By Figran Team
A figure and its text companion should tell the same story. This exercise helps an author check whether a short description preserves the figure's labels, relationships and limits. It can be used while planning a classroom schematic or reviewing a finished draft. It is a proposed activity, not a reported usability study.
1. Write an inventory before a description
For a figure you are allowed to share, list its essential objects, exact labels, groups and connections. Record what each connection means according to the source brief or legend. If a colour or position carries meaning, name that meaning in words. Leave decorative details out unless they affect the explanation.
Do not fill a missing legend with a plausible scientific story. Mark the relationship as unresolved and ask the author. A visible arrow does not, by itself, tell you whether it represents order, movement or causation.
2. Try an invented classroom example
Hypothetical source brief: “Plan a teaching note. Collect observations, then review the records. If a record is unclear, return to collection; otherwise prepare the teaching note.” This brief is invented for this exercise and describes no actual experiment or classroom result.
Imagine a draft with three boxes labelled “Collect observations”, “Review records” and “Prepare teaching note”. Forward arrows indicate the planned order. A return connection from review to collection is labelled “Record unclear”. The diagram contains no measurements or timing information. No image was generated for this example.
A possible text companion is:
The planned activity begins with collecting observations and reviewing the records. An unclear record sends the activity back to collection. Otherwise, the next step is to prepare the teaching note. The connections describe a proposed sequence, not measured time or a verified scientific mechanism.
The wording retains the conditional return. It does not add a success rate, validation badge, new scientific label or claim that the workflow has been tested.
3. Keep description and context distinguishable
The description explains what the figure communicates. A separate caption or nearby note can identify the source, audience and limits. For this invented example, a caption could say:
Illustrative workflow for planning a teaching note. Source: the hypothetical brief printed above. Connections indicate intended ordering and a conditional return; this is not an experimental result.
For a real figure, replace that source line with the material that actually supports it. If the source is unavailable or a connection is disputed, say what remains unresolved rather than inventing a citation. Keep private learner and research data out of public examples.
4. Test the missing-image reading
Give a peer only the text companion. Ask them to name the starting step, the condition for returning, the next step and what the example does not establish. Then compare their answers with the source brief and the figure. Record a concrete mismatch; do not treat agreement as a certificate of accessibility or scientific accuracy.
For example, “After review, the note is always prepared” loses the conditional return in this brief. Revise that sentence before polishing layout. If the figure itself lacks the return connection, flag the figure for revision as well.
5. Keep a small handoff record
Use one row per unresolved point:
| Essential information | Figure or legend evidence | Text wording | Question or edit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conditional return | Connection labelled “Record unclear” | An unclear record returns to collection | Keep the condition explicit |
| Timing | No duration is provided | Proposed sequence | Do not add “immediately” or elapsed time |
| Evidence status | Invented brief | Illustrative activity | Do not present it as a tested procedure |
Before handing the draft to another author, include the current figure version, the description, the caption and the unresolved rows. A reviewer can then change wording without silently changing what the figure claims.
Credits and reuse
Figran Team prepared this original teaching exercise with AI assistance. We are affiliated with Figran: https://figran.net/ . No independent product evaluation, experimental finding or learning gain is claimed.
Related free decision worksheet: https://zenodo.org/records/23228435
Teaching text: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . This license does not cover Figran software or brand assets.
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