Infographic on Amazon Rainforest Deforestation
Planning the layout, picking the right facts, drawing charts that actually work on paper, and hitting every requirement — here’s how to approach this assignment from the first pencil mark to the finished product.
An infographic isn’t just a poster with bullet points. It’s a designed page where every element — the title, the section headings, the charts, the drawings — works together to tell a story. For the Amazon deforestation assignment, that story is about how fast the forest is disappearing, why it’s happening, and what it means. Getting all 20 facts on the page without it looking like a wall of text is the real challenge. This guide walks through how to plan it.
What This Guide Covers
Assignment Requirements at a Glance
Before touching paper, read what the rubric actually says. Every requirement here is a checkable item — and missing even one costs you points on an otherwise strong infographic.
Infographic Requirement Checklist
Plan the Layout Before You Draw Anything
This is where most students go wrong. They start writing facts from the top of the page down, run out of room, and end up squeezing content into margins. Sketch a rough layout in pencil on a spare piece of paper first.
Landscape orientation (horizontal) usually works better for infographics than portrait — you get more horizontal space to spread elements across. But if the assignment says “on a sheet of paper” without specifying, portrait works too. Just plan your five zones accordingly.
Sketch the zones first. Block out roughly where each chart goes, where each heading goes, where the drawings go. Then fill in facts around those anchors. Writing text first leaves no room for the visual elements — and a text-only infographic won’t earn full marks.
How to Organize Your 5 Sections
Grouping 20 facts into themed sections is what separates a readable infographic from a list dump. Each section gets a bold heading, 4 facts, and at least one visual element (a small drawing, a chart, or a color block).
What Is the Amazon? (Overview & Scale)
Size of the Amazon, percentage of Earth’s rainforests it represents, how many countries it spans, and total biodiversity numbers. This orients the reader before getting into the problem. Facts here should feel big and impressive — they set up why losing the forest matters.
Visual anchor: A simple hand-drawn map of South America with the Amazon basin shaded in green works perfectly here.How Fast Is It Disappearing? (Deforestation Rates)
Annual deforestation area in square kilometers or football fields per minute, total percentage lost since 1970, rate changes over the last decade. This is where your bar or line chart lives. Put actual numbers on the axes — it looks far more professional than a vague sketch.
Visual anchor: Your bar chart showing deforestation rates across several years (e.g., 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020). Use red or brown bars against a white background.Why Is It Happening? (Causes)
Agriculture (especially cattle ranching and soy farming), logging, mining, road construction, and fires. The breakdown by percentage is what the pie chart visualizes. Cattle ranching alone accounts for roughly 80% of Amazon deforestation — that single fact plus the chart makes this section hit hard.
Visual anchor: Pie chart showing percentage breakdown of deforestation causes. Label each slice clearly.What Are We Losing? (Impact on Biodiversity & Climate)
Species extinction rate, carbon released per year from deforestation, impact on global rainfall patterns, indigenous communities displaced. This is the “why should we care” section. Keep facts specific — percentages and numbers carry more weight than general statements.
Visual anchor: A drawing of an endangered Amazon species — jaguar, poison dart frog, harpy eagle — placed near this section. Small but recognizable sketches work fine.What Can Be Done? (Solutions & Efforts)
Protected area designations, reforestation programs, international agreements, sustainable agriculture certification, consumer choices. End on something actionable — it makes the infographic feel complete rather than just alarming.
Visual anchor: A small drawing of a tree being planted, or a seedling. Keeps the tone hopeful without being preachy.Which Charts to Draw and How
Two charts are required. Here’s what to draw and exactly how to set each one up so it’s legible on paper.
Draw a horizontal baseline (x-axis) and a vertical line (y-axis). Label the x-axis with years: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020. Label the y-axis in square kilometers of forest lost (or hectares — pick one and stick to it). Draw a rectangle bar for each year, height proportional to the deforestation figure for that year. Color the bars red or brown. Title the chart: “Amazon Deforestation Rate by Year (km²).” Include a small data source note underneath.
Draw a circle. Divide it into slices representing the main causes: cattle ranching (~80%), small-scale agriculture (~10%), logging (~3%), mining (~3%), other (~4%). Use a different color for each slice. Label each slice directly or draw a color-coded legend beside the chart. Title it: “Main Causes of Amazon Deforestation.” Cattle ranching’s slice should be clearly the largest — if it isn’t, recheck your proportions.
Use a ruler for every straight line in your charts. Freehand axes look messy even when the data is correct. A clean bar chart drawn with a ruler reads as careful and purposeful. The same goes for the axes labels — keep them evenly spaced.
20 Facts: What Categories to Cover
You need 20 facts spread across your sections. Here’s a breakdown of what types of facts belong in each section — use these as a guide to find your own current data from reliable sources like WWF, NASA, or INPE (Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research).
| Section | Type of Fact to Include | Facts Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Overview & Scale | Total area of Amazon, % of world’s rainforests, number of countries, total species count | 4 |
| Deforestation Rates | Annual rate (km² or football fields/minute), total % lost since 1970, recent trend data, area cleared last decade | 4 |
| Causes | % from cattle ranching, % from agriculture, logging volume, number of fires per year, road expansion km | 4 |
| Biodiversity & Climate Impact | Species at risk, CO₂ released annually from deforestation, impact on rainfall, number of indigenous communities affected | 4 |
| Solutions | Hectares in protected areas, reforestation targets, policy agreements, year-over-year improvement figures, consumer action impact | 4 |
Write them as numbered points within each section. This makes it easy for your teacher to count them and verify you’ve hit 20. It also gives the infographic a structured, organized look — especially if each number is styled consistently (same font size, same color).
Color Strategy That Works
Four colors minimum. But random color choice makes infographics look chaotic. Assign a purpose to each color and use it consistently throughout.
Green — Forest / Nature
Use for the title, section headings about the forest itself, the Amazon map shading, and tree/plant drawings. Immediately signals the topic.
Brown or Red — Destruction
Use for the deforestation rate chart bars, the cattle ranching section, and any fact about forest loss. The contrast with green visually communicates loss.
Blue — Water / Climate
Use for facts about rivers, rainfall, and climate impact. The Amazon produces 20% of the world’s fresh water — that section deserves blue.
Yellow or Purple — Solutions / Highlights
Use for the solutions section, key statistics you want to stand out, and border decorations. A bright accent color keeps the eye moving around the page.
Color the Headings, Not the Text
Use color on headings, borders, chart bars, and graphics. Keep body text in black or dark pencil. Colored body text is hard to read and looks messy.
Colored Pencils Over Markers
For hand-drawn infographics, colored pencils give more control than markers. Markers bleed, especially around text. Save markers for thick borders and chart bars only.
4 Graphics: What to Draw and Where to Place Them
Graphics are hand-drawn illustrations that make the infographic visual rather than just textual. They don’t need to be perfect — they need to be recognizable and placed intentionally next to relevant content.
Graphic 1: Amazon Map
A simple outline of South America with the Amazon basin shaded green. Draw it near the Overview section. Label the Amazon River. This grounds the viewer geographically before any facts.
- Use a reference image to get the continent shape roughly right
- Shade the basin in light green, leave surrounding areas uncolored
- Add a small arrow or label pointing to “Amazon Rainforest”
Graphic 2: Tree or Forest Scene
A tall tree on one side, then a bare stump on the other — visually showing before/after deforestation. Place near the deforestation rate section. Simple and powerful without needing artistic skill.
- Left: full green tree with canopy
- Right: brown stump with cut marks
- Optional: an axe or chainsaw icon between them
Graphic 3: Amazon Animal
A recognizable Amazon species — jaguar, macaw, toucan, or giant anteater. Place near the biodiversity/climate impact section. Even a simple outline reads clearly if the shape is right.
- Macaw or toucan is easiest — distinctive beak shape
- Color it to match real coloring (adds to visual appeal)
- Label it with the species name
Graphic 4: Fire or Smoke Icon
Flames rising from a forest silhouette, or a smoke cloud icon, placed near the causes section. Fires — both natural and deliberately set — are one of the main deforestation drivers. Visually striking and immediately understood.
- Draw orange/red flame shapes
- Add dark smoke lines curling upward
- Keep it small — it’s a supporting graphic, not the centerpiece
Title and Section Headings
The title is the first thing a reader sees. It needs to be large, bold, and interesting. “Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest” is fine. “Vanishing Amazon: Earth’s Lungs Under Threat” is better — it’s specific and creates urgency without being dramatic.
Section headings should be short — three to five words — and written in bold or all-caps. They get their own color (usually the same color assigned to that section). Leave some visual space above each heading so the reader’s eye can find them easily while scanning.
Mistakes That Get Points Deducted
Listing Facts Without Sections
Writing all 20 facts as a numbered list down the page with no section headings. It satisfies the fact count but misses the section heading requirement and looks like a worksheet, not an infographic.
Group Facts Into 4–5 Labeled Sections
Each section gets a bold heading and 4 related facts. The heading count and fact count both get satisfied, and the page is visually organized.
Charts With No Labels or Axes
A bar chart with bars but no axis labels, no title, and no numbers is just a drawing — not a data visualization. It doesn’t communicate anything specific.
Label Every Chart Element
Title, x-axis label, y-axis label, data values on or above each bar, and a data source note. A labeled chart is a chart that earns marks. A bare chart is decoration.
Only 1 or 2 Colors
Using black pen plus one colored pencil and calling it done. The requirement is minimum 4 colors, and “colorful” is explicitly part of the rubric description.
Assign a Color to Each Section
If each of your 4–5 sections has a different color heading, you hit the color count automatically. Then your charts use those same colors and everything looks intentional rather than random.
Vague or Opinion-Based “Facts”
“The Amazon is very important” or “Deforestation is bad for animals” aren’t facts — they’re opinions. They won’t count toward your 20 fact requirement.
Use Specific, Data-Backed Facts
“The Amazon covers 5.5 million km² and spans 9 countries” is a fact. “An estimated 17% of the Amazon has been deforested in 50 years” is a fact. Numbers and specifics are what make facts count.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need Help With an Environmental Science Assignment?
From infographic planning and fact-finding to full written assignments on climate, deforestation, and ecology — our environmental science team works across all grade levels.
Environmental Science Help Get StartedStart With the Layout, Not the Facts
The single best thing you can do for this assignment is spend ten minutes sketching your layout on a scratch piece of paper before touching the real sheet. Block out five zones. Place the two charts. Mark where the four drawings go. Write the section headings in rough. Then fill in the facts.
It sounds slow. It’s actually faster — because you stop mid-project to redesign things half as often.
The facts are the easy part. There’s no shortage of Amazon deforestation data. Getting the visual design right — the color discipline, the chart labels, the balance between text and graphics — is what separates a 70 from a 100.