Create a blog to convince an audience to either support or oppose a proposal to require all students to wear uniforms in school.
Assignment Instructions
Step 1: Research your viewpoint.
a) Develop your viewpoint on the issue by thinking about what opinions or beliefs you hold about the
issue.
b) Use credible (dependable and trustworthy) sources of information. Reliable Internet sources
include government sites (.gov), education sites (.edu), organization sites (.org), and online
newspapers.
c) Take notes on facts and statistics related to your topic.
d) Be sure to keep a list of your references so that you can cite them later.
e) Ask your teacher where you should save your presentation as you work on it. Your teacher may
also have specific guidelines about the file name you should use.
Step 2: Develop your claim.
a) Make a claim about your topic. For example, here is a claim that a blogger might make about
homework: “Too much homework can cause kids to dislike schoolwork.”
b) Use your notes or do more research to gather reasons that support your viewpoint.
c) Explain the reasons with evidence, which may include facts, findings from research and studies,
statistics, personal stories, and quotations from experts.
d) Address counterclaims. Counterclaims are claims that oppose your point of view. An example of
a counterclaim about homework is “Homework reinforces skills that kids learned in class.”
e) Form a response, or rebuttal, to the counterclaim. One example of a rebuttal is “Homework is an
excellent way to reinforce skills learned in the classroom, but homework practice should be
limited to minutes, rather than hours. Otherwise, students may become burned out and unable to
process the information they are supposed to be learning.”
Step 3: Choose multimedia elements for your blog.
a) Review the purpose of your blog entry, which is to express a viewpoint about school uniforms.
b) Choose multimedia components (videos, images, audio, or links) that will support your goal. c) Evaluate the tone created by your multimedia elements. Make sure the elements match the tone
of your blog and are appropriate to your topic.
d) Add captions and explanations for multimedia to connect the elements with your claim.
Step 4: Plan how you would get readers to interact.
a) Post a quick quiz, invite readers to share their thoughts on a topic, or poll your readers on a topic.
Example: “How much homework do you get each night?” Poll Responses: “Too much, Too little,
Just the right amount”
b) Add a place to invite readers to post a comment below your entry.
c) Remind students of online etiquette rules: “Be specific. Don’t stray from the topic. Be nice. Check
writing for clarity. Think before you post.”
Step 5: Cite your sources.
a) List all sources that you used in your research in the Works Cited section of the template.
b) A simple list of website titles and addresses (URLs) is acceptable. If you used print sources, list
the title, author, publisher, city, and date.
Step 6: Evaluate your blog using the checklist.
If you can check each box below, you are ready to submit your presentation.
 Does your blog include your name, your teacher’s name, and the due date?
 Does your blog include a title that lets readers know what your blog is about?
 Does your blog entry include a title that entices readers?
 Does your blog entry make a claim and support it with facts, statistics, personal stories, or
quotations from experts on the topic?
 Does your blog entry address counterclaims?
 Does your blog entry maintain a respectful and consistent tone?
 Does your blog include multimedia components that support your blog’s goals?
 Does your blog attempt to increase reader interaction through quizzes, thought-provoking
questions, a comments section, or reader polls?
 Did you cite your research sources on your Works Cited page?
Step 7: Revise and submit your presentation.
a) If you were unable to check off all of the requirements on the checklist, revise your blog and save
it before submitting it.
b) When you have completed your blog, return to the Virtual Classroom and use the “Browse for file”
option to locate and submit your assignment. Congratulations! You have created a multimedia
blog.
c) Ask your teacher for further instructions about presenting your presentation to an audience of your peers.