1. Engaged Excellence in Research & Teaching Practices aura What Makes a Blog Post More Effective? Research Course 4, Session 5, Day One

2. Session Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, you will: 1.Comprehend how practical guidelines, and a structure, can make a blog post more effective. 2.Write a blog post on an aspect of your research that was significant (drawing on the topics/aspects you identified earlier in the course). 3.Provide (and receive) critical feedback, and an assessment, of each other’s blog posts (using a rubric) as part of a peer support session.

4. Blogging: Quiz Q1: A blog title should be how many characters long? a)70 characters b)80 characters c)90 characters d)100 characters

5. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q2: Why are keywords and phrases important in a blog? a)Shows knowledge of a topic/domain b)Picked up in internet searches more easily c)Good way to break up dense text d)Give the writer greater clarity

6. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q3: What maximum word count is acceptable for a blog post: a)800 words b)1200 words c)1500 words d)1700 words

7. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q4: Should you provide a definition of concepts? a)Yes, it is good academic practice b)No, my academic peers understand concepts already c)Yes, it makes my blog accessible to all d)No, it burdens the reader with too much information

8. Image by Unsplash on Pixaby, CCO Public Domain Scanning working papers/research papers: how do you?

9. Ten Tips for Writing an Effective Blog Post 1.Title: concise, no more than 70 characters (so it can be tweeted), should provide key message of blog and key words (internet searches) 2.Keywords/phrases: include in title and throughout your blog post (internet searches) 3.Introductory paragraph: concise message of blog, engage reader.

10. Ten Tips (Continued) 4.Sub-headings: break up your text and point the way, sub-headings should ideally encapsulate the message of each section (all this helps readers to scan your blog easily.) 5.Word count: blog posts vary in length. 500 to 800 words is perfectly acceptable and may be easier to achieve if you are new to blogging. A post of 1,000 words (or more) is quite lengthy. Shorter, concise, blog posts, linked together with hyperlinks, can be very effective. 6.Images: ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ (creative commons) credit the source, attribute.

11. Ten Tips (Continued) 7.Acronyms, technical terms, definitions: spell out acronyms, explain technical terms, provide a definition of your concept/s so your blog post is accessible to everyone and not just experts in your field. Add hyperlinks to other web pages which contain the details. 8.Include hyperlinks and references: useful to bring in wider context and make connections with other peoples work. 9.Author information: include a photo of yourself and a short bio – personalizes your blog post Photograph Bio details to include: title, your names, job title/role, institution, country, biographical details (70 to 100 words). Include website and email contacts if appropriate.

12. Ten Tips (Continued) 10.Message – clear message, well structured, concisely communicated. Introduction: Tell us what you are going to say. Middle: Say it. Conclusion: Tell us what it means, and why. So What? Prompt

13. Photo credit: Siobhan Duvigneau, IDS Structuring your blog post

14. Writing Activity #1: Working in pairs 1.Pair up with your neighbour. Discuss the 2 or 3 ideas you highlighted. 2.Help each other: refine your thoughts into 1 topic & 2-3 key words each (on a significant aspect of your research) for a blog post which you will each write next... (5 minutes each) Photo credit: Siobhan Duvigneau, IDS

15. Part 2: Start to write a blog post on your chosen topic Use First Person and refer to: Blog Structure Template Apply points 1 to 5 from the Ten Tips for Writing an Effective Blog Post (30 minutes) Prompt questions: What aspect of my research am I exploring? Why is this significant? What am I learning from it? What are the key points I want other people to understand about this aspect of my research? Writing Activity #2: Write your Blog!

16. Using a Rubric to Assess a Draft Blog Post….

17. Activity #3: Peer Support 1.Pair up. Swap blog posts. 2.Apply the rubric to their draft blog post (10 minutes). 3.Give critical feedback to your neighbour to help them to strengthen their writing. (5 minutes each) 4.Hand in your rubric to the facilitator! Critical feedback – helps to strengthen their writing Critical friend – supportively critical Photo credit: Siobhan Duvigneau, IDS

19. Blogging: Quiz Q1: A blog title should be how many characters long? a)70 characters b)80 characters c)90 characters d)100 characters

20. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q1: A blog title should be how many characters long? a)70 characters b)80 characters c)90 characters d)100 characters

21. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q2: Why are keywords and phrases important in a blog? a)Shows knowledge of a topic/domain b)Picked up in internet searches more easily c)Good way to break up dense text d)Give the writer greater clarity

22. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q2: Why are keywords and phrases important in a blog? a)Shows knowledge of a topic/domain b)Picked up in internet searches more easily c)Good way to break up dense text d)Give the writer greater clarity

23. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q3: What maximum word count is acceptable for a blog post: a)800 words b)1200 words c)1500 words d)1700 words

24. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q3: What maximum word count is acceptable for a blog post: a)800 words b)1200 words c)1500 words d)1700 words

25. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q4: Should you provide a definition of concepts? a)Yes, it is good academic practice b)No, my academic peers understand concepts already c)Yes, it makes my blog accessible to all d)No, it burdens the reader with too much information

26. Blogging: Quiz (Continued) Q4: Should you provide a definition of concepts? a)Yes, it is good academic practice b)No, my academic peers understand concepts already c)Yes, it makes my blog accessible to all d)No, it burdens the reader with too much information

27. Session Learning Outcomes You should now be able to: 1.Comprehend how practical guidelines, and a structure, can make a blog post more effective. 2.Write a blog post on an aspect of your research that was significant (drawing on the topics/aspects you identified earlier in the course). 3.Provide (and receive) critical feedback, and an assessment, of each other’s blog posts (using a rubric) as part of a peer support session.

28. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License The content is authored by: Emma Greengrass Learning Coordinator Institute of Development Studies E.Greengrass@ids.ac.uk Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK