Critiquing project 02 drafts

Note

This application exercise is completed in class and submitted via a worksheet.

ImportantBefore class: publish your draft to Posit Connect Cloud

Your classmates will read your story on their own phones, so they need a link. Wherever you are in the project, publish a draft Quarto document to Posit Connect Cloud before class. This applies to everyone, including students planning a social media post. Rough is fine.

• Charts. Generate them in code cells and set echo: false so no code appears in the story.
• Sketches or images. Embed them with Markdown image syntax, ![Caption](sketches/chart-1.jpg), like you did for project 01.
• Text. Write whatever you have. An outline written as paragraphs is enough.
• Social media post. Do not post yet. Lay out your draft in the Quarto document in carousel order: each image, followed by its caption text. Use the same size you would pass to ggsave(). Set fig-width, fig-height (in inches), and fig-dpi in each cell’s options.

When you republish later, Connect Cloud updates the same URL, so a web page draft can become your final link.

Bring your laptop and your phone to class.

The goal today is to find out what a reader actually takes away from your story while you still have a week to fix it.

Storyboard

Before you find a partner, fill in the storyboard on your worksheet, even if your story is already drafted. For each chart (finished or planned), write its takeaway headline: the one sentence you want a reader to learn from it.

Find a partner and share your link

Find a partner that has not seen your story yet. Send your partner the link to your draft story one of two ways:

• AirDrop. If you both have Apple devices, AirDrop the link from Safari’s share menu.
• QR code. Open your link in Chrome or Edge on your laptop. Click the share icon in the address bar and choose Create QR code. Your reviewer scans it with their phone camera. Chrome on iPhone and Android can also make a QR code from its share menu.

Review protocol

Take turns reading and reviewing each other’s stories. Each round has three steps:

1. Read silently (4 min). The reviewer reads on their phone. Avoid providing author commentary or clarifications – remember that the story needs to stand on its own when published.
2. Summarize back (3 min). The reviewer describes what they took away. Listen and take notes on the worksheet.
3. Discuss (5 min). Now discuss with the reviewer. Compare what the reviewer heard to what you intended, and brainstorm fixes together.

Below are some sugested talking points depending on how far along you are in your draft.

Outline or sketches

• Who do you think this story is for?
• Does the first impression make you want to keep reading? Why or why not?
• Is the order of the charts logical? Would you move or cut one?
• What would you need to see to believe the ending?

Some charts

• What question is this chart asking? What is the answer?
• Can you read every label, legend, and annotation without zooming?
• Now compare to the storyboard headline. Did you get the same takeaway?
• Which planned chart sounds most interesting? Which sounds least necessary?

Full draft

• Tell the story back in two sentences.
• Where did you slow down, zoom in, or scroll back up?
• Where did you get bored or start skimming?
• Does the text interpret each chart, or just repeat what the chart shows?
• Is it clear who the story is written for?

Self-reflection

At the end of class, complete the reflection on your worksheet:

• How does what your readers took away compare to what you intended?
• Identify at least three changes you will make before the November 11th deadline, in priority order.
• What do you still need to finish?