The blog post is a short, written assignment in which you should make a focused argument about a specific topic. It might be helpful to think of it as a snippet of an essay seeking to make a well supported argument on one specific point, rather than four or five points which support a bigger narrative, as you would in an essay. There are some particular parameters to the blog post assignment.
Use the template attached to the cover sheet on Learn – this explains how references and titling should be structured. In terms of content/topic: you will choose one of your posts from one of the following topics.
1)Health inequalities and their social determinants
2)individual responsibility and state intervention
3) understanding power in health policy
To develop into a longer 1000 words [maximum] blog [hence, elaborating on your analysis/argument].
Reflect on a reading, considering the implications of its findings or analysis for key issues or questions posed on the course, and / or its historical or theoretical context;
Answer a specific question relating to the course, which may require you to engage with an area of debate or contemporary discussion in policy or academic literature;
Write about an issue, intervention or policy decision that is relevant to the theme of the course, and discuss its implications in a local, national or international context;
Formulate your own insightful question (or two) about a reading and then use the blog to pose answers.
What makes a great blog post?
Writing an effective academic blog post requires many of the same skills as any piece of academic writing solid elaboration, thoughtfulness, argument, careful proofreading and punctuation. The exact task differs across courses by the assessment criteria above are the same, so pay close attention to these.
A well-written blog post will go beyond describing an intervention, policy decision or debate to examine its implications for the central topic of the course (human rights, health inequalities, population health, etc.).
Discuss any contentions or challenges posed in applying relevant principles (equity, universal access, human rights, etc.) and critically engage with i.e. assess the strengths and weaknesses of the intervention, policy decision or debate and the relevant literature.
The biggest difference from essay assessments is the limited word count; blog posts are much shorter and therefore provide good practice in concise argumentation. Be careful to include only relevant information, without wordy ‘context’ or ‘background’ sections, and to get straight to the point.
