Can I include diagrams in essays for complex topics?
I know that it breaks the general format of essays and that you should generally not include diagrams in essays. I just find it hard to keep clarity for parts that can be misunderstood, if interpreted differently. In the context of my essay, is it ok to use diagrams?
The essay is an analysis of the factors that contributed to an air crash. The image below is a small part of the essay.
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2 answers
I think that in this case you may want to keep both ways open.
Diagrams are usually allright in academic and technical contexts, but you mentioned this is a college assessment and your ability to write clearly is going to be graded.
I would include the image for clarity, while describing the contents of the image at the same time. Writing an accurate description on such topic is surely a difficult task, but you are probably supposed to undertake it anyway.
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Graphics and artwork get a bad rap in essays and similar length nonfiction because so many authors and editors make stupid decisions.
How many stock photos of beautiful young people in posed action shots have you seen adorning articles? Or maybe it's a stock photo of a computer or a kitchen. In your case, perhaps an airplane.
But you don't want a photo, you want a diagram. Here you go.
When people say "please God no, no graphics" they mean, don't grab things to pretty up the essay that don't serve any purpose.
Sometimes though, pictures and diagrams are essential to understanding, or they really add to the work. Figuring out if this is the case, and then creating the right graphics to go with the work, is a lot harder than you might think.
Since you're dealing with academic work, you need to ask your teacher what s/he does and doesn't want. When you're a student, you write for your audience just like anybody else. The difference is that a student's entire audience is made up of the teacher (and and those working with her/him).
For published works, you go with what the publisher wants (and can afford). In some media, like blogging, every essay will have pictures because that's how the medium works. Essay, article, blog post, etc. They are more alike than they are different. Just the presentation varies.
I would find it odd for an article about airplane moves that lead to crashes not to have any graphics. I'm not sure yours is the right one (to be honest, it didn't aid in my understanding of the problem), but it makes sense to have something. What is a critical angle and how does it work with turns? That's what you need your graphics to get across.
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