MA 6: General Audience Blog Post

Overview

For this assignment, I will “hire you” (without pay of course) to author a blog post about your RFP. This blog post should be 700 words and describe the research that you have completed this semester.

To begin, you should discuss some background on your research interest using your literature review (make sure to use 3+ credible sources). Next, you will explain your RFP project and explain why this work is important. End the blog post by explaining the importance of your research and its impact on your audience and the general public. Remember, this is written for a general audience! You must attempt to explain your highly unique and complex work to a non-scientific audience–often this can be the most difficult part of communication in science. Include headers, paragraph breaks, images, and hyperlinks to ensure the readability of your post! Scientific American Magazine uses an excellent format for their blog posts that can help you see how such a blog could look.

Rubric Objectives

Rhetorical Awareness – 30 pts.

  • Communicates effectively to a mixed, public audience of readers
  • Uses a unique and personal voice while still maintaining professionalism

Content – 25 pts.

  • 1 blog posts
  • Uses images, hyperlinks, and a catchy title to fit the conventions of a public science blog
  • Summarizes their research and RFP

Organization & Structure – 25 pts.

  • Organizes posts around 1 or 2 main ideas
  • Uses headings and paragraph transitions to organize thoughts
  • Introduces and concludes the post with some “hook” or insight
  • Coherent and easy to follow

Formatting & Design – 10 pts.

  • Uses images, hyperlinks, and a catchy title to fit the conventions of a public science blog and social media post
  • Adheres to the formatting & style conventions of public blogging
  • Makes consistent design choices that reflect their professional identity

Mechanics & Conventions – 10 pts. 

  • Contains few spelling and grammatical errors and no patterns of error
  • Uses personal yet professional style and voice

 

I will be publishing these blogs to the course website for you to use in your personal portfolios. If you do not want your blog posted online for any reason, please let me know. Refusing to upload a blog to the website will not impact your grade.