Storytelling with Data

chapter eightpractice more on your own

While Chapter 7 posed problems and offered solutions, Chapter 8 has a number of unsolved exercises: to answer them, you will need to draw on the various lessons we’ve covered over the course of SWD and this book. These can be used as assignments, individual or group projects, or incorporated into tests or exams. They will also be useful for those simply wanting additional opportunities to apply the storytelling with data lessons.

The exercises in this chapter can be worked through on your own or with a partner or small group. They grow in nuance and complexity as you move through them. For topics or data that don’t feel immediately relevant to your work, I still encourage you to complete the exercises. Continued rehearsal of lessons helps them become ingrained and enables you to refine your skills in a low-risk setting. Additionally, practicing in different contexts frees you up from the constraints of normal day-to-day work, which may bring to light more creative approaches. After completing an exercise, get feedback and consider what components of your solution you might employ in your work.

A number of exercises invite you to execute the recommendations you outline in the tool of your choice. This additional application helps you better learn your tools and further hone your data visualization and data storytelling skills.

For those assigning exercises from this chapter, feel free to take liberties. There is no end to the number of assignments ...