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2012issue C028-11

Constructing oblique trendlines and median-line channels

A horizontal level does not replace a sloped support or resistance line. Construction begins by choosing a formal geometry so the same channel can be redrawn and then rejected when price closes through it.

  • Sloped support and resistance lines, also called vectors, need explicit construction rules that a horizontal level does not supply.
  • Published methods for non-horizontal drawing include median-line or pitchfork construction, fixed-angle lines, and speed-line geometry.
  • Pick one formal geometry before a sloped channel can be redrawn the same way and rejected on a close through it.
  • Related construction topics include trendline basics, median-line style lines, trading trendline breaks, least-squares fitting of a trendline, and an instantaneous trendline.
Entries in this reading3 entries
Current trackMedian line19 readingsTrendline128 readingsSupport and resistance170 readings

Why sloped lines need their own rules

A reader already comfortable with horizontal trendlines asked for explicit construction rules for sloped support and resistance lines. Those sloped support and resistance lines were also referred to as vectors.

A horizontal level is a support or resistance mark placed at one repeated price, with no slope and no time-to-price angle. Support and resistance is prior swing structure used to mark where a move is expected to pause, bounce, or break, whether the boundary is flat or sloped.

TradersWeek editorial view: a horizontal level is not a substitute for an oblique trendline. An oblique trendline is a sloped line drawn through successive swing highs or lows to mark a rising or falling boundary rather than a single horizontal price. Sloped-channel construction is its own skill.

Published geometries for non-horizontal lines

The reply treated median-line or pitchfork construction, fixed-angle lines, and speed-line geometry as the published methods that address non-horizontal line drawing.

A median line is a central line built from a three-point swing sequence and usually flanked by parallel channel lines, as in pitchfork construction. A speed line is a fan of sloped lines that divide a measured advance or decline into fixed geometric fractions. A fixed-angle line is a sloped boundary whose angle is set by a predetermined price-to-time relationship instead of by connecting two market swings.

The reply said many trendline treatments existed, but a dedicated guide to drawing sloped lines may not have been published outside those named methods.

Related construction topics pointed to included trendline basics, median-line style lines, trading trendline breaks, least-squares fitting of a trendline, and an instantaneous trendline.

TradersWeek editorial view: once one of those geometries is chosen, the same construction can be repeated. The resulting support or resistance line can then be treated as rejected when price closes through it.

Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
10 of 19 in the Median line track
201345-46 pp.Next on Median lineGold futures wave four, competing complexes, and written ratio testsThe monthly gold-futures decline from December 10, 2012 through August 15, 2013 was treated as an unfinished fourth wave and a complex-correction inside the 0.382 to 0.618 fibonacci-retracement band.
All readings on this track · 19 readings
  1. 1985Constructing median lines from graded pivots
  2. 1986Constructing median and action-reaction lines from pivots
  3. 1989Median line construction from three market turns
  4. 1990A failed median-line test marks the start of wave three
  5. 1995Constructing three-pivot median-line channels
  6. 1996Median-line pitchfork construction for trend and reversal tests
  7. 2000Nested median-line channels as falsifiable swing tests
  8. 2002Median-line versus speed-resistance on one trend
  9. 2003Independent witnesses: a median-line miss, a breadth average, and volume bands
  10. 2012Constructing oblique trendlines and median-line channels
  11. 2013Gold futures wave four, competing complexes, and written ratio tests
  12. 2013The weekly 1-2-3 map as a permission layer
  13. 2014Measured-move and daily pivot price-projection construction
  14. 2014Constructing median-line channels from a pivot
  15. 2016Median-line far parallel as a precommitted exit
  16. 2017How high is high: Elliott wave landmarks
  17. 2017A three-layer veto for a suspected third-wave high
  18. 2020Basic chart rules for Nasdaq trend reversals
  19. 2020Stacking wave counts, retracements, and median lines
By fieldTrend and channels181 readingsBy year201281 readings
All 19 readings tagged Median line
Also on Median line5 readings
2002Median-line versus speed-resistance on one trend2000Nested median-line channels as falsifiable swing tests2014Measured-move and daily pivot price-projection construction1985Constructing median lines from graded pivots1986Constructing median and action-reaction lines from pivots