Misty Krueger

After I posted this today on Facebook, a lot of people were asking me for the assignment:

Here is the one I am using this summer in my Shakespeare class:

An infographic is a mashup of information + graphic. An infographic provides readers with a succinct visual representation of gathered information. The goal is to provide take-away points from a project in a visually interesting way.  

You will create a one-to-two-page infographic showing how Titus Andronicus portrays race (remember to consider blackness and whiteness). You will direct your reader to act, scene, and line numbers from the play as you provide a chronological overview (from Act 1 to 5) of the play’s handling of race. For each point/example, you must analyze in one-to-two sentences what this example shows us. Think of your infographic as a timeline with interpretations of the play. 

Check out infographic-making sites such as Canva, Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Knightlab’s Timeline. They offer amazing templates, or you can design your own infographic. If you have used another application to make infographics before, feel free to use that one for this assignment. 

Here’s an assignment from 2018 for a Romanticism course:

Overview

You will create a single-page infographic on one of the founding fathers of Romantic poetry: William Blake, William Wordsworth, or Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Rather than write a paper, you will create an infographic that provides a stunning visual representation of a topic, poet, and his poetry. The class will be divided into three groups to ensure coverage of all three poets, so make your pick ASAP to pick your poet!

Infographics

Infographic is a mashup information + graphic. An infographic provides readers with a succinct visual representation of information gathered by a researcher. The researcher presents the results of a project or an analysis via numerical data, her/his/their knowledge on a topic, samples from a source, images, etc.

An infographic is designed to educate and entertain readers in a small amount of time. The goal is to provide take-away points from a project in a visually interesting way.

Check out some infographic-maker websites (there are many more, but these are ones I have used):

• Canva:  https://www.canva.com/
• Easel.ly:  https://www.easel.ly/
• Piktochart:  https://magic.piktochart.com/templates

You may sign up for a free account, and you do not have to pay for anything on the site unless you choose to purchase a special image. When you enter these sites search for “infographics.”

Your Project

Your role in this project is fourfold: reader, researcher, writer, and designer.

Reader

You will read the poetry and annotate it.

Researcher

You will select a topic/idea upon which to focus your study. You will track when and where you see this topic/idea showing up in the writer’s work. As you are reading (and rereading), you will keep a tally—a running list of poems and lines where you find examples of your chosen topic/idea. You are not required to include outside sources beyond the poetry, but you may choose to do so. If so, cite those sources.

Writer

You will write content for the infographic. Use short sentences and phrases to include in the design.

Designer

You need only include information your viewer needs to see to understand your argument. Your design should be well suited for a project on Romantic poetry—so no U.S. flags or things that obvious do not relate to the poet, England, the 18^th/19^th centuries, etc. Make it visually appealing and easy to read.

Lacking Ideas?

• Consider making a timeline.
• Collect passages that refer to a single concept or represent a particular theme
  • Perhaps something related to adolescence, nature, the gothic, religion, etc.?
• Imagine how to visualize networks/relationships between poems.
• Think about things that can be counted and how to create data (numbers and theories).

Documenting Your Work

Make sure that your name is listed in the infographic. If your name is not visible, you will not receive credit for this project. Also remember to properly cite any sources that you refer to in the project. Otherwise, you have committed plagiarism and will not receive credit for this project.

Grading

Your grade will reflect your ability to provide a thoughtful and useful infographic and to make clear references to the poet and poetry. Your grade will also be based on the visual appeal and quality of your infographic.

I have a couple more versions of the infographic assignment, but you get the sense with these two how works.

If you choose to use the assignments, I hope you find them a nice addition to your repertoire.