PURPOSE: To realize stable writing discharge by enlarging the superimposed area for a data electrode and a scanning electrode, and by preventing premature degradation of a panel caused by the non-symmetry state of the electrode area in a cell when a display data is to be written while the areas of the scanning electrode and a maintenance electrode are made almost equal to each other.

CONSTITUTION: A scanning pulse is applied by protruding the scanning electrode 11 of the part of a display cell 10 to widen the superimposed part between the scanning electrode 11, which applies a scanning pulse, and which becomes an electrode at the time of writing discharging, and a data electrode 4, as much as possible. Since the writing discharging thus occurs in a more certain way, writing probability can be improved at a low scanning voltage.