A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Figure numbers and captions
Tables and figures
Part III. Style 20 spelling

In general, every figure in your paper should have a number and a caption. If you include only a few figures in your paper and do not specifically refer to them in the text, omit the numbers. Figure captions may be presented in a smaller typeface than the rest of your text; consult your local guidelines.

On the line below the figure, write the word Figure (flush left, capitalized, in roman type), followed by the figure number (in arabic numerals), followed by a period. After a space, give the caption, usually followed by a terminal period (but see below). If a caption runs onto more than one line, the runovers should be flush left, single-spaced.

Figure 6. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, eighth to tenth century.

In musical examples only, place the figure number and caption above the figure.

FIGURE NUMBERS. Number figures separately from tables, in the order in which you mention them in the text. If you have only a few figures, number them consecutively throughout the paper, even across chapters. If you have many figures and many chapters, use double numeration: that is, the chapter number, followed by a period, followed by the figure number, as in Figure 12.4.

When you refer to a figure in the text, specify the figure number (“in figure 3”) rather than its location (“below”) because you may end up moving the figure while editing or formatting the paper. Do not capitalize the word figure in text references to figures, and do not abbreviate it as fig. except in parenthetical references—for example, “(see fig. 10).”

FIGURE CAPTIONS. Figure captions are more varied than table titles. In some cases, captions can consist solely of a noun phrase, capitalized sentence style (see 22.3.1), without a terminal period.

Figure 9. Mary McLeod Bethune, leader of the Black Cabinet during this era

More complex captions begin with a noun phrase followed by one or more complete sentences. Such captions are also capitalized sentence style but have terminal periods, even after the initial incomplete sentence. If your captions include a mix of both types, you may include a terminal period after those of the first type for consistency.

Figure 16. Benito Juárez. Mexico's great president, a contemporary and friend of Abraham Lincoln, represents the hard-fought triumph of Mexican liberalism at mid-century. Courtesy of Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

When a figure has a source line, put it at the end of the caption, following the guidelines in 26.1.3.

Figure 2.7. The Iao Valley, site of the final battle. Photograph by Anastasia Nowag.

Sometimes a caption is attached to a figure consisting of several parts. Identify the parts in the caption with terms such as top, bottom, above, left to right, or clockwise from left (italicized to distinguish them from the caption itself) or with lowercase italic letters.

Figure 6. Above left, William Livingston; right, Henry Brockholst Livingston; below left, John Jay; right, Sarah Livingston Jay.

Figure 15. Four types of Hawaiian fishhooks: a, barbed hook of tortoise shell; b, trolling hook with pearl shell lure and point of human bone.

If the caption for a figure will not fit on the same page as the figure itself, put it on the nearest preceding text page (see A.3.1), with placement identification in italics before the figure number and caption.

Next page: Figure 19. A couple with a newly purchased 20-inch color TV. The economic reforms of the 1980s encouraged rampant consumerism in China.