Almost every piece of writing produced by academics includes numbers, writes Martha B Coven, and there are best practices to ensuring these values are effectively used in reports and papers. The author offers a variety of tips for writers looking to more effectively weave data and numbers into their work, including explaining the math for the readers, providing context that shows the significance of the numbers, avoiding misleading averages and confusion over percentage points, and rounding numbers where appropriate. Coven also encourages authors to add compelling and readable visuals that draw the reader’s attention to key elements of the visual, and include a helpful title so readers can quickly see what the visual is about.
Inside Higher Ed (Acct. Req.)
