← DC Module 2, Activity 2

Sample infographics

Digital Communication Instruction Certificate · Module 2

Two infographics written to the same prompt

Activity 2 asks you to test your assessment framework on two student projects. Both infographics below answer the prompt that follows. CWSP wrote them as composites of the work first-year students produce for assignments like this one. Neither is the work of an actual student.

Each sample has strengths and problems worth naming. Evaluate the rhetoric first: audience, purpose, the claim, and how the evidence supports it. Activity 2 asks you to leave visual design aside, so treat layout and color as context for the rhetorical choices, not as the object of your memo.

The assignment prompt

Design a one-page infographic for first-year NC State students that explains one research finding from your field and shows what a student should do differently because of it.

Your audience is first-year students who have not taken a course in your field. Make one central claim, support it with evidence from at least two credible sources, and cite those sources on the page. End with an action a student can take this week.

Sample A

Sample A infographic: Sleep is part of studying A one-page infographic in four stacked panels. The full text appears in the text version below the image. Exam week? Sleep is part of studying What you learn today sticks better after you sleep on it. WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS Z During sleep, your brain replays and strengthens what you learned that day. Researchers call this consolidation. Diekelmann & Born, 2010 7+ Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep a night. College students who are sleepy during the day earn lower grades. Watson et al., 2015 · Hershner & Chervin, 2014 SO AN ALL-NIGHTER WORKS AGAINST YOU Staying up to cram skips the step that locks material in. Sleep never fails to raise a grade. THIS WEEK 1. Pick a bedtime that gives you 7 hours. 2. Study the hardest material in the evening, then sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter. Sources listed in full in the text version.
Sample A. A composite written by CWSP for this activity.
Text version of Sample A

Exam week? Sleep is part of studying. What you learn today sticks better after you sleep on it.

What the research shows. During sleep, your brain replays and strengthens what you learned that day. Researchers call this consolidation (Diekelmann & Born, 2010). Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep a night. College students who are sleepy during the day earn lower grades (Watson et al., 2015; Hershner & Chervin, 2014).

So an all-nighter works against you. Staying up to cram skips the step that locks material in. Sleep never fails to raise a grade.

This week. 1. Pick a bedtime that gives you 7 hours. 2. Study the hardest material in the evening, then sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter.

Sources.

  • Diekelmann, S., & Born, J. (2010). The memory function of sleep. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 114–126.
  • Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6, 73–84.
  • Watson, N. F., et al. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843–844.

Sample B

Sample B infographic: The science of sleep A one-page infographic with a title band and nine fact boxes in a grid. The full text appears in the text version below the image. THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP Did you know you spend 1/3 of your life asleep? REM sleep Rapid eye movement. Most dreams happen here. NREM sleep Three stages. Stage 3 is the deepest, also called slow-wave sleep. Melatonin A hormone that rises in the evening and makes you sleepy. Animals Giraffes sleep only a few hours a day. Some birds sleep while flying! Memory Sleep helps your memory. Your brain files things away. Blue light Screens can keep you awake at night. All-nighters Most college students pull all-nighters, and it ruins grades. Caffeine Coffee blocks adenosine, a chemical that builds sleep pressure. Naps Naps can be good or bad depending on how long they are. Sleep is important! Take care of yourself. Sources: sleepfoundation.org, Wikipedia
Sample B. A composite written by CWSP for this activity.
Text version of Sample B

The science of sleep. Did you know you spend 1/3 of your life asleep?

REM sleep. Rapid eye movement. Most dreams happen here.

NREM sleep. Three stages. Stage 3 is the deepest, also called slow-wave sleep.

Melatonin. A hormone that rises in the evening and makes you sleepy.

Animals. Giraffes sleep only a few hours a day. Some birds sleep while flying!

Memory. Sleep helps your memory. Your brain files things away.

Blue light. Screens can keep you awake at night.

All-nighters. Most college students pull all-nighters, and it ruins grades.

Caffeine. Coffee blocks adenosine, a chemical that builds sleep pressure.

Naps. Naps can be good or bad depending on how long they are.

Sleep is important! Take care of yourself.

Sources. sleepfoundation.org, Wikipedia

These samples are licensed with the rest of CWSP WOLF under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Use them in your own teaching with attribution to the NC State Campus Writing and Speaking Program.

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