores (%)
Scale
Always go by an
even scale.
Ex: 1,2,3,4
NOT
1,2,4,8
75
50
25
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sleep (hrs)
Always draw a trend line (do NOT connect
the dots) to show the mv/rv relationship.
 After
drawing the graph, write a data
analysis statement:
This graph shows that as mv
increases, rv