Make a figure callout explain the comparison the reader should inspect
Write figure-callout prose that points to a supported comparison and keeps the measured quantity clear.
About 4 min read · Allow extra time for the practical checks
Identify the figure and state the feature that matters to the sentence’s point. A useful callout helps the reader connect a visual comparison to your explanation without making the chart establish something its data do not support.
Follow the document’s required naming and numbering conventions. This guide concerns writing the surrounding prose, not choosing a statistical analysis, validating a real chart or replacing its caption and accessible description.
Give the visual a job in the paragraph
“See Figure 2” can be enough when the surrounding paragraph has already explained what to inspect. When it has not, the reader may find the image but still miss its relevance. Decide which comparison or feature the figure contributes to the current point.
Penn State’s guidance on textual references to figures and tables, checked on 2 November 2026, recommends explaining the point the reader should take from a visual and avoiding needless repetition of all its values. Apply that principle within your own style requirements; the source does not validate the evidence in your report.
A paragraph might direct attention to a difference between categories, a change over time or a feature of a diagram. Name the relevant feature rather than treating the presence of a figure as self-explanatory. If the visual cannot support the point, revise the point or choose more appropriate evidence.
Work through an original fictional comparison
The imagined figure and visit counts in this example are invented teaching material. They are not findings about a real library or population.
Imagine a fictional Figure 2 showing recorded visits to one library during two separate teaching weeks. It displays 140 morning visits and 60 evening visits in Week A, then 150 morning visits and 90 evening visits in Week B. These are visit counts, not unique visitors. The exercise provides no information about why the counts changed or whether the weeks are comparable in other respects.
| Draft callout | Problem or contribution |
|---|---|
| See the graph below | Names neither the figure nor the relevant comparison |
| Figure 2 proves that later opening improved access for all students | Invents an opening-hours intervention, causal effect and population-wide outcome |
| Figure 2 shows more recorded evening visits in Week B than in Week A | Identifies a comparison the fictional counts support |
| Recorded evening visits rose from 60 to 90 across the two weeks shown in Figure 2; the counts do not identify unique visitors or explain the change | Adds a bounded numerical comparison and its relevant limits |
The final example is not always the best sentence for every paragraph. If the exact counts are not needed for your point, the shorter supported version may be clearer. What matters is that the reader can locate the comparison and understand what it establishes.
Keep the measured quantity in the sentence
A count of visits does not automatically measure the number of people served, satisfaction or access for a whole population. Read the axis labels, units, period and notes before choosing the nouns and verbs in the callout.
Do not write “students increased” when the figure records visits. Do not call a difference “improvement” unless the report has a justified criterion for that judgment. Where uncertainty matters, keep it in the explanation rather than using a confident verb to hide it.
Select the relevant values rather than narrating every mark. The fictional example’s paragraph about evening use may not need to repeat both morning counts. However, if a comparison with morning use is central to your argument, explain it accurately and retain the same observation periods and units.
Check the callout, caption and figure together
Follow the callout to the actual submitted figure, then compare its wording with the caption and labels. They should identify the same material and scope. After renumbering or replacing a figure, check the sentence again: the number may still work while the claimed comparison has changed.
A callout explains the visual’s contribution at that point in the argument. A caption helps identify and interpret the visual; alt text supports access to its information. The internal-reference guide helps check the destination after revision. Before submitting, make sure these parts work together and that none claims more than the figure actually contains.
