Infographic Assignment

Assignment Purpose: To rhetorically and graphically represent the data from your research paper. An infographic is used in many places to replace the standard essay. Audience: Your audience is more broad and general than your research paper. Consider that if your research paper would appear in, for example, Parenting Today, your infographic would appear in USA Today. Genre: Infographic, follow this link if you dont know what an infographic is...or see the examples below Stance: Reasoned, persuasive Medium: Printsubmitted as a PDF Resources: Youll create your infographic from the sources you cite in your AB Length: 2 pages (length doubles for page count in portfolio)

Grading Criteria
Effectively communicates your data to the audience Makes data easier to interpret via visual design Contains a compelling narrative with a a sustained argument and analysisflashy doesnt necessarily mean good Uses credible, quality primary and secondary research to develop the infographic Maintain a clear focus toward your established audience throughout the infographic Be organized in a coherent, logical manner Use conventions of standard written English (appropriate diction, no omitted words, grammar, punctuation, spelling). You are not required to submit drafts of the infographic, but I am more than willing to give feedback to your draft. If you decide to submit a draft, be sure to include a writers memo. The omission of running spell check and proofreading from your infographic will adversely affect your grade.

Tips
One of the best ways to familiarize yourself with the genre is to look at examples. Visit the links below to review and analyze a variety of infographics. The first link will be useful in aiding your design. Also, it shows an effective use of bar graphs and pie charts in an infographic. Ivan Cash: Infographic About Infographics (contains images of MANY infographics) Evolutionary Designs: 10 of My Favorite Infographics Six Revisions: 40 Useful and Creative Infographics Make Use Of: 10 Awesome Free Tools to Make Infographics idsgn: The Good and Evil of Infographics Mashable: Facebooks Effects on Students Infographic

J. Stewart 2011

Example Infographiclink to actual source here

Clever title

This infographic has a compelling use of color, white space, and layout. The size of this infographic, when blow up, is comparable to what youll be producing. Notice the narrative structure of the infographicthe move from introductory material to a point-by-point comparison of dog vs. cat people. The center graphic serves as a visual cue for a topic shift (much like the topic sentence of an essay).

Varying color creates visual variety, but the use of three main colors (blue, red, and white)or variances of these colorscreates continuity in the infographic.

Even though there is a lot of statistical data being represented, notice there isnt much use of charts or graphs. Font choice in your infographic is very important. You should choose your font judiciously, as it tells a lot about you as a writer. No, seriously, it is important (see how I chose an infographic to show you this? Very meta).

Your AB will replace any need for citation; however, if you were submitting an infographic without an AB for another class, a reference statement would be necessary.

J. Stewart 2011