Fact Sheet Analysis: English

To complete this activity, you will use the infographic samples below. Begin by looking briefly at
all of them:
● “What Languages do English Learners Speak?”
● “Dual Language Immersion Fact Sheet”
● “Debunking the Myths of English Language Learners”
● “Addressing the Teacher Shortage: What States Can Do”
● “Five Ways to Advocate for Wildlife”

Now, analyze the samples using the questions below. Within each category below, write out
answers to at least two of the questions. Be sure to explain your answers in detail.

Context, Audience, Author, and Purpose

1. Where might you see or come across these fact sheets?
2. Who are the authors of the fact sheets? Who are the audiences?
3. Why do you think the authors of these samples chose to use a fact sheet to
communicate this information instead of a written explanation?
4. What kinds of purposes do the fact sheets have (e.g., to inform, persuade, etc.)?

Content
1. What kinds of information do the creators of fact sheets include? Why do you think this
type of information is included in this genre?
2. Are sources cited? If so, how and where?
3. Do the samples include hyperlinks to other documents or websites? If so, what kind of
content is hyperlinked to the fact sheets?
4. Can you think of any kind of information that would not be effectively communicated
through a fact sheet? Explain.
5. Can readers respond to a fact sheet through comments? If so, why did those people
respond? What was their aim in responding? If not, why do you think comments are
unavailable?
6. Are any visuals (images, tables, or figures) included? If so, how many and what are they
used for? How do they relate to the fact sheet’s content?

Organization
1. How do the fact sheets start? What is the purpose of the first paragraph, if there is one?
Do you notice any fact sheets that stand out as different from the others in terms of
organization? Explain
2. Are headings used? What purpose do you think they have?
3. Do the writers use bullet points or numbers? Why do you think they are used?
4. How do the fact sheets typically end? What features are common across most of the
texts?

Language Features

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 1. Do the fact sheets use second person (you)? First person (I/we)? Third person (they)?
1. Are there questions within the fact sheets? If so, what is their purpose?
2. How would you characterize the level of formality of the fact sheets? What are some
examples of formal or informal language that you see? Consider, for example, things like
word choice, sentence structure, contractions, colloquial expressions, and punctuation.
3. What phrases do the fact sheets use to share factual information or research findings
(e.g., A recent Stanford study found that...)? Write at least 5 different examples from the
samples below:

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