Find the proper place for your figures. Some scientific journals require figures to be placed on separate pages rather than mixing them in with the text of the paper. Some publications prefer to have the figures placed in the text that discusses them. Read the guidelines for submitting to a specific journal or professor for more information about the requirements for your scientific paper.
Let your data guide you to the type of figure you will use. Bar graphs, line graphs, histograms and scatter graphs are figures commonly found in scientific papers. The information being presented helps determine which figure will work best. For example, presenting distributed variables is best done with a histogram.
Create the figures. Use a computer to make your figures and print them in black and white or color. Many software programs are available that make this process simple by asking you to input the information and then generating the figure of choice. An alternative is to draw your own figures using lead or colored pencils.
Include a legend for your figure. The legend tells readers what the figure represents and how it is being presented. Some journals or professors may ask for figure legends to be included with the references rather than on the figure itself and others want the legend directly below the figure.
Label your figure. Place the labels on the relevant areas of the figure so that the reader knows what each part of the figure is reporting. For example, on a bar graph, the labels will appear on the side and bottom.
Number the figures. If your scientific paper contains more than one figure, number them sequentially. This allows readers to refer to them as they read the text portion of the paper. The text must point readers to the proper figure by letting them know which number to look for.