A finished ACC-337 Topic 6 chart choice rationale example, testing three charts of receivables data against one question about late payment and explaining why two were rejected and one kept. Searches like "acc 337 topic 6 assignment example", "acc337 topic 6 sample" and "acc-337 topic 6 example" land here.
What a finished ACC-337 Topic 6 chart choice rationale looks like
The finished rationale shows all three candidates, each with a short verdict beneath it. A pie chart of year-end receivables by aging bucket is rejected first, because it shows one date and no segments, so it cannot address either half of the question. A stacked bar of monthly receivables by bucket fares better, since it shows time, but it merges the two customer groups and hides the comparison the finance chief asked for. The kept chart plots two lines, the share of each segment's balance more than 60 days past due, month by month on one axis that starts at zero. In the illustrative figures the municipal line climbs from 18 percent to 31 while the commercial line stays near 9. A caption gives the dollar balances, since shares alone could hide a small base.
How an ACC-337 Topic 6 example is structured
The rationale is organized around the question, which is quoted at the top and returned to in every section. A first part restates it in terms a chart could answer: a comparison between two segments, over time, on a measure of lateness. The measure is then defined, the share of receivables over 60 days, with a sentence on why a share suits better than a dollar amount for comparing groups of different sizes. The three candidates follow, built from the same data, each given a verdict tied to the question. Design decisions in the kept chart are explained next: a zero baseline, direct labels in place of a legend and a single shared axis. A short passage then notes what the chart leaves out. The rationale ends on the answer the chart supports and how firmly it supports it.
The question quoted at the top
Every later decision is checked against the finance chief's own wording, so a design choice that does not serve the question has nowhere to hide.
Candidates rejected for stated reasons
The pie and the stacked bar are each shown with the same data and set aside for a specific failing, one date only or merged segments.
A share chosen over dollars
Municipal balances are smaller than commercial ones, so the percentage past 60 days lets the two segments be compared on one axis without size distorting it.
A baseline that starts at zero
Starting the axis at zero keeps the commercial line's stability visible and stops the municipal rise from looking steeper than its figures support.
Dollars restored in the caption
Balances in dollars sit beneath the chart, because a share can rise sharply on a small base and the reader deciding on collections needs both.
Where marks go in ACC-337 Topic 6
Charts chosen for polish, with no reason given in terms of the question, lose marks faster than any other flaw on this assignment. A pie chart of aging buckets is the usual first instinct and answers neither the comparison nor the trend. Papers that choose correctly and never say why the alternatives were rejected leave the marker guessing whether the choice was reasoned or lucky. Plotting dollar balances for two segments of very different size makes the larger one dominate and can hide a sharp rise in the smaller. A truncated axis that begins near the lowest value exaggerates change in a way a reader rarely notices. A rationale that never states what the chart shows, in one plain sentence, has explained a design without delivering the answer it was built to carry.
Get an ACC-337 Topic 6 example written to your instructions
Send the ACC-337 Topic 6 instructions, the rubric from your classroom and the dataset and question your section supplied. We build a custom example against those criteria, with the question restated as a comparison, a measure defined, candidate charts rejected for stated reasons and the kept design explained, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first one costs nothing.
ACC-337 Topic 6 questions, answered
Why not use a pie chart?
A pie shows how one total divides at one moment, and it does that tolerably when there are few slices. Most accounting questions ask about change over time or a comparison between groups, and a pie shows neither. Readers also judge angles poorly, so two similar slices are hard to rank. If the question really is about composition at a single date, a sorted bar chart usually does the job more clearly.
Must every axis start at zero?
For bars, yes, because a bar's length is read as its value, and cutting the axis misstates it. For lines the rule is looser, since a line is read for its shape, but starting at zero is the safer default when the reader will compare magnitudes. Where a narrower range is genuinely needed, label it clearly and say in the caption why the axis was cut.
How many charts should the final answer include?
Usually one per question, chosen deliberately. Presenting several views of the same data and letting the reader pick shifts the analytical work onto them. The rejected candidates belong in the rationale because they show the reasoning, but the answer itself should rest on the chart that fits, with a caption that states what it shows in plain words.