10 Step Timeline Creation

1. Make a list of the events that will appear on your timeline, in chronological order from the
farthest back in time, to the most recent. Put this aside for now.
2. Determine the start and end date for your timeline.
3. Decide which units of time you will use (years, decades, centuries, etc.) to divide your timeline
into segments. This decision will be dependent on the task given.
4. Calculate the number of segments your timeline will need.
5. Draw a line and divide it into the number of equal segments you will need, using other lines.
The distance between each line needs to be the same.

Your timeline may or may not have a straight line, like this. It will depend on your timeline format.
Regardless, your timeline segments must be of equal length, visually, as well as numerically.

6. At regular intervals, label your segments by their time periods.

For example: the line above is divided into 15 segments to represent a 15 month period. Below, you can
see that every second vertical line indicates a new month.

7. Label your specific dates on the timeline. Add details about the dates. Decide how and
precisely where you will display this information.
For example: the line below shows the weight of a baby at doctors visits in its first fifteen months of life
(first 3 months and last month completed).
Jimmys Weight: First 15 months
Jan. 21
Birth:
7 lbs
Jan.
2013

April 5
23 lbs

March 26
9.2 lbs
March

Feb.

May
April

July
June

Aug.

Jan.
2014

Nov.

Sept.
Oct.

Dec.

March
Feb.

April

Feb. 15
8.5 lbs

8. Give your timeline an appropriate title.

9. Be sure your timeline is carefully spaced out, neat and clear; add images if suitable.
10. Get feedback early in your creation to avoid mistakes.
Visit

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Timeline for more help on how to write a timeline