IMM340H1 Fundamental Immunology Infographic Assignment Summer 2025 | UoT

Infographic Assignment (Summer 2025) - due June 16, 11:59 pm ET 

The purpose of this assignment is to produce educational infographics with topics related to weekly course content. Infographics are specific types of visualisations that use a mix of data, visuals and text to inform or persuade an audience about a given message. They are common in marketing and social media but are becoming more popular as ways to disseminate scientific information to attract/engage audiences. 

Students will work independently and design infographics that communicate their understanding of an article's main points and impact. Students will be assigned a topic (based on our weekly lecture topics) and can select a peer-reviewed primary paper from a selection of papers provided by the course instructor pertaining to that topic. The designed infographics should communicate the authors' scientific story, with consideration of layout, fonts and colours, and data visualisation. Students are encouraged to design/create their images/cartoons to explain concepts described in the study, describe novel techniques used by the authors, and highlight the overall impact of the work. 

• This assignment is worth 20% of your total grade for this course.
• Your infographic assignment will be based on a pre-selected lecture topic, which will be assigned to you on Quercus during week 2 of classes.
• Your infographic must be submitted on Quercus by 11:59 p.m. on June 16, 2025. Submission of a hard copy is not required. 

IMM340 Infographic Guidelines 

Effective infographics tell a story, much like a scientific paper tells a story. There is an introduction, main argument, and conclusion. Each element (text, graphics, data, etc.) meaningfully contributes to communicating an accurate and concise presentation of information. As a quick visual representation, an infographic should be easy to comprehend and read in less than a minute. 

Your infographic should include the following sections (explicit subheadings do not need to be used, but it should be apparent which section is being included):

• A descriptive title. This should not be the title of the primary paper you are basing your infographic on, but could be a creative title to capture your reader!
• Introduction. Background or overview of why this study was conducted, the authors' associated research question, and the overall impact of their study in the context of the field. Suggested length of text (if any): ~100 words.
• Materials & Methods. Provide methodological details for any specific results that you will highlight as part of the authors' study, particularly if they are employing unique methods. Suggested length of text (if any): ~100 words.
• Overview of Findings. What were the authors' major observations? Feel free to reproduce data summaries from the authors' original paper if helpful for visually depicting your message. You may decide to include figure captions or alternate text to explain these findings (suggested length of text: ~100-150 words).
• Discussion/Conclusions. Outline the significance of the authors' work in the context of the field. Suggested length of text (if any): ~100 words; can be point form.
• References. This should include the paper your infographic is based on, in addition to other sources you may cite primarily in the introduction and discussion/conclusions sections. The information in your infographic must be accurate and properly cited. Infographics should easily allow readers to access referenced material through citation.

Advice for Getting Started

Extract the authors' key messages. Papers are complicated! The abstract is typically a good place to start when attempting to understand the authors' key message, as it often concisely summarises the authors' key points.

Simplify language. Academic jargon can often be difficult to understand. Cut the jargon and rework your message to use as few words as possible to make it understandable. Recall that people need to be able to scan the limited text in an infographic rapidly to get your message - the simpler your language, the more effective your infographic is likely to be at communicating your key message. Be mindful of the suggested word limits described above. 

Visualise your key messages- this is not an easy task! 

• Draw all the images that come to mind as you think of each of the authors' main points, choosing images you think communicate the point most powerfully.
• Do a Google search for inspiration.
• Get a second opinion - what seems an obvious representation to you might not be obvious to others. 

Come up with a layout. Landscape? Portrait? Completely up to you. Sizing of your document may range from legal size (8.5x14 inches) to tabloid size (11x17 inches). More information does not necessarily equal 'better' - conciseness and effective visual layout is key.