in "Visual Rhetoric"
Putting the visuals
Six types of rhetorical visuals:
1: Pictures
2: Charts and Graphs
3: Timelines
4: Word Clouds
5: Maps
The moral of the story:
How to get an "A" on your math test
Lauren Ipson
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Pros
Cons
Simple, straightforward
Easy to find
Sometimes distracting or not applicable
Not very content-rich
Pros
Cons
Demonstrate relationships
Very easy to make (excel, google docs)
Can tell a whole story
Boring
Misleading
Numbers and stats
Pros
Cons
Great at showing time-related information
Easy to make (timerime.com, Word)
Change of pace (not just a picture)
they're all about time
complex
boring
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/
MA Thesis Schedule (traditional)
Pros
Cons
Nifty
Demonstrates word relationships
All but effortless (wordle.com)
Just words
One-dimensional (just relationships between words)
Pros
Cons
Spatial relationships
Mindmaps, concept maps
Just a map
Can be too complex 
Each kind of visual has strengths and weaknesses
Use a variety
6: . . .
http://piim.newschool.edu/journal/issues/2009/01/the-visual-repertoire-of-obamas-run-for-the-white-house/timeline.php
Other interesting visual maps:
from glennbeck.com