Syllabus* for CM205 Writing for Media Spring Semester 2009 Mon. Noon-12:50 p.m. (and other days as noted) in Wellons 108 Other content online Emmanuel College Franklin Springs, GA 30639 Instructor: Joseph M. Slife, M.A. E-mail: jmslife@ec.edu Always available by e-mail; personal consultation after class or by appointment Course Schedule Course description This course examines the basics of writing and reporting for print and broadcast news, commercial advertising, and promotions. Students will study processes of preparing, writing and editing copy, and they will complete practical applications of each. Course goals Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: logically and clearly tell a story to make readers feel as if "they were there"; research and gather information accurately and adequately; write articles following a prescribed format; use and recognize AP Style in writing and editing; submit articles by deadline. Requirements Text and Readings Stovall, James G. Writing for the Mass Media. 6th ed. Pearson. Olasky, Marvin. Telling the Truth. (You are not required to purchase this book. Readings from it are available online. For easier-on-the-eye reading, I have made larger-font-size PDFs of various chapters. These PDFs are posted on the NetLearn.) A copy of The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law will be available on reserve at the EC library. Other readings — both online and print — may be assigned. In addition, students are expected to be knowledgeable about current events. E-mail & Online Class System The instructor will distribute some course-related material via e-mail. Each student is expected to check his or her EC e-mail account daily. Other course-related content will be distributed via NetLearn — EC's online class system at netlearn.ec.edu. Most student work will be submitted via NetLearn. Assignments This class involves many writing assignments (most of them short). These assignments offer students opportunities to practice the skills and techniques taught in the text and in class. The instructor will explain how to complete these assignments and discuss examples. See Course Schedule for due dates. Tests / Exam Two tests will be given during the semester and will constitute 12 percent of the overall course grade (see Course Schedule for tests dates). In addition, a comprehensive exam at the end of the semester will account for 12 percent of each student's final grade. A student who anticipates an absence on a test date should talk to the instructor before the scheduled date to arrange to take the test early. Any student unable to attend class on a test date due to illness or family emergency may be allowed, at the discretion of the instructor, to complete a late test. In most cases, a missed test must be taken within 48 hours of the original scheduled time. Policies Participation Class participation is vital. Significant portions of course material will be presented through class discussions. Students are expected to come to class having already read the assigned materials. Pop quizzes may be given (grades on pop quizzes will constitute part of the Responsibility Grade — see below). Attendance It is the student's responsibility to sign the attendance sheet upon arriving a class. A student who fails to sign in will be recorded absent. An absence due to a college-sanctioned event (singers, athletics, etc.) will be recorded but will not carry a penalty. (Submitting late work will, however, will carry a penalty. Going to be absent on a day work is due? Turn your work in early!) Absences due to illness (physician's note required) and serious life circumstances (note from the Student Life office required) may also constitute excused absences. In most cases, written documentation will be required within one week of an absence. Any written excuses, such as a note from a doctor, must be given to the instructor within one week of the absence. Unexcused absences/tardiness will affect a student's "responsibility grade" (see below). EC's college-wide Class Attendance Policy can be found on page 10 of the College Catalog (PDF). Responsibility grade The instructor expects each student to attend class, read assigned material before class, participate in classroom discussions, work cooperatively with others, conduct himself or herself in a professional manner, and communicate respectfully with both the instructor and fellow students. Accordingly, 10 percent of a student's final course grade will be reflective of his or her overall attitude, attendance, attentiveness, effort, timeliness, participation, and willingness to work with others, as well as performance on pop quizzes aimed a gauging whether the student has read assigned material. Missed deadlines Because of the nature of the communication industry, and the importance of time-management skills in any field, no assignment or in-class exercise will be accepted after the deadline/due date without penalty. Deadlines for each assignment and exercise are clearly outlined in the Course Schedule, plus the instructor usually reminds students verbally about upcoming deadlines. However, it is the responsibility of the student to keep up with deadlines and plan accordingly. If a student foresees a problem with meeting a deadline — for example, an absence for a college-sanctioned event on that particular deadline date — he or she should plan to submit that assignment before the deadline. Early submissions are always welcome. Academic integrity Plagiarism. The following is excerpted from EC's Academic Integrity Policy (PDF): "Plagiarism," as defined in the Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.), is "Using another person's ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person's work" and/or "passing off another person's ideas, information, or expressions as your own." As scholars who are part of a community of intellectual and Christian integrity, it is our duty to acknowledge properly the ideas and work of others. Failure to do so, either knowingly or accidentally, constitutes plagiarism. Any student who fails to give appropriate citation of written, visual, and/or audio sources on any assignment will receive a grade reduction on that assignment. A student who commits "global plagiarism" on any assignment (i.e., taking an entire assignment from work done by another and passing it off as one's own work) will receive a zero for that assignment. Additionally, any incident of global plagiarism will be reported to the EC Office of Academic Affairs. The Office of Academic Affairs will determine if the student should incur an additional penalty. Integrity of online submissions. The following is from EC's Distance Education Policy, as included in the 2008-2009 College Catalog (PDF): "Because of the nature of online courses, if a faculty member has any concerns that a student’s work might not be his/her own, the College reserves the right to require any distance education student to take or re-take any quizzes or exams in a supervised setting. "Furthermore, under such circumstances, the College reserves the right to base the entire course grade upon the results of a supervised comprehensive exam. Students refusing to take supervised quizzes/exams will be subject to administrative withdrawal from the course(s). "Attempts by any student to buy, borrow, or steal work from another individual for the purpose of submitting that work as one’s own will be treated as the equivalent of actually having submitted that work and may result in failure of the assignment, failure of the course, and/or expulsion from the College." Writing-across-curriculum policy Consistent with Emmanuel College's goal of developing a Composition Culture that expects proficient writing in all classes, all written assignments in CM205 will be graded for correct grammar and spelling. Points will be deducted for writing errors. Any written work containing multiple spelling or grammatical errors will not receive an "A" regardless of strength of content. For writing assistance, visit EC's Success Center in Aaron 207. Dress code Students are expected to comply with the "Dress Statement" in the Student Handbook (PDF), which requires "modest and appropriate" clothing and appearance in the classroom. From the Handbook: "Modesty can be defined as anything that does not draw inappropriate or undue attention to one's self or any part of one's anatomy. While there is an allowance for personal choice and comfort in dress, the environment should reflect the fact that students at Emmanuel College are Christian adults." Accordingly, revealing clothing is not permitted in class (including "muscle shirts," short skirts and low-cut tops). Additionally, it is recommended that if a student is researching an article "on location" (e.g. conducting an in-person interview for a story), the student wear "business casual" attire (no shorts, no ball caps, no T-shirts, no flip-flops). Calculation of course grade Grading scale A- = 90-92.9 | A = 93-100 B- = 80-82.9 | B = 83-86.9 | B+ = 87-89.9 C- = 70-72.9 | C = 73-76.9 | C+ = 77-79.9 D- = 60-62.9 | D = 63-66.9 | D+ = 67-69.9 F = 0-59.9 Tests - 12% Test One (chapters 1-3) = 6% Test Two (chapters 4-7) = 6% Comprehensive Exam - 12% Assignments - 66% Four simple assignments on rewriting (1.12), wordiness (1.15, punctuation (2.3), word choice (2.9) = 1% each (4% total) Two Stylebook assignments (3.4 and 3.6) = 1% each (2% total) News values exercise (4.2)= 2% Paraphrasing assignment (4.6) = 2% Writing leads and second paragraphs (5.4) = 2% News stories (5.9 or 5.12) = 4% Meeting stories exercise (5.10)= 4% Crime news exercise (5.14) = 4% Feature stories exercise (5.22) = 4% Linking exercise (6.2) = 2% Headlines and summaries exercise (6.3 or 6.4) = 4% Weblog exercise (6.7) = 4% Writing broadcast stories exercise (7.1 or 7.2 or 7.3) = 4% Writing newscast exercise (7.5 or 7.6) = 4% More broadcast writing exercise (7.9) = 4% Print ad copy (8.5) = 4% Radio ad copy (8.11) = 4% News release exercise (9.1)= 4% Letters exercise (9.3)= 4% Responsibility grade (see section on this above) - 10% Specific course objectives Upon completion of CM205, a student should be able to: write articles using the "inverted pyramid" style, with a 20-to 25-word lead sentence including who, what, when, where, how and why; a second sentence used as a bridge between the lead sentence and the third; a third sentence, using properly placed identification, quoting someone involved in the story. end an article with a strong quote (or, where appropriate, contact information). include the date, slugline, writer's name, and word count as the header of the article. write broadcast copy that demonstrates an understanding of writing for the ear, rather than the eye. submit articles to instructor on or before the deadline. edit articles for improved clarity, flow, and length. Biblical multicultural objective It is expected that students will demonstrate, by their words and actions, a biblical understanding of the inherent value of all human beings as persons created by God in His own image. In classroom discussions and presentations, as well as during any break times that may occur during class, students are expected to show respect for all, without regard to a person's sex, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, or religious viewpoint. "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Phil. 1:27). Course Schedule E-mail the instructor EC Communication Department About the instructor: Joseph Slife holds a B.A. in English and Speech/Drama from LaGrange College, and an M.A. in Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has done additional graduate-level course work at both Bob Jones University and Asbury Theological Seminary. In addition to serving on the adjunct faculty at Emmanuel, he is a writer/researcher for Sound Mind Investing. Mr. Slife has been a national correspondent for WORLD magazine and a writer/producer at the Associated Press Broadcast bureau in Washington, D.C. For 15 years, he was on the staff of Crown Financial Ministries, and served as the executive producer of the ministry's broadcasting division from 1999-2005. Mr. Slife is a certified lay speaker in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and blogs at and MethodistThinker.com. *This syllabus is adapted from an original developed by Paula Dixon, former chair of the EC Communication Dept.