jep-exhibits-for-general-readers

Exhibits for General Readers (jep-exhibits-for-general-readers)

When to trigger

• A figure or table was lifted straight from a research paper and is dense
• A reader needs the caption and the body text to decode an exhibit
• The piece has too many exhibits, or exhibits that don't advance the argument
• A regression table with coefficients and asterisks is doing the explaining

The JEP exhibit bar

A JEP exhibit must be self-explanatory to a non-specialist and earn its place in the argument. Clarity beats density: the reader should grasp the point from the exhibit and its caption alone, in seconds, without parsing the methods. JEP avoids significance asterisks and coefficient-table presentation in favor of exhibits that show the idea.

Design principles

• One exhibit, one point. Each figure/table makes a single claim that maps to a step in the narrative arc. If it makes three points, split it or cut two.
• Self-explanatory title + caption. The title states the finding ("Pass-through has fallen since 2000"), not the variables ("Price on cost, 1990–2020"). The caption gives source, units, and the one thing to notice.
• Figures over tables for trends and comparisons. A clear line/bar chart usually beats a number grid for a general reader. Reserve tables for a few labeled, rounded quantities.
• Round and label. Plain units, rounded numbers, direct labels on lines/bars instead of a legend the reader must cross-reference.
• No significance asterisks or coefficient dumps. If uncertainty matters, show it as a shaded band or a stated range, not stars (mirrors jep-evidence-without-equations).
• Minimal chartjunk. No 3-D, no needless gridlines, no decorative color. Color should encode meaning or be dropped (and survive grayscale, since print/archives may be monochrome).
• Few, load-bearing exhibits. A short synthesis essay carries a handful of exhibits, each indispensable — not a research paper's full battery.

Table discipline (when a table is right)

• Rows/columns labeled in plain words, not variable names.
• A small number of rounded figures, not full estimation output.
• A one-line note: source, units, sample/coverage, and the takeaway.
• No standard-error parentheses-and-stars apparatus; if precision matters, state a range in the note.

Checklist

• [ ] Each exhibit makes exactly one point tied to a narrative step
• [ ] Title states the finding; caption gives source, units, and what to notice
• [ ] Figures used for trends/comparisons; tables only for a few labeled quantities
• [ ] Numbers rounded; lines/bars directly labeled (legend minimized)
• [ ] No significance asterisks, no raw coefficient tables
• [ ] Uncertainty shown as band/range, not stars
• [ ] Exhibit is legible in grayscale; no chartjunk
• [ ] Total exhibit count is small and every one is load-bearing

Worked vignette (illustrative)

A draft transplants a research-paper Table 3: eight columns of coefficients, standard errors in parentheses, and rows of asterisks, titled "Regression results." The JEP exhibit replacing it is a single line chart titled with its finding — "Pass-through to consumer prices has roughly halved since 2000" — one line, directly labeled, a shaded band for the range across studies, source and units in a one-line note, and nothing else. The reader gets the point in three seconds, in grayscale, without reading the body — which is the entire test.

Anti-patterns

• A regression table with coefficients, SEs, and *** transplanted from the working paper
• A figure whose point you can't state in its title
• Legends and variable names that force the reader back into the text
• Color or 3-D that carries no information (and breaks in grayscale)
• Ten exhibits where three would carry the argument
• A "kitchen-sink" table of every specification (that belongs in research, not JEP)

Output format

【Exhibit】[figure/table] — one-point claim: [...]
【Finding-title】[...]
【Caption】source / units / what to notice
【Form】figure (trend/comparison) / small labeled table — chosen because [...]
【Uncertainty shown as】band / stated range (no asterisks)
【Grayscale-safe + chartjunk-free?】[Y/N]
【Count check】N exhibits, each load-bearing? [Y/N]
【Next step】jep-writing-style