Homework: Critical Thinking for Analyzing Blogs
Is blogging a popular way of communicating information today? Absolutely! Worldwide, over 2.5 billion blog posts are published each year. If you break that down per day, it is 6,912,000 blog posts. You can see these statistics live at Internet Live Stats (new tab).
Blogging is public writing and your blogs become part of your digital footprint and that of your company or organization forever. In this activity, you will analyze a blog much like you did a scholarly article. As you consider how a blog is used, where it is posted, and who reads it, think critically about the digital footprint the blogger is leaving.
Upon successful completion of this homework, you will be able to:
o Apply a critical thinking model to analyze a blog.
Background Information
Kyle Byers, a popular blogger, provides a summary of interesting statistics regarding blogs, particularly how they are used in business. Scroll through his blog to learn more. Scroll through his blog (new tab) to learn more.
Instructions
A. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
B. Read Moxley's (2021) Blogging (new tab) article in Writing Commons.
C. Locate three industry blogs related to your topic of interest. If you need help getting started, see this Industry Blogs List (Word document) for suggestions.
D. Create an APA reference for each blog and organize your analysis in a logical format for each of the three blogs.
E. Write a brief analysis of the style and design of each blog by answering the following questions:
a. What is the writing style like on the blog - casual, formal, academic?
b. Regarding the blog content, what one thing did the author do well? And what one thing could they do to improve the content? Provide adequate support for your response.
c. What images and multimedia are being used?
d. How has the text been formatted to make it easier to read - are there headings, bullet points, or colors?
e. What other elements of the blog design do you notice as strengths or weaknesses?
F. Write a brief analysis of the content in each blog using the Critical Thinking model outlined in The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. This is the model discussed in the Introduction and Elements of Thinking chapter.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.