Assignment Details

Overview: Blog and Critical Reflection

• This assignment requires students to create a blog on a topic they are passionate about and submit a separate critical reflection analyzing their choices. Students must use a free blogging platform (such as Wix) and ensure the blog remains accessible throughout the semester.

Blog Components:

• Blog Entries:

  • Students are required to write two short blog entries, each between 450-750 words (3-5 paragraphs).
  • These entries should focus on clear, effective communication, targeting a specific audience. Research is not required but must be properly cited using APA format if used.
  • The tone and style should reflect the target audience and purpose of the blog.

• About the Author:

  • A detailed section about the author (750-1,000 words) is required, focusing on ethos, logos, and pathos to build credibility with the readers.
  • The section should explore the student’s connection to the blog topic by answering questions such as how their interest developed, real-world experiences, and what insights they want to share with readers.
  • This section is expected to be longer than the blog entries.

• Images and Design:

  • The blog should include appropriate images that enhance the content, with at least one image per blog entry and one for the "About the Author" section.
  • Images must be captioned following APA guidelines and included in the reference list.
  • The blog design should consider visual elements such as contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity to ensure it is easy to navigate and visually appealing.

Critical Reflection:

• Reflection on Choices:

  • Students are required to submit a separate critical reflection (750-1,000 words) explaining their image and design choices, as well as how ethos, logos, and pathos were used to engage the audience.
  • Specific examples from the blog must be provided to support the reflection.

• APA Formatting:

  • The reflection should follow APA formatting, including in-text citations for any sources referenced (such as course readings or design research).
  • A reference list must be included, formatted in accordance with APA guidelines.

• Submission Details

• The assignment must be submitted via D2L by the deadline. Late submissions will incur a penalty as outlined in the course syllabus.
• Download the full assignment from D2L for detailed instructions and rubric criteria.

This summary provides an overview of the key components, but students should refer to the full assignment on D2L for complete details.

Conducting Academic Research With Google Scholar

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great tool for finding quality resources.

• To show library access for up to 5 libraries, click the Settings icon, select Library Links, type “Mount Royal,” and save. If you’re logged into the MRU library, these links should appear automatically when searching.
• The Cited by feature helps you find related articles.

Helpful Search Operators to Use in Google Scholar

Advanced Search is in the menu icon (top left)

Use quotation marks to keep phrases together:

• Example: “climate change”

You don’t need AND to combine terms—Google Scholar does this automatically.

Use OR to search for similar terms:

• Example: “climate change” OR “global warming”

Use truncation (*) to find different word endings:

• Example: ethic* will search for ethics, ethical, ethically

Use intitle: to search only in titles:

• Example: intitle:“climate change”

Figure 1

Peter Steiner's Famous 1993 New Yorker Cartoon Illustrating an Issue Central to Information Evaluation

Note. From "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" [Cartoon], by P. Steiner, 1993, Wikimedia (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Internet_dog.jpg).

Evaluating Information Using  RADAR 

When you find search results, it’s important to evaluate if they’re good for your assignment. Use the RADAR method to check if a source is appropriate:

 RELEVANCE 

• Does it match my topic?
• Who is the source meant for, and is it the right fit for my assignment?

 AUTHORITY 

Who created it, and are they trustworthy?

Are they experts or qualified in this area?

 DATE 

• When was it made or published?
• Is it too old to be useful?

 ACCURACY 

• Are the facts correct?
• Does the source provide its own references?

 REASON FOR CREATION 

• Why was this source made?

Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field. The primary audience of these articles is other experts.Many of these publications are also referred to as "peer-reviewed," academic, or "refereed." They all mean essentially the same thing and refer to the editorial and publication process in which scholars in the same field review the research and findings before the article is published.

Some Helpful Questions for Identifying a Scholarly/Academic Article

1. What are the author’s credentials? Was it written by an expert?

2. Was it published in a journal (is there a DOI?)? (If you are not sure if a source is a journal article, you can enter the title of the publication into Ulrichs Web to check.)

3. Does it use academic or more technical language?

4. Does it includes a reference list of sources that it is citing?

5. How long is it? (Scholarly articles are typically longer than popular or news articles.)

6. Does it have a "Received" and "Accepted" date on it?

7. Is it an actual article? (Sometimes other types of content are included in scholarly publications, such as editorials/opinion pieces and book reviews. Make sure you are looking at an article.)

Image Sources

Photos:

Image Collection

Contains images from Archive Photos, Canadian Press, Motion Picture & Television Archive, and MapQuest as well as a variety of images from the public domain.

ARTstor

ARTstor is a digital library of nearly 1,000,000 images with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.

Oxford Art Online

Provides access to more than 23,000 subject entries, 21,000 biographies, 40,000 image links and 5,000 images.

Bridgeman Art Library Archive

Founded in 1972, the Bridgeman Art Library works with museums art galleries and artists to make the best art available for reproduction. It represents a large part of the complete collection chosen for its suitability for web use. Over 17000 individual works of art are featured here cross-referenced and linked using Bridgeman's own categories.

LIFE Photo Archive

Search photographs from the LIFE Photo Archive.

Images on the Web:

Flickr Creative Commons

Creative Commons licensing offers an alternative to full copyright. Search the collection of Flickr images that have been offered for use with CC licenses.

Wikimedia Commons

Search freely usable media files.

Pexels

Stock photos

Tineye

Searches for images that match an uploaded file or another image on the web - great for tracing original creators of images, rights holders, or just finding more information.

Google Images Search

Great for finding high-profile images.

Archival Collections:

Glenbow Museum & Archives

Search the photographs collection in the Archives.

Alberta on Record

Search for digital material in the Archives Society of Alberta’s online portal.

Library & Archives Canada Image Search

Search for photographs, drawings, maps and art.

For more information on finding images you can use in your work, consult the Copyright Guide's Copyright friendly image resources section.

Citing Images in your Assignment

Consult MRU's advisory of image citation in APA here.

Images that you refer to in your assignments must always be cited both parenthetically in text and in your reference list.

Images that you reproduce in your assignment must also be cited in-text with a figure number, title, and a figure note.

Example 1

Note: Some instructors (like Professor McLinden) allow you to use a typical APA parenthetical in-text reference (as in Figure 1 above) under your image instead of a more formal figure note.

Reference list entry:

In addition to the in-text citation, this image would also be cited in your reference list like this:

Raphael. (1505-1506). Portrait of a woman [Drawing]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raffaello_Sanzio_-              _Portrait_of_a_Woman_-_WGA18948.jpg

Example 2

Reference list entry:

Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). Lava [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/

If the image has no title, provide a description of the image in your own words, e.g.:

Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). [Photograph of blue-eyed dog in the snow]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/

Example 3

Reference list entry:

Philadelphia Museum of Art [@philamuseum]. (2019, December 3). “It’s always wonderful to walk in and see my work in a collection where it’s loved, and where people are [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5oDnnNhOt4/

• In this case there is no title, so we use the first 20 words of the post’s text as its title (according to the direction of APA style).

Example 4: Stock image citations

Reference list entry:

Kanenori. (2022, September 8). [Photograph of the Ōnaruto Bridge in the evening]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/landscape-evening-onaruto-bridge-7438429/

Example 5: Integrating your own images

Reference list entry:

My own supplied image does not need a reference list entry in APA style.

WordPress: Largest blogging platform. 1/3 of the web runs on WordPress

Wix: Easy to use drag and drop interface.

Blogger: First major blogging platform. Log in with your Google account.

Medium: Simplistic and designed for written content. Only two sections - 'posts' and 'about'

"How to Write a Good Blog Post" (WordPress, 2022): https://wordpress.com/go/content-blogging/how-to-write-a-good-blog-post/

"11 Ways to Write Better" (The Minimalists, n.d.): https://www.theminimalists.com/eleven/