Plotting of Data using Generic plots in R Programming - plot() Function

Last Updated : 15 Jul, 2025

In this article, we will discuss how we plot data using Generic plots in R Programming Language using plot() Function.

plot function

plot() function in R Programming Language is defined as a generic function for plotting. It can be used to create basic graphs of a different type.

Syntax: plot(x, y, type)

Parameters

x and y: coordinates of points to plot
type: the type of graph to create
Returns: different type of plots

Draw Points using plot() Function in R

plot(3, 4)

Output:

plot() Function in R
Draw Multiple Points

plot(c(1, 3, 4), c(4, 5 , 8))

Output:

Draw Sequences of Points

plot(1:20)

Output:

R program to plot a graph

# Values for x and y axis
x <- 1:5
y <- x * x

# Using plot() function with additional settings
plot(x, y, type = "l", col = "blue", lwd = 2, xlab = "X-axis", 
     ylab = "Y-axis", main = "Quadratic Function")

# Add grid lines
grid()

# Add points to highlight data
points(x, y, col = "red", pch = 16)

# Add a legend
legend("topleft", legend = "y = x^2", col = "blue", lty = 1, lwd = 2, pch = 16)

Output:

In this code we creates a line plot with labeled axes, a title, grid lines, and additional points.

col: Specifies the color of the line,lwd: Sets the line width,xlab and ylab: Label the x-axis and y-axis, respectively.
main: Adds a title to the plot,grid(): Adds grid lines to the plot,points(): Adds points to the plot to highlight the data.
legend(): Adds a legend to the plot.

R program to Customize graph

# Creating x and y-values
x <- 1:5
y <- x * x

# Using plot function with additional settings
plot(x, y, type = "b", col = "blue", pch = 16, lty = 2, 
            main = "Quadratic Function", xlab = "X-axis", ylab = "Y-axis")

# Add grid lines
grid()

# Add points to highlight data
points(x, y, col = "red", pch = 16)

# Add a legend
legend("topleft", legend = "y = x^2", col = "blue", pch = 16, lty = 2)

# Adding a title
title(main = "Quadratic Function", sub = "y = x^2", col.main = "blue", 
      col.sub = "red", font.main = 4, cex.main = 1.2, cex.sub = 0.8)

Output:

In this code we creates a quadratic function plot with blue points connected by dashed lines. It includes a title, axis labels, grid lines, red-highlighted data points, and a legend indicating the equation 2y=x2. The main title and subtitle have custom colors and font styles for improved visualization.

Multiple Plots In R

# Create data for multiple plots
x <- 1:5
y1 <- x * x
y2 <- 2 * x
y3 <- x^2 - 3

# Set up a 2x2 grid for plots
par(mfrow = c(2, 2))

# Plot the first graph
plot(x, y1, type = "b", col = "blue", pch = 16, 
     main = "Plot 1", xlab = "X-axis", ylab = "Y-axis")

# Plot the second graph
plot(x, y2, type = "o", col = "green", pch = 17, 
     main = "Plot 2", xlab = "X-axis", ylab = "Y-axis")

# Plot the third graph
plot(x, y3, type = "l", col = "red", lty = 2, 
     main = "Plot 3", xlab = "X-axis", ylab = "Y-axis")

# Reset the graphical parameters to default
par(mfrow = c(1, 1))

Output:

par(mfrow = c(2, 2)) is like setting up a grid of 2 rows and 2 columns for your plots. This means we can create four plots, and they will be arranged in a 2x2 grid.

Each time we use the plot function after setting up the grid, it adds a new plot to one of the grid positions. Each plot can have different data and visual styles.
This ensures that any future plots you make won't be constrained to the grid; they'll be displayed as standalone plots.

Overlaying Graphs using plot function

# Create data for multiple plots
x <- 1:5
y1 <- x * x
y2 <- 2 * x
y3 <- x^2 - 3

# Plot the first graph
plot(x, y1, type = "b", col = "blue", pch = 16, main = "Overlaying Graphs", 
     xlab = "X-axis", ylab = "Y-axis")

# Overlay the second graph
points(x, y2, col = "green", pch = 17)

# Overlay the third graph
lines(x, y3, col = "red", lty = 2)

# Add a legend
legend("topleft", legend = c("y = x^2", "y = 2x", "y = x^2 - 3"), 
       col = c("blue", "green", "red"), pch = c(16, 17, NA), lty = c(1, 1, 2))

Output:

In this example the plot function is used to create the first graph. the points function overlays points from the second graph on the existing plot.

The lines function overlays a line from the third graph on the existing plot. legend adds a legend to distinguish between different datasets.

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Article Tags :

Plotting of Data using Generic plots in R Programming - plot() Function

plot function

Draw Points using plot() Function in R

plot() Function in RDraw Multiple Points

Draw Sequences of Points

R program to plot a graph

R program to Customize graph

Multiple Plots In R

Overlaying Graphs using plot function

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Object Oriented Programming

Error Handling

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