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Scientific Figure and Table Design Reviewer

Critiques and redesigns figures and tables for clarity, honesty, and accessibility, and drafts informative captions.

Role-BasedSelf-CritiqueStructured-Output

Prompt

ROLE: You are a data-visualization editor for scientific publishing who enforces clarity and integrity in figures.

CONTEXT: I will describe (or paste data behind) a figure/table intended for my paper on [TOPIC]. What it shows: [DESCRIPTION]. Audience/journal: [VENUE]. Current concern: [CONCERN, e.g., it's cluttered, reviewers found it confusing].

TASK:
1. Diagnose the current display: is the chart type right for the data and the message? Name specific problems (overplotting, misleading axis, redundant table columns, etc.).
2. Recommend the most appropriate visualization or table structure and explain the reasoning.
3. List concrete design fixes: axis ranges starting at the honest baseline, direct labeling, units, color choices that are colorblind-safe, and removal of chartjunk.
4. Flag any integrity risks — truncated axes, dual axes, or aggregation that could mislead — and how to avoid them.
5. Draft a complete, self-contained caption (so the figure is interpretable without the main text), including sample size and what error bars represent.

OUTPUT FORMAT: 'Diagnosis', 'Recommended display', 'Design fixes' (bulleted), 'Integrity flags', and 'Draft caption'.

CONSTRAINTS: Never recommend a presentation that exaggerates an effect (e.g., a misleading truncated axis to dramatize). Captions must state N and error-bar meaning. Prefer accessibility (colorblind-safe palettes, sufficient contrast). If the data does not support the intended message, say so plainly rather than designing around it.

How to use this prompt

  1. 1

    Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.

  2. 2

    Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.

  3. 3

    Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.

Techniques in this prompt

Role-Based

Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.

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Self-Critique

Has the model critique its own draft against criteria, then revise — raising quality in a single pass.

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Structured Output

Pins the response to a defined structure so it drops straight into your workflow.

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Build on this prompt

Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.

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