COMM 2310, Print and Digital Media Writing



COMM 2310, Print and Digital Media Writing

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for COMM 2310 will be a C+ in each of five courses: English 1304, History 1376 and 1378, Political Science 1336 and 1337. The department will do checks on this, so there’s no getting around it.

Competent typing ability: This is a must; without it, you won’t be able to keep up.

Lab instructor information

Name: Angela Hopp

E-mail: WebCT Vista e-mail

*Please use WebCT Vista e-mail for any correspondence regarding this class. Use the e-mail address noted in the journal entry explanation below to contact me after the session has ended regarding references or other issues.

Contact information: If you need to spend time going over lessons with me outside of class, we will arrange it. I work at the Division of Research and can be reached there. Do not arrive unannounced.

Course goals

Class covers the fundamentals of news writing and reporting for print and electronic media. Class focuses on current events, spelling, grammar, style and news value.

Course materials

Required texts are available at the University of Houston bookstore and on the Internet. Fairly recent copies of the latter three can be found at any used bookstore:

“Writing for Print and Digital Media” by Michael Ryan and James W. Tankard Jr. (2005)

“When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Guide to Grammar and Style” by Lauren Kessler and Duncan McDonald

“The Associated Press Stylebook” (2006 or more recent)

“The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation”

Note: You will be issued a flash drive containing a course pack similar to those found at the University of Houston copy center. (Just think digital here.) The files on it will be used for class, for test preparation, for homework, for your journal entries and for your outside stories. Guard your flash drive with your life.

Other recommended materials:

Small tape or digital recorder for conducting interviews.

Reporter’s notebook (or any notebook of convenient size.)

Pencils (All classwork must be conducted in pencil.)

Microsoft Word (Other programs often will not attach to WebCT or correctly. The entire Windows Office suite is available at Cougar Byte in the University Center for $14.)

Keeping up with current events

You are expected to know what is going on in the world. You can keep up with the news by reading daily papers, watching broadcast reports or sifting through the Internet. A news quiz will be assessed at least once a week. Some will be written; others will be oral. They will be given at the start of class, so it is a good idea to make it to class on time. I will not stop administering a quiz if you wander in late. Hint: Pay close attention to top-headline, front-page, top-of-the-hour stories.

On the first day of class, read the Houston Chronicle or another major newspaper. If you are not familiar with any acronyms used in headlines, familiarize yourself with them. Common acronyms often crop up on news quizzes. If you do not know what the word “acronym” means, look it up.

Knowing style and grammar

The syllabus from the lecture part of this class contains several dozen rules taken from the "Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual" and on the basics of grammar. Although you are not required to memorize every listing in the stylebook, you are expected to know those singled out. You will have style quizzes throughout the semester in the lab. It is a good idea to learn how to navigate the stylebook so that you can quickly find rules not listed in the syllabus when working on daily exercises. Points will be deducted for every style, spelling and grammar mistake.

You must have a copy of the 2006 or more recent “Associated Press Stylebook.”  Here are some other rules and advice by which to abide:

•    Put the most relevant figure, meaning the most recent figure, first.

Example: The fee was increased to $50 from $47.

                  The fee was decreased to $47 from $50.

•    See “Associated Press Stylebook” on dateline cities. Memorize which cities stand alone. Texas cities can stand alone in datelines and stories. You will be quizzed on this.

Note: The stylebook has a very informative section on punctuation.

Study Guide

I have prepared several practice exercises and notes. See WebCT Vista for a spelling list under the Study Guide. The words included are overlooked every day by writers. You don't have to be one of those people. You will be quizzed on those listed and others. Also see the Study Guide for spelling exercises, editing exercises, numbers exercises, lay/lie and sit/set exercises and commas exercises. Work on them. Discuss them. Refer back to them.

Outside stories

You will write three stories on your own time outside of class: a meeting story, a speech story and an interview story, in that order. Regardless of what you might hear in lecture, stick to my schedule. Each story will count as fives grades. You also will give Ryan a copy of each story. You must have Internet access to properly research your stories or communicate with your sources and me. For more information about these stories, see the WebCT Vista Study Guide.

In-class assignments

Throughout the semester, there will be some exercises for which I will not take grades. If you get a check mark on an assignment, that means you're on the right track. If you are absent and do not complete such ungraded exercises and do not request makeup as per the syllabus, you will get a zero. So, I guess you could say it would be graded. But, clearly, there are no "gimme" grades. Get it?

Journal entries

Each week, you will be expected to write a journal entry regarding things going on in the world (as in the news) and how your outside reporting is going. I will post the topics on the WebCT discussion board or announce them in class.

You will send your weekly journal entries to this e-mail address: comm2310lab@.

Your entries can be as simple as some conversation you had with friends or family regarding current events. They can be as complex as how the news has affected you personally or emotionally. I will not share your entries with the class. Really, I just want you to start thinking and writing. That is the guts of this class.

Questions? E-mail me through Vista. The comm2310lab address is reserved for journal entries only.

Grading

In the fourth week of class, five points will be deducted for every spelling, grammatical and style error on your classwork and homework. Your grade will quickly deteriorate if you do not study.

All daily assignments are weighted evenly. The three stories you will do later in the semester will count as five grades each. This means that if you have about 50 poor or failing grades, 15 good grades will do little for your average. Yes, you will likely have 60 to 80 grades by the end of the term.

You must make a combined grade of a C+ to move on in your degree plan. This lab is worth 70 percent of your final grade. I would suggest that you keep a list of your grades and check on your progress before the drop dates. WebCT Vista keeps a list for you.

When you get your grades at the end of the semester, the lab grade will be combined with the lecture grade. Do not forget that absenteeism will affect your overall grade. If you have kept a record of all your grades and considered your absences and still think that your overall grade is wrong, see me and provide your documentation. For further explanation of your assignment grades, see WebCT.

Absences

If you have an illness, accident, injury or family emergency that will force you to miss class, you must e-mail me at my WebCT Vista address in advance of the class or classes you're going to miss. There are no exceptions.

Making up work

If you contact me about missing class, as described above, you will be given the assignments during the next class upon request. I will not seek you out. Things get hectic, so, if you must, ask me repeatedly. If, several sessions after your absence, you have not picked up the makeup, you will be given a zero. Like I said, hound me if necessary. And know exactly which exercises you have missed. This will require asking your classmates. Do not come up to me two weeks later and say you need whatever we did that day. I won’t know what you’re talking about and won’t do the research for you.

Cheating

Suspected cases of plagiarism, fabrication or other types of academic dishonesty will be prosecuted according to university policy. This could lead to your expulsion. So, go with your gut and make your own grades. I have acted upon this before.

Classroom behavior

If you have a cell phone, turn it on vibrate when you enter my classroom. I don’t mind if you step out briefly to answer an important call. The key word here is "important." I am always on call for work, which means that my cell phone will be on.

Never assume class is canceled at any time. I have not missed a class in all the years I have taught here. A notice will be posted at the COMM building and on Vista if class is canceled.

Extra credit

Look for grammatical errors, typos or factual errors in news publications. If you find something, bring the “catch" to class. I’ll add five points to one daily exercise grade. Only one catch a day is allowed. Printouts from the Internet will be accepted. An end-of-the-semester extra credit project can be found on WebCT Vista.

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