"Representing Data"

The advantages of a pie graph is that it is visually appealing, which is important for presentation, and it shows the percent total for each category. The disadvantages of a pie graph is that it doesn't have exact numerical data, it is hard to compare to data sets, the total is unknown unless specified, it is only good for 3 to 7 categories and you can only use it with discrete data.

The disadvantages of a bar graph are that the graph categories can be reordered to emphasize certain effects , and that you can only use it with discrete data. The advantages of a bar graph are : it is visually strong, which is good for presentation, and you can easily compare two or three data sets.

The advantages of a line graph are: you can compare multiple continuous data sets easily, and the interim data can be inferred from the graph line. The disadvantages of a line graph are: you can only use it with continuous data.