Effective arrangement of pie chart slices

1. How do you arrange slices in a pie chart?
2. How many slices does an effective pie chart have?
3. How should data be arranged on a pie chart?
4. What makes an effective pie chart?
5. What do the slices in a pie chart stand for?

How do you arrange slices in a pie chart?

Click Chart Tools> Format. In the pane on the right, click the CHART OPTIONS drop-down button, and select Series 1. 2. Select SERIES and you can adjust the Angle of first slice by dragging the slider to reorder the slices as needed.

How many slices does an effective pie chart have?

Ideally, you should limit your pie chart to no more than five slices. The percentages you do have are similar. Even in pie charts that only have a handful of slices, if any percentages in the pie are within 5-10 percentage points, it will be hard for readers to understand what they're supposed to get out of the data.

How should data be arranged on a pie chart?

Consider the order of slices

A typical ordering goes from the largest slice to the smallest slice, very useful when there are categories with very similar values. However, if the category levels have an inherent ordering, then plotting slices in that order is usually better.

What makes an effective pie chart?

Pie charts work best for values around 25%, 50% or 75%. It's easier for readers to spot these percentages in a pie chart than in a stacked bar or column chart. Pie charts are not the best choice if you want readers to compare the size of shares. This is especially true if the differences between the shares are small.

What do the slices in a pie chart stand for?

A pie chart is a circle that is divided into areas, or slices. Each slice represents the count or percentage of the observations of a level for the variable. Pie charts are often used in business.