1. Choose which type of graph will best display your results (bar graph, line graph, pie graph, or other). Click to hear Miss Light talk about how to decide which type of graph to use for your project:  graph podcast.

2.  Decide if you should graph averages or every test you did. Remember the goal here is to impress the judges, so pick the most impressive presentation of your results. Usually simple is more impressive than complex for graphs. If your parents can look at your graph and understand your results in a minute or less, it's probably a good graph.

3.  You can have more than one graph. Just don't go overboard - overwhelming the judges with graphs is not good, but showing all of your important data that supports your conclusion is good and important.

You can make a graph the old fashioned way with graph paper and colored pencils (or markers or crayons) or you can use Encarta or Microsoft Excel or a graphing website such as http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx.