REQUIRED TEXT
Baker-Woods and others. Mass Media Writing.
RECOMMENDED TEXT
The Associated Press Stylebook
THE DESIGN
You might think of this course as a buffet or potpourri. You'll try your hands at several kinds of media writing: newspaper writing, broadcast writing, public relations, advertising. We'll do some writing for online publication and try our hands at designing web pages. I will try to emphasize what is common to all good media writing, underscoring in particular the importance of solid reporting. I'll also seek to demonstrate the differences - substantive and technical - among the various kinds of media writing. This course should be good practice for the writing you will do in subsequent courses. For those of you who are communication majors, the course may also help you in deciding what concentration - or even career - you want to pursue.
POLICIES
Attendance -- I consider the discussions we have in class and the work we do in class essential to the course. Consequently, your attendance is required. After three absences (excused or unexcused), your grade will be affected. Specifically, your grade will drop a notch for each additional class you miss. If you had an A, for exampole, but had missed four classes, your final grade would be lowered to an A-.
Deadlines - Since meeting deadlines is important for all media writers, I will expect you to get your assignments in on time. You will be penalized if you don't.
Classroom Decorum - We will write extensively on the computers in the Mac Lab. But we won't always be working on the computers. At times, I will be lecturing; at other times, we will be having a class discussion. PLEASE do not use the keyboard or in any other way interact with your computers except when we are writing, researching, or looking at online publications.
NOTE-TAKING INCENTIVE
You may show me your notebooks before the midterm and the final exam for extra credit of one to three points on those two tests. I'll be particularly interested in seeing notes on classes although I wouldn't discourage anyone from doing review notes.
GRADES
We'll have weekly quizzes on the assigned reading, a midterm, and a final exam. Here is roughly how your grade will be determined:
* Quizzes - 15%
* Midterm -- 15%
* Final -- 20%
* Writing assignments - 50%