Referencing and Academic Integrity: Tables and Figures

Tables and figures help authors share a lot of information clearly and make it easier to understand. Tables usually show numbers or text arranged in rows and columns, figures show visuals like charts, graphs, or photos.  All tables and figures will need a table or figure number in numerials (eg. Table 1 or Figure 1) , followed by a title . Notes can be included at the bottom of the table/figure to explain abbreviations.  

APA provide many editable tables templates and  sample figures that you can use to help guide you in formatting your tables.  Depending on the figure and particularly for graphs you might also need to include x and y axis labels and title, and/or legends to explain the information.  Figure 1 illustrates the common elements of tables and figures including number, title and note.  

Figure 1

Common Elements of Tables and Figures in APA 7th

It is important to refer to every table and figure within the text of your assessment, it is not enough to just include the table you must also discuss it. Refer to the table/figure by it's number (use numerials) rather than location (do not use see above or below location can change during editing). Additionally,  it is helpful to let the reader know the key points they should focus on.  

Examples of referring to both tables and figures in text

As shown in Figure 1, the most common cause of........

.....the spike in July indicate a increase in demand (see Table 3)

.....the forcast for June in contrast is much smaller (see Figure 4 and 5)

Table 2 shows the average height of....                                                                           

Figure 2 shows the mean rainfall

It is good to vary your verbs when referring to tables and figures (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

List of Useful Verbs for Describing Tables and Figures

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