Here are some instructions on how to use this blog to create the blog post for your assignment.

See the page called “Assignment details” for questions about the content and approach of your blog post.

Recommended steps

1. Create the content for your blog post in Word (with references) and start to gather any media (videos, audio, images) or links that support your blog post ahead of time.
2. Once you have your content, log in to eFolio and navigate to this module blog.
3. Create a new post by clicking on the blue “Create a new blog post” button in the sidebar. This will take you straight to your blog editing page.
4. Give your post a meaningful title that relates to the content of your post (your posts MUST relate to the topics set by either Prof. Taylor or Dr Catford).
5. The blog is open to the wider world. If you would like to remain anonymous, make sure you tick the ‘Make this post anonymous’ checkbox in the post edit screen (bottom right) and do not include your name in your post. There are many reasons to claim authorship though, so I would encourage you to add your name under your title, making it clear that you are the author of your blog post.
6. Create your blog post using as many of the available features as you like (e.g. different fonts, font sizes, font colours, images, links, tables, symbols, videos).
7. Categorise your post into either “Group A – Taylor” or “Group B – Catford”. To do this, tick the appropriate Category in the bottom right.
8. Add tags to your post so people (and search engines) can easily find them. Essential tags are “Group A – Taylor” or “Group B – Catford”. Choose others that work for your post.
9. Include the word count at the bottom of your post, under your reference list, e.g. [488 words]. The maximum length is 500 words (like any good blog post…). Your reference list, captions for display items (e.g. figures, tables), and title are not included in the word count. Please include essential information in the captions of your display items, but keep them as short as possible.
10. Although it does auto save, its a good idea to frequently save your post (the “undo” function doesn’t work in wordpress, thus the recommendation to do the bulk of your writing in another program). You DO NOT need to publish your post right away: you can save it as a draft until you are ready for it to go live.
11. You can preview your post by selecting “Preview” in the upper right. I suggest you do this frequently to see how the layout is looking.
12. Rather than “Publish immediately”, select the publication date of your post to be 2 pm on 23 March. The post will automatically published then. (but don’t worry if you accidentally “Publish” it before then: I control the actual release dates of all of the blog posts, and I won’t release them early).
13. Once you are ready to submit your blog post to Turnitin, select Preview, and then save your post as a pdf.
14. Upload your pdf to Turnitin. Your uploaded pdf will be your assignment: only your pdf will be marked. A pdf version of your post must be submitted through Turnitin by 2 pm, 23 March.
15. You can continue to edit your post after you have published it (e.g. if you want to improve it), but your marked assignment will be the pdf that you submit through Turnitin.

Key things to remember

• Provide the details on any sources (e.g. images) that you use, ideally within the image ‘Caption’. This may involve crediting people as the photographer of an image, or linking to other pages.
• This is an academic assignment, as well as a blog, so cite all of your sources in the same way you would as an essay, and provide a list of the references as part of your blog post (references are not included in your 500 words).
• There is a limit of 10 publications per blog post, but no limit on number of citations so you can cite each publication as many times as you like.
• Be professional and respectful.
• To reiterate, you can choose to remain anonymous, but I’d encourage you to include your names as part of your posts. Be proud!
• Even if you choose to remain anonymous, I will know who has written each post, so I can check that what you have submitted matches your post.
• By submitting through Turnitin, your work will be checked for plagiarism, so treat this assignment as you would any other assignment at university.General tips for this blog

• Sometimes it is easier to work in the Text editor if you’re comfortable with simple HTML as opposed to the Visual editor (see two tabs in the upper right of your blogging window). Select the other one to change how you see your blog.
• Have fun exploring options with wordpress and create something you are really proud of (and show potential employers etc).
• To add an image, click the ‘Add Media’ button where you can then upload or drag in images.
• To add a youtube video, simply paste the URL into the editor and it will auto turn it into an embedded video.
• If you have read all of these instructions and followed all of the links below, and you are still stuck, please email Jane Catford for advice.

Some “How to” guides on uploading a post

Good example introduction from Lynda is here (you’ll need your university login for this).

Some tips from WordPress on writing a post are here.

A short video tutorial is here.

 

Tips on how to write a good blog

• Write for a broad audience (imagine you’re writing for your grandmother or neighbour).
• Use short paragraphs (two or more paragraphs per screen view to improve readability on small screens).
• Avoid long, technical words with three or more syllables, especially in the opening paragraph.
• Lead with an informative title, engaging paragraph and attractive photograph.
• Good stories have a different structure to scientific reports and essays.
• Format and presentation is an integral part of blogging, so take extra care with this.
• For more tips on how to write a good blog, read the blog post below. We would encourage you to read other blogs on this site (or other sites) to get a good appreciation of what makes a good/bad blog.

And remember: Never blog in your PJs! 

In this great blog post, Australian ecologist, Ian Lunt, provides some incredibly useful tips on how to write effective blogs, which will excite a large audience. This is ESSENTIAL reading.