How to Create a Time Line Chart
Making a timeline is an easy way to put dates in a chronological order. Timelines can be helpful in developing family histories or putting dates in order as a way to understand the chronology of historical events.
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Instructions
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1
Organize the dates you want to put on a timeline. You may want to write each date on a notecard or list the dates on pieces of scrap paper.
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2
Determine an appropriate time scale for your timeline. Depending on the dates, you may need a scale of five, 10, 50 or 100 years. In addition to basing your scale on your dates, you also want to consider how much space you have for the timeline. For example, one single sheet of paper, multiple sheets of paper or poster board.
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3
Use a ruler as a straight edge to draw a horizontal line that will provide the base for your timeline.
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Use the ruler as a straight edge to draw hash marks at the beginning and end of the line. The hash mark at the left end of the line is the first date in your timeline; the hash mark at the far right of the line is the last date in your timeline.
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Use the ruler to make hash marks for the other dates on your timeline. Depending on your time scale, you may want to mark every centimeter as being equivalent to one, five, 10 or more years.
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Add the dates to your timeline by writing the date either above or below the appropriate hash mark.
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If you would rather make a timeline using a computer program, there are also programs available to make timelines online or with software programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel (see Resources below).
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