ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “write and create texts to communicate ideas, findings and arguments for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of appropriate language and text features, using digital tools as appropriate”
Builds on analysing data and building arguments. The final step of an investigation is sharing it: choosing the words, layout and visuals that let a particular audience grasp your findings quickly and correctly.
Good communication fits the message to the audience
Once you have a result, you have to make it understood. The same finding can be written as a sentence, laid out in a table, or drawn as a graph or diagram, and these choices are not equal. A table is precise but can hide a pattern. A graph reveals trends and comparisons at a glance. Choosing the clearest representation, with a plain title and labelled parts, is part of thinking like a scientist, not decoration added at the end.
Pick the view that tells the story best
You measured how far a marble rolled across five surfaces, from smooth glass to rough carpet. Switch between the table, the bar chart and the line graph and notice which makes the comparison clearest.
These are five separate surfaces, not a value changing over time, so the bar chart communicates best: each bar can be compared directly, and the short carpet bar against the long glass bar shows at once that rougher surfaces stop the marble sooner. A line graph here would wrongly suggest the surfaces form a sequence.
The audience changes which format wins
There is rarely one best way to share a finding. A format that suits a science teacher may lose a younger reader, and a format that fits a poster may not fit a formal report. Each choice trades something off. Pick a way to present your marble-rolling results for a specific audience and see what that choice gains and what it gives up.
Choose how to present the results, and for whom
You need to share the marble-rolling findings. Each format suits a different audience and purpose. Choose one and weigh the gain against the cost.
Communicating is a series of choices, not one right answer. The clearest format depends on who will read it and what they need from it.
Choose a response to see what is gained and what is given up.
Match the representation to the kind of data
The right choice depends on what your data is. Use a bar chart to compare separate groups, a line graph to show how something changes across a continuous scale such as time or temperature, and a labelled diagram to explain how a setup works. Whatever you choose, add a clear title, label the axes or parts, and use plain language so the audience you are writing for can follow it without guessing.
Sort the choices that aid understanding from those that hinder it
Good communication is built from many small decisions about language and layout. Some choices help a reader grasp a finding faster; others mislead, clutter or hide it. Below is a draft poster reporting how the height of a ramp affected how far a toy car rolled. Decide which choices make it clearer, and which weaken it.
Which choices make the report clearer?
A student is preparing a poster on how ramp height affected how far a toy car rolled, for classmates to read. Sort each design choice as one that aids clear communication, or one that works against it.
Claim: The poster communicates the ramp-and-car findings clearly to its audience.
The graph is titled "Distance rolled at different ramp heights" and both axes are labelled with their units.
A line graph is used, because ramp height is a continuous scale that the measured distance changes along.
The findings are written in short, plain sentences aimed at fellow Year 7 students.
The graph is left untitled with bare number axes, so readers must guess what it shows.
Long, technical paragraphs are added to look impressive, even though they bury the main result.
Decide whether each statement is evidence for the claim, or not.
Why this matters
A discovery that no one can understand changes nothing. Scientists, engineers and reporters all live by their ability to present findings so that the right audience acts on them. Choosing the clearest words and visuals, and using digital tools to make them, turns your results into something others can use.
Quick self-check
1. You want to show how a plant got taller over eight weeks. Which representation makes that change clearest?
2. You are comparing how far four different cars rolled. The best representation is usually a...
3. When choosing how to communicate a finding, what should guide your choice most?
4. Which is the best title for a graph that reports your results?
5. Why might a labelled diagram beat a long paragraph when explaining how a filter separates sand from water?