Questions to Consider
- In what ways do you see color functioning in this infographic? In the student’s reflection, they indicated a struggle with deciding a color scheme. What emotions do these colors evoke in you? Why?
- What rhetorical appeals do you observe in this infographic? Are these appeals effective? How might we reinforce these appeals to enhance their effects? What strategies might we employ?
- What questions does Turner raise in this infographic? What is the call to action? Turner hopes that the infographic promotes LGBTQ+ acceptance in churches and sparks a conversation around building inclusivity with LGBTQ+ communities. Why would starting this conversation matter (and to whom)?
A Note from the Instructor—Hallie Fogarty
I was extremely impressed by Mac’s remediation project, an infographic that addresses the complex and nuanced topic of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the Christian church. He was able to deftly transfer information from his Research-Based Argument, a powerful paper that touched on anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, especially in Cincinnati-area schools and churches, and broaden it to fit smoothly into this infographic in order to appeal to a larger audience. One of the strongest parts of Mac’s infographic is how he addressed multiple facets of his issue, including integral background information and biblical context, as well as affirming information from both the Bible and a survey on LGBT Americans. His passion for this topic is evident, as he argued his points with graceful attention, including data from reputable scholarly sources as well as drawing directly from the Bible to appeal to faithful viewers. He includes eye-opening information, such as the context of how the word “homosexuality” was actually used in the Bible, which illustrates his knowledge on the topic as well as his knowledge of arguments currently being made against church inclusivity. This combination of faith-based information as well as statistical data effectively strengthens his argument, and demonstrates the nuance in which Mac approached this topic. Overall, the infographic Mac created is tastefully made but approachable, and showcases a deep understanding of both his chosen topic and his intended audience.
Love Thy Neighbor
Click here to view infographic.
Writer’s Reflection
Dear Reader,
For my research-based argumentative essay, I chose to make the case as to why LGBTQ+ people deserve to be accepted into the Christian church just as much as everyone else. This has proven to be difficult to turn into a short infographic, as there is so much information I wanted to be able to fit into one poster. The biggest challenge while making this infographic by far has been deciding what information is most important to be included in the infographic, which information is most important, and which statistics will get my point across best. My audience for this infographic is any Christian church affiliates in the area. My hope for my infographic is that, if it were hanging up somewhere in which someone with real power within a local church could see it, it could make a real difference in the way churches in the area discuss and engage with the LGBT+ community.
Originally, I had no idea how I was going to turn my argument into an infographic. I know many people, if they saw this infographic in the wild, would immediately turn their nose up at it before giving it a second thought. I knew I had to make it eye-catching in order for anyone to want to read it, and I had to choose information that would make the strongest case for my argument within such little space. I decided that using pathos and appealing to emotion would be the best way to go, so I made a point to choose facts that do just that. I also made the decision to use logos by utilizing statistics, facts, and biblical verses to appeal to my audience.
In my paper, I used the testimonies of LGBT-identifying Christians and their testimonies that say that God made them completely intentionally to be who they are. To back up this claim in my infographic, I decided to quote Psalms 139:13-14, in which God says that He knew us when He created us in the womb. I also used the fact that 42% of LGBT-identifying adults identify as Christians to show that the number of Christian-identifying LGBT individuals is much higher than many people may think. I also made the decision to leave some information more vague, so that, in the case that this infographic were to be hanging up somewhere, at least it would push people to look into the information themselves and do their own research after seeing this.
One of the bigger challenges I’ve come to face while making this infographic is deciding on a color scheme. There isn’t an obvious color scheme for this subject; the one that came to mind was a take on the pride flag, which is what I ultimately decided on. I’m very happy with the color scheme I ended up choosing. It’s a take on a retro-like feel combined with the bright colors of the rainbow hopefully being enough to draw anyone in. However, choosing graphics aligned with this color scheme proved to be more difficult than I originally believed, and above all, finding graphics that work well with one another and don’t look completely out of place within the theme.
The peer review, in particular, was the most helpful part of this project. Receiving feedback on my layout, where each bit of information should go was pivotal to the way my final draft of this infographic came out. I ended up almost entirely changing the layout by the end of peer review, rearranging all of the information I had in it, and overall, I think it’s come out the best as it possibly could’ve. The peer review was by far the most helpful part of this project, especially since it’s such a controversial and nuanced subject as of right now, having people that may not have agreed with my infographic at all peer review it was certainly worrisome at first, but every piece of advice I received back ended up being productive. Unfortunately, there are not many infographics similar to this one that are just out and about in the wild, so I went into this project somewhat blindsided on what exactly I wanted to do, particularly with the call to action. Coming up with actual ways that everyday people can help was difficult, as real change will only come from within the church itself. However, once I came to that realization, finding a call to action became relatively simple. Overall, I’m very happy with the way my infographic turned out in the end, and I like to think that this would make a meaningful difference in local churches upon seeing my infographic.