Sustainability Infographic Quality Guide
This guide describes a digital infographic and a written rationale for a named group who can act on the information. It is formative: use it to plan, self-check, and give peer feedback. It contains no scores, bands, levels, or confidential marking material.
How to use this guide. Read the whole guide before you draft. Choose one criterion to work on in each revision pass. A useful self-check names a specific sentence or choice, not a general feeling.
1. A focused issue
What strong work does. The infographic addresses one specific issue with causes, impacts, and a credible response. It does not try to cover sustainability in general.
Ask your draft. Can I say the issue in one sentence without the word “sustainability”?
Revision move. Cut one branch of the issue and deepen the remaining evidence.
2. Trustworthy evidence
What strong work does. Sources are current, relevant, and named. Statistics are accurate, contextualised, and not distorted by the chart.
Ask your draft. Where did this number come from, and what does it not tell me?
Revision move. Add the source, date, and a plain-language caveat.
3. Visual hierarchy
What strong work does. Title, standfirst, sections, charts, and call to action form a clear reading path. White space and contrast support it.
Ask your draft. What do I see first, and is that the most important thing?
Revision move. Remove one decorative element and enlarge the key takeaway.
4. Accessible design
What strong work does. Colour is not the only carrier of meaning; contrast is sufficient; type is readable at phone scale.
Ask your draft. Can I understand the page in greyscale?
Revision move. Add labels or patterns to one colour-coded chart.
5. Honest data display
What strong work does. Chart forms fit the data; axes are labelled; scales are not truncated to exaggerate; captions state the takeaway.
Ask your draft. Does the chart make the change look bigger than it is?
Revision move. Rebuild one chart with a labelled baseline.
6. Rationale
What strong work does. The rationale explains specific design and evidence choices, their intended effects, and one limitation.
Ask your draft. Have I explained why, not just what?
Revision move. Add one sentence about a choice I rejected and why.
Peer feedback protocol
- Read or view the whole draft once without writing anything.
- Name one strength using the language of the guide: “The … works because …”.
- Ask one genuine question about a choice you could not follow.
- Offer one specific next move that the maker can complete in the next lesson.
Do not give a score, a band, or a level. The purpose is to help the maker see their own draft more clearly.
Draft checklist
- My issue fits in one sentence.
- I have at least three credible sources with dates.
- Every chart has a source and a caption that states the takeaway.
- The page works in greyscale and at phone width.
- My rationale explains effects, not just features.
Teacher note
Use this guide formatively. Select two criteria for a feedback lesson rather than all of them. Model the difference between a general comment (“make it better”) and a specific one (“the second paragraph names a technique but does not say what it makes the reader notice”).
This page is not an assessment instrument. It contains no scores, bands, or confidential marking material.