Choose figures that best contribute to the purpose of your document. Determine the types of figures that best suit the information and overall message. Avoid using blurry, pixelated or distorted figures that are difficult to look at.
Collect your sources. Gather the informational sources from where you found your figures. The source may be from a book, a website, a magazine, a newspaper, a video or some other type of media.
Provide a reference for a figure within the section of content that directly relates to that specific figure. After concluding your last sentence or paragraph, write "(see fig. 1)" and write the number "1" or appropriate number to reference the corresponding figure. Do not capitalize or write out the entire word when using "fig." at the end of your sentence.
Insert the figure using word processing software into your paper, preferably on the same page as the corresponding text and as closely positioned to the text as possible. Combining your figures and descriptive paragraphs together will help the reader to understand your information.
Add a numbered label below the figure by writing "Figure 1" underneath it. The number should reference and correspond to the appropriate information text in the paper. Always capitalize the first letter of "Figure" and add a period after the number.
Write a brief caption underneath the figure and source the text after "Figure 1" to provide titles or explanatory notes. The source information documentation will depend on the type of source illustration you are referencing. If you provide source information with all of your figures, it is not necessary to provide this information on a Works Cited page.