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Applying Your Skills: Blog Post, Infographic, and Self-Review

Now it’s time to apply what you’ve learned. You must complete two tasks before moving on to the next section. The first task is to write a blog post, and the second is to create an infographic. The infographic can either stand-alone or expand on a concept from your blog post. It does not have to be included in the blog, but it can be if you choose.

After completing both tasks, use the forms below to answer the reflection questions for each assessment, and then upload your work.

1. Blog Writing Assignment:

Instructions: Write a well-researched and informative blog post on a subject of interest. Follow the checklist below to ensure your blog is clear, engaging, and well-structured. You may choose your own topic or select from the list of ideas provided. After completing your blog post, you will assess it using the self-assessment criteria.

Topic Selection:

  • Choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your intended audience.
  • Ensure the topic allows for well-researched content and offers value to your readers.

Optional Ideas:

    • How to stay productive in a remote work environment
    • The benefits of mindfulness for stress management
    • Sustainable living: Simple changes for a greener future
    • A guide to effective time management
    • The impact of social media on mental health
    • Exploring the future of renewable energy
    • The importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace
    • Healthy eating habits on a budget
    • The role of technology in education
    • The art of public speaking: Tips for success

Checklist for Creating Your Blog Post:

Audience Identification

  • Clearly define your target audience (e.g., students, professionals, hobbyists, etc.).
  • Tailor your tone, language, and examples to suit your audience.

Introduction

  • Write an attention-grabbing introduction to hook your readers.
  • Clearly state the purpose of your blog and what readers can expect to learn.

Content Organization

  • Break your blog post into organized sections with clear subheadings.
  • Use bullet points or numbered lists where appropriate to make the content easy to scan.
  • Ensure that each section builds on the previous one, leading to a logical conclusion.

Paragraph Structure

  • Write concise paragraphs that focus on one idea at a time.
  • Use transition words and phrases to create a smooth flow between ideas and sections.
  • Keep your sentences clear and to the point, avoiding jargon or overly complex language.

Visuals

  • Incorporate at least one relevant visual element (e.g., images, charts, or graphs) to support your content.
  • Ensure your visuals are high quality and appropriately cited if necessary.

Conclusion

  • Summarize the key points of your blog post in the conclusion.
  • End with a call to action, question, or thought-provoking statement to encourage reader engagement.

Final Checks

  • Proofread your blog post for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
  • Ensure that your blog post meets the criteria provided in the rubric.

After Completing Your Blog Post:

Use the self-assessment prompts provided on the form below to evaluate your writing. Make any necessary revisions before submitting your final version.

Here is the rubric that will be used for assessing your submission.

This rubric evaluates student performance on a blog writing assignment. It consists of eight criteria with four levels of achievement: Exemplary (5 points), Proficient (4 points), Developing (3 points), and Needs Improvement (2-1 points). Rubric Criteria: Topic Selection Exemplary (5): Topic is highly relevant, engaging, and tailored to the audience. Well-researched and adds value. Proficient (4): Topic is relevant and interesting, offering value to the audience. Some research evident. Developing (3): Topic is somewhat relevant but lacks clear focus or audience connection. Limited research. Needs Improvement (2-1): Topic is unclear, irrelevant, or poorly researched. No consideration for audience or value. Audience Identification Exemplary: Target audience is clearly defined, and blog tone, language, and examples perfectly suit the audience. Proficient: Target audience is identified, and tone and language are mostly appropriate. Developing: Audience is somewhat identified, but tone and examples may not consistently align. Needs Improvement: Audience is not defined, and tone, language, and examples are not suitable. Introduction Exemplary: Compelling introduction hooks the reader and clearly states purpose and expectations. Proficient: Introduction grabs attention and explains purpose and expectations, though less engaging. Developing: Introduction provides purpose but lacks a strong hook or clear expectations. Needs Improvement: Introduction is unclear, fails to engage, or does not explain purpose. Content Organization Exemplary: Blog is logically structured with clear sections and subheadings. Excellent use of lists and logical flow. Proficient: Blog is organized with sections and subheadings. Some use of lists and logical flow is evident. Developing: Blog has some organization but lacks consistent use of subheadings, lists, or logical flow. Needs Improvement: Blog is disorganized, lacking subheadings, lists, or logical progression. Paragraph Structure Exemplary: Paragraphs are concise, focused on one idea, and use excellent transitions for smooth flow. Proficient: Paragraphs are clear and focused, with some transitions for flow. Developing: Paragraphs are inconsistent in focus or lack effective transitions between ideas. Needs Improvement: Paragraphs are unclear, unfocused, or lack transitions, making the blog difficult to follow. Visuals Exemplary: Visuals are relevant, high quality, and enhance the content. Properly cited where needed. Proficient: Visuals are appropriate and support the content but may not be optimally chosen or cited. Developing: Visuals are present but may lack relevance, quality, or proper citation. Needs Improvement: Visuals are missing, irrelevant, low quality, or improperly cited. Conclusion Exemplary: Conclusion effectively summarizes key points and ends with a strong call to action or engagement prompt. Proficient: Conclusion summarizes key points and includes a call to action or engagement but lacks strength. Developing: Conclusion is present but does not effectively summarize or engage the reader. Needs Improvement: Conclusion is missing or fails to summarize or engage. Final Checks Exemplary: Blog is error-free, polished, and meets all self-assessment criteria. Proficient: Blog has minor errors and meets most self-assessment criteria. Developing: Blog has noticeable errors or fails to meet some self-assessment criteria. Needs Improvement: Blog has significant errors and does not meet self-assessment criteria. Scoring Guidelines: Exemplary (41–45 points): Blog is polished, engaging, and effectively achieves all assignment goals. Proficient (35–40 points): Blog is well-done with minor areas for improvement. Developing (25–34 points): Blog needs improvement in multiple areas to meet expectations. Needs Improvement (<25 points): Blog does not meet expectations and requires significant revision.

2. Digital Infographic Creation Assignment:

Instructions: Design a digital infographic that visually explains a complex concept. Your infographic should build upon the topic of your blog post, providing a complementary visual representation of your content. You can use any design platform, but here are some recommended free tools to help you get started. Each platform offers free infographic templates and user-friendly features for creating professional-quality graphics, even if you need more design experience.

Recommended Tools:

  1. Canva
    Canva is a versatile design platform for creating various types of media, including presentations, blog graphics, posters, and infographics. It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface for customizing free infographic templates. Once you’re satisfied with your design, you can download it in multiple formats for easy sharing.
  2. HubSpot
    HubSpot offers a set of free, customizable infographic templates designed to simplify the creation process. The templates are available in PowerPoint format, allowing you to replace text and adjust colors to match your brand’s palette. HubSpot also provides a color palette generator to ensure cohesive branding across your visuals.
  3. Piktochart
    Piktochart is an intuitive tool that helps users create infographics without any prior design experience. The free version includes access to various chart types, including pie charts, maps, and bar charts, which you can populate with data from a CSV, Google Sheet, or Excel file. Piktochart’s emphasis on data visualization makes it an excellent choice for turning complex information into understandable graphics.
  4. Snappa
    Snappa is known for its speed and simplicity, claiming users can create infographics in just five minutes. The platform provides free infographic templates and a drag-and-drop builder, making it easy to customize your design with graphics, text, and stock images. Once finished, your infographic can be downloaded and shared in different formats, with social sharing options available as well.
  5. Venngage
    Venngage offers a drag-and-drop editor to help users create infographics with no design experience. The platform includes a robust stock photo library with over 40,000 icons and images, plus 3 million additional assets from Pixabay. However, some features, like the collaboration tools and brand kit, are only available with paid plans.
  6. Visme
    Visme allows users to create infographics in three easy steps: choose a template, input your data, and customize. For more flexibility, you can also use design blocks to build your infographic piece by piece. Once completed, you can share your work via a link or download it in various formats. While the basic version is free, certain features, like the brand kit, are available only with paid plans.

Checklist for Creating Your Infographic:

Topic Consistency

  • Ensure that your infographic builds on the content of your blog post.
  • Choose a focus within your blog topic that can be effectively represented visually.

Audience Identification

  • Clearly define your target audience, consistent with your blog post.
  • Tailor your visuals, text, and design choices to suit your audience.

Visual Design

  • Use clear, high-quality graphics that enhance understanding of the content.
  • Ensure your visual elements are consistent in style and theme with your blog post.

Text and Labels

  • Write concise, informative text that complements the visuals without overwhelming them.
  • Use labels, captions, or short descriptions to clarify key points.
  • Maintain a balance between text and visuals, ensuring that neither dominates the infographic.

Structure and Flow

  • Organize your infographic with a logical flow that guides viewers through the information.
  • Use sections, arrows, or other design elements to indicate the progression of ideas.
  • Ensure that your infographic is easy to follow, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Clarity and Simplicity

  • Simplify complex concepts so they are easily understood by your audience.
  • Avoid clutter; make sure your infographic is visually clean and straightforward.

Visual Appeal

  • Use an appropriate color scheme, fonts, and spacing that are visually appealing and enhance readability.
  • Ensure that all visual elements work together to create a cohesive and professional look.

Final Checks

  • Proofread all text for spelling, grammar, and clarity.
  • Check that your infographic aligns with the self-assessment criteria and the provided rubric.

After Completing Your Infographic:

Use the self-assessment prompts provided on the form below to evaluate your infographic. Make any necessary revisions before submitting your final version.

Here is the rubric that will be used to assess your submission.

This rubric evaluates student performance on an infographic assignment based on alignment with a blog post. It consists of eight criteria, each with four levels of achievement: Exemplary (5 points), Proficient (4 points), Developing (3 points), and Needs Improvement (2-1 points). Rubric Criteria: Topic Consistency Exemplary (5): Infographic perfectly aligns with and builds on the blog post content. The focus is clear and effectively represented visually. Proficient (4): Infographic aligns with the blog post content. The focus is mostly clear and visually represented well. Developing (3): Infographic has some alignment with the blog post but lacks a clear focus or strong visual representation. Needs Improvement (2-1): Infographic does not align with the blog post content or lacks focus, making it unclear or ineffective. Audience Identification Exemplary: Target audience is clearly defined, and all visuals, text, and design choices are tailored effectively. Proficient: Target audience is identified, and most visuals, text, and design choices are appropriate. Developing: Target audience is somewhat identified, but visuals, text, or design choices are inconsistent. Needs Improvement: Target audience is not identified, and visuals, text, or design choices do not suit any clear audience. Visual Design Exemplary: Graphics are high quality, clear, and enhance understanding while maintaining consistency with the blog post. Proficient: Graphics are appropriate and support understanding but may lack some consistency with the blog post. Developing: Graphics are present but lack quality, clarity, or consistency with the blog post. Needs Improvement: Graphics are missing, low quality, or do not support understanding or align with the blog post. Text and Labels Exemplary: Text is concise, informative, and complements visuals without overwhelming them. Labels and descriptions clarify key points effectively. Proficient: Text is clear and supports visuals, but minor adjustments are needed for conciseness or balance. Developing: Text is overly detailed or vague, and labels or descriptions may not effectively clarify key points. Needs Improvement: Text overwhelms visuals or is insufficient to explain key points, with unclear or missing labels and descriptions. Structure and Flow Exemplary: Infographic is logically structured with clear sections and progression of ideas, making it easy to follow. Proficient: Infographic is mostly structured logically but may lack smooth progression in some areas. Developing: Infographic has some structure but lacks clear flow or logical progression of ideas. Needs Improvement: Infographic is disorganized and difficult to follow, with no clear structure or logical progression. Clarity and Simplicity Exemplary: Complex concepts are simplified effectively, and the infographic is clean, straightforward, and easy to understand. Proficient: Concepts are mostly simplified, and the infographic is clean and understandable with minor clutter. Developing: Simplification of concepts is inconsistent, and the infographic may appear cluttered or confusing. Needs Improvement: Concepts are overly complex or unclear, and the infographic is cluttered, making it hard to understand. Visual Appeal Exemplary: Color scheme, fonts, and spacing are professional, cohesive, and enhance readability and engagement. Proficient: Visual elements are appealing and cohesive but may need minor adjustments for optimal readability. Developing: Visual elements are inconsistent, with readability or cohesiveness issues. Needs Improvement: Visual elements are unappealing, inconsistent, or detract from readability and professionalism. Final Checks Exemplary: Infographic is error-free, polished, and meets all self-assessment criteria. Proficient: Infographic has minor errors and meets most self-assessment criteria. Developing: Infographic has noticeable errors or fails to meet some self-assessment criteria. Needs Improvement: Infographic has significant errors and does not meet self-assessment criteria. Scoring Guidelines: Exemplary (41–45 points): Infographic is polished, engaging, and effectively achieves all assignment goals. Proficient (35–40 points): Infographic is well-done with minor areas for improvement. Developing (25–34 points): Infographic needs improvement in multiple areas to meet expectations. Needs Improvement (<25 points): Infographic does not meet expectations and requires significant revision.

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Proactive Thinker - Volume 1: Communication Copyright © 2025 by Christine Crefton; Shawn Sanders; and Tracey Smith-Bryant is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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