How to Create a Pie Chart

Team: Ellen AldrichAshley BurtonJennifer FultzHariklia KaragiannisNathan Ochsner

Introduction

This presentation should help educate those UMBC students who are unfamiliar with Microsoft Excel pie charts.

The pie chart is commonplace in both the business world and the mass media.

The chart is used as a graphical representation of data that helps to reinforce a particular point.

In order to insert a pie chart, one must first have access to Microsoft Office, or at least Excel, which would require some form of Microsoft Windows 95/98/XP or newer.

The following presentation intends to illustrate the steps involved with creating a pie chart using Excel’s “chart wizard” feature.

Step 1: Organize the Information Organize your

information using two columns: One column for

categories. The other column

for numbers or percentages.

Step 2: Highlight the Information Highlight the information

that you want displayed in the pie chart.

To highlight cells: Place your mouse in the

upper left hand corner of the first piece of information you want to include.

Click and drag the mouse to the bottom right hand corner of the last piece of information you want to include.

Step 3: Click the “Chart Wizard” Button. The “Chart Wizard” button is usually located

on the top tool bar and looks like a 3D bar graph.

Step 4: Select Chart “type” and “sub-type” To select a pie chart, click

“Pie” under the Chart Type.

Select a chart subtype by clicking on one of the chart subtype boxes. You will have 6 options: Pie Pie with 3D visual

effects Pie of Pie Exploded Pie Exploded Pie with 3D

visual effects Bar of Pie

Step 5: Verify the Data Range Once you select a chart

subtype, click “Next”. Excel will now show you the

data range. Check to make sure that all of

the data that you wanted to include is correct.

If information is missing, select the button to the right of the “Data range” field and reselect the information.

After verifying that the data range is correct, click “Next”.

Step 6: Label the Chart

Excel will display options to label your pie chart. Add a chart title in the appropriate box. Choose the placement of your legend. Select which additional labels the chart will display.

In this example, we are giving

our chart the title “Majors in

English 393”, we are placing

our legend to the right of our

pie chart, and we are not giving

our chart any additional labels.

Step 7: Choose Chart Location Choose where you want your new chart to be

displayed. You can place the chart in a brand new Excel sheet

or place it within your current Excel document. In this example, we will place the pie chart in the

current Excel document.

Enjoy Your Pie Chart!

This is what your pie chart will look like.