Chart Shewing the Value of the Quarter of Wheat in Shillings and in Days Wages of a Good Mechanic, 1565-1821
The pattern
This still is filed under Data as proof.
Define
A chart, map, or count that is the argument, not an illustration next to the argument.
Mechanism
Sighted evidence. The reader is asked to believe their eyes: a bar, a share, a spread on a map.
Verdict
The claim is comparative or quantitative and the figure can be read without a caption doing the sell.
Why it works
Two series are drawn on one vertical scale and the space between them is filled with colour, so the argument arrives as a block of green or a block of pink before a single number is read. The series are named on the lines themselves rather than in a legend, which removes the lookup step entirely. The century band on top is a coarse index laid over a fine grid, letting the eye land on an era first and a quarter-century second. The cartouche occupies dead plot area, so the field stays clean without the chart being shrunk to make room for it.
Steal this when
Use when your case rests on the relationship between two numbers rather than either one alone: price against income, cost against output, spend against return. Plot both on one scale and shade the gap in two colours so the reader gets the verdict before the data.
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