The Georgia Negro: A Social Study - Diagram shows map of the United States with colors to mark the number of African Americans in each state [LCCN2013650421]
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
The key is given as much sheet area as the map, which tells the viewer the classification is the argument, not decoration. Reserving solid black for the top band and hatched texture for the next two means the darkest, densest marks cluster in the Deep South and Georgia reads as the single heaviest point on the map from across a room - the ranking is delivered before any number is read. Dropping state labels forces attention onto value rather than place-name recognition, which suits an audience that cannot name American states anyway.
Steal this when
Use this when you need an audience to accept your choice of sample or test market before you show them results from it. A single ranked map that puts your chosen case at the visual extreme settles the representativeness question without an argument.