Examples of Different Kinds of Timelines

A timeline helps visual events.

A timeline is a visual representation of a series of events. Using a timeline helps put together information that may be intangible, such as time passing or the duration of an event, into a form that is more easily grasped.

1 Historical

A historical timeline shows a sequence of historical events in the order in which they happened.

2 Biographical Timeline

A timeline can be a representation of the events of a person's life.

3 Biological

Tracking a biological sequence using a timeline can be very educational and helpful in visualizing the sequence. For instance, a timeline can map the process of photosynthesis.

4 Horizontal

Tracking events horizontally from left to right, like reading a book or using a ruler, is the most common type of timeline.

5 Vertical

A vertical timeline is useful to track time and amounts, such as a growth chart or a timeline that tracks money raised for a cause. As time goes on, the line goes up by incremental monetary amounts. This upward motion helps visualize a "gain" in the project.

Marcy Andersen received a bachelor's degree in education in 1995. She homeschooled her children for eight years, has been active in education for many years, is on the development team for a new charter school, has written her entire life and has belonged to a writers' group for seven years.