Hayden Coombs – Sharwan Smith 176
(503)779-8457 – HaydenCoombs@suu.edu
Introduction:
This writing and survey course is designed to introduce you to the mechanics of writing for various mass communication genres and to provide you with a foundation to build on in more advanced classes, such as COMM 3502 and 4140.
We will develop strong basic reporting and writing skills. Using different story forms, including but not limited to journalistic news, students will learn how to write a diverse set of stories and embrace the freedom and responsibilities of web journalism. Students will learn Associated Press style and various journalistic reporting and writing techniques. You will learn the basics of writing press releases and other journalistic and communication forms.
You will be critiqued by the instructor. Expect practical and historical lessons. The ability to analyze complex situations and translate them into clear, concise written segments will be a benefit to you no matter what career path you choose.
Objectives:
- To learn the basics of journalistic reporting, writing and editing.
- To acquire basic skills in other forms of written communication.
- To learn how to use current technologies to reach, communicate with and increase your audience.
Course Materials:
1. Required Texts-
The Associated Press Stylebook or http://www.apstylebook.com (Links to an external site.) (subscription fee). You should bring your AP stylebook with you to every class.
When Words Collide. This text is provided to you, free of charge (you’re welcome), as a .pdf in the course files. You will have a weekly reading assignment and a corresponding quiz from this book.
Dynamics of Media Writing. This text is also provided to you free of charge. We will rely on this text largely for discussion purposes.
Additional online readings will be provided throughout the semester.
2. Computer Supplies-
You will need to save your work to your SUU F: drive, a Google drive or a flash drive. The hard drives of the computers in the lab are purged daily automatically. You cannot store your work on the hard drive. It is best to save a copy of all your work, even if you finish and turn it in. This way, should the finished product be misplaced, you will have a copy.
A blog through a site such as WordPress or Wix is required for your final portfolio.
You will also need a modest printing budget to print the first draft of your stories.
3. Current Events-
I expect you to read the news each day. It is vitally important for communication professionals to be aware of what is happening locally, nationally and abroad to be effective. Many companies give applicants for jobs a current events test. Reading examples of veteran professionals in our craft also is an excellent learning tool.
Course Policies:
1. Attendance– This is a face-to-face class for a reason: It is essential that all students who can attend class do so. Attendance will be taken at every class. If you are unable to attend class, you will be expected to watch the zoom recording and complete any and all assignments without question.
2. Participation– Participation and attendance also includes, but is not limited to: Attending class regularly and on time, participating in class discussion on concepts in the readings for that day, being focused and practicing good listening skills, contributing meaningfully to group discussion and exercises, relating class material to your own experience and the outside world during class discussions.
3. Academic Dishonesty– Cheating on exams and plagiarism of papers constitutes grounds for failure of that assignment, and potential failure of this course. Plagiarism consists of such things as: taking quotes or other material from another published source (news release, newspaper article) without attribution; fabricating quotes and interviews; failing to include exact wording from such sources in quotation marks; claiming work as your own that was not your original effort; using notes from another student, without permission; having another person conduct your interviews or write your stories. Cases may arise in which you may share notes or documents with fellow students. In these instances, you must disclose in your source list the fact that you did not gather the material yourself, and you will be held responsible for any errors the shared material contains.
4. Computer Usage- Electronic devices such as computers, tablets and smart phones are powerful learning tools in the classroom. Students are encouraged to use them at appropriate times. However, if the computers or your phones are a distraction to you or your classmates, you will be asked to not come back to class. The first time I catch you using the computer for non-class-related purposes (and I can monitor your screens on my computer), you will receive 0 points for every assignment that week. The second time this happens, I will drop an entire letter off your final grade. If I catch you a third time, you will receive an automatic F.
5. Late Work– In the field of journalism, you do not receive any extra opportunity to complete an assignment or task if you miss a deadline (in fact, you will likely be fired). For this reason, late work is not accepted in my class. Do not even ask unless you find yourself in an extreme situation.
6. Extra Credit– I will (likely) provide opportunities for students to earn extra credit throughout the semester. To be eligible for extra credit, you must have all coursework turned in.
7. Out of Class Contact– The best way to get in contact with me outside of class is with a simple text message. Feel free to text, call, Facebook message, or email me at any time, but please be respectful of the hour. I will respond at my earliest convenience, but am most likely to give you a quick response if you text me.
8. Respect– Enjoy the readings, enjoy the class, enjoy the assignments, enjoy your instructor, and enjoy one another. It is expected that students will be considerate of the instructor and fellow classmates and act in a professional manner. Once class begins, students should stop talking, working on other class assignments, etc. Please be patient with me and your classmates; we are all in this together.
Grading Policy:
I will consider each assignment as a professional editor would, applying the same professional standards in accepting or rejecting stories from writers and PR professionals. Grades will reflect your performance as a reporter, writer and editor. In evaluating the reporting, I will consider news judgment in gathering and selecting information used in the story, accuracy, choice and use of sources, thoroughness, etc. In evaluating the writing, I will consider the quality of the lead, organization, use of quotes, clarity and effectiveness, among other factors. In evaluating editing, I will consider spelling, grammar, punctuation, correct use of AP style and accuracy.
Some emphasis will be given to improvement and attitude.
Factual errors: Any major factual error, such as misquoting a source; misspelling a name or company name; or getting a wrong date, URL, address, etc., will receive a mandatory 20-point deduction. Again, misspelling a name on a second or later reference will result in a 10-point deduction. AP style errors after the completion of the stylebook quizzes and any spelling and grammar errors will be a 1-point deduction for each error. Major factual errors are generally not tolerated in the real-world setting and can have major implications for you as a writer and for the publication/organization/company you work for, especially credibility. Spelling and style errors reflect poorly on you and the reputation of your publication/and or company, organization.
Rewrites: You may rewrite one of your outside stories to improve your grade. Rewriting is one of the most effective ways to improve copy. I strongly encourage you to rewrite a D or F right away. Rewrites are due a week from the handing back of the original assignment.
*You may receive up to half of the difference between your score and the value of the story (100 points). If you scored a 65, then you have a possible 18 points (half of 35) to recover in a rewrite. This would bring your grade from a D to an 83, which is a B. If you scored an 80, then you have a possible 10 points to recover (half of 20) in a rewrite. This would bring your score from a B to a low A.
*You must include the original story that I marked up along with your re-written story and your original grading sheet. I will not accept a rewrite without the original story and grading sheet.
*You must make substantial efforts to improve, change your original story to obtain rewrite points. You may need to rewrite extensively, re-interview, do new interviews, do more research, etc., to obtain rewrite points. In addition, you cannot delete information from your original story to avoid errors in your rewrite, such as a missing comma or a misspelled word. No points will be added to your score if the material with mistakes is deleted. Instead, fix the mistakes.
Also, I do not curve grades. I have seen students in the past who lost a letter grade because they did not take advantage of the rewrite option. Even a few points can make a difference.
Hayden Coombs 