Choosing tables or written information

Organisations choose between a table and written information based on two things: the purpose of the communication (what the reader has to do with it) and the audience (what they already know and what they need from it).

When a table is the better choice

A table is better when exact values must be found or compared, especially when there are many of them. Lining figures up in rows and columns lets your eye travel down a column and spot differences straight away.

For example, a city bike-hire company lists its charges as a table: hire length down the side, customer type across the top. Someone planning a three-day visit can compare the adult, student and child prices in a few seconds. The same figures written out in sentences would be correct but slow to search through, and easy to misread.

When written information is the better choice

Written information is better when the reader needs explanation, reasoning or context rather than raw values. A couple of paragraphs can say why a rule exists, what happens in an unusual case, or what the reader should do next — none of which fits neatly into a cell.

The same bike-hire company would explain in writing that under-16s must have an adult sign for them, and why. No arrangement of numbers can carry that reasoning.

Using both, and reaching a judgement

The two forms work together: a report can contain a table of figures with paragraphs around it explaining what those figures mean. The table gives precision; the writing gives meaning.

A strong evaluation states your choice, gives reasons tied to purpose and audience, mentions a drawback of the form you rejected, and ends with a conclusion that follows from those points. For the bike-hire charges you might argue that a table is best because customers need to compare exact prices quickly, that writing the charges out would be slow to scan, but that a table alone cannot explain the age rule — so overall a table with a short written note beneath it serves the reader best.