A chart grabs attention, but a reader who needs the exact figure still reaches for the numbers. Today you will build one clean page that shows both: a chart beside a properly formatted data table, ready for a supervisor, mentor, or assessor to read at a glance.
This layout is the kind of evidence page you can drop into a Work Experience log, a small-enterprise update, or supporting material for your VET interview.
Think of a chart from your Something Real project, Work Experience hours, or the ticket sample you will build today. If someone asked for the exact week-3 total, could they get it from the chart alone, or would they need the numbers written out beside it?
No chart yet? Use the community-event ticket example we will build next: the same question still applies.
Before you format anything, lock in four ideas that turn a rough sheet into a page someone else can read without asking you to explain it.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Companion data table — the exact figures that sit under (or beside) a chart so the reader can check totals, not just the shape of the bars | Charts show pattern; tables show precision. Sponsors, supervisors, and assessors often need both on one page | Week 5 climbs on the chart; the table shows exact €140 revenue |
| Banded rows — alternating light row colours across a table so the eye can track across a line without slipping | On a busy sheet, unbanded rows make people misread a value from the row above or below | Light grey on alternate Work Experience hour rows locks Friday to Friday |
| Borders and number alignment — thin grid lines around cells, with numbers right-aligned (and currency formatted where money is involved) | Left-aligned numbers look like labels; right-aligned numbers line up by place value and read as quantities | €60, €90, €75 stacked with euro signs and decimals lining up |
| One-page layout — chart and table sized and placed so both fit on one screen (and later one printed page) without overlapping | If the chart covers the table, or the table is shoved three screens down, the pair fails and the reader only sees half the story | Table in A–C, chart from column E, both visible without sideways scroll |
Next: you will build a 5-week ticket stall page.
Build a one-page chart-plus-table sheet for a community event ticket stall. You will enter the data, format the table (banded rows, borders, aligned currency), insert a column chart, and park the chart beside the table so both read together.
Follow the tab for your spreadsheet app. Your teacher will demo the first few formatting clicks on the classroom screen, then you continue on your own machine.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| My chart is sitting on top of the data and I cannot read the table | Click the chart once so handles appear, then drag it to the right of the table (near column E). Resize from a corner handle if it still overlaps |
| Banded rows did not appear, or the header looks the same as the data | Excel: re-select {{range:A1:C6}}, use Format as Table, and tick "My table has headers". Sheets: re-select the range and use Format → Alternating colors with the header option left on |
| Euro amounts look messy or sit on the left of the cell | Select the Revenue column, apply Currency (€), then Align right. Check you formatted values, not the heading cell |
| The chart plotted the wrong columns (for example Revenue as categories) | Delete the chart and re-select only the intended columns (for the sample, Week + Tickets sold). Insert the column chart again from that tighter range |
| I cannot find {{code:sm3_chart_data_page}} afterwards | Check you created the file from inside {{code:Project_Portfolio}} → {{code:09_specialism}} → {{code:sm3}}. Online apps save where the file was created, not in a random Downloads folder. Excel Online may show .xlsx in the title; Sheets keeps its own type under the same base name |
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