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Nancy Edmonds Hanson, APR
Office: 293.1489 |
Mass Comm 210: Media WritingSyllabus Spring 2012 |
10:30 – 11:45 a.m. |
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Course information
Required texts, attendance policy & grading overview About the instructor |
“Bad writing makes bright people look dumb.”
All contents of this syllabus are subject to frequent revision based on class progress and external events.
Changes will be announced in class. You are responsible for assignments
due on the dates given in class; announcements always supercede the written syllabus. If an assignment published here has not been specifically discussed in class, check with the instructor before proceeding.
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| Messages, media & audiences | The writer | Assignments | |
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Week 1 1/10–12 |
Subtract yourself! Media writing -- what sets it apart from academic writing
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Writing for today's audiences
Why your business teacher might flunk this class
Check out: Media is a plural word and needs plural verbs. Write: Brief essay on writing issues that bug you. (In class) E-mail it to nancyh@mnstate.edu. Put "MC210 -- writing peeves" in the subject line.
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Format for all stories and essays assigned in Media Writing:
DOUBLE-space your text. INDENT paragraphs — do NOT single-space, adding an extra line between paragraphs.
Write: Personal media audit. Assess your personal media habits for 24 hours. Then compare them with someone at least one generation older. 300-800 words. Due Tuesday, 1/17 Read: Yopp 1 before class 1/12. Check this out (sign up?): www.DailyWritingTips.com Check this out: Minnpost, nonprofit online newspaper staffed by veteran journalists. It's free -- go ahead and sign up. Check out: Pew Research--study of audiences, news and media This is the link for the media news data discussed in class.
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Week 2 1/17–19 |
Due Tuesday:
Personal media audit Due Thursday: Newsroom 101 set 1 (exercises 1-10) . Due Thursday: Class interviews with 7-step process In class Tuesday: Student interviews
for the 7-step process
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7 Stages
of the Writing Process Interviews in class for story about your assigned partner. Consciously use Yopp's 7-step process. One double-spaced page. Due Thursday, 1/19. Apostrophes:
the rules
on possessives, contractions and misuses Commas:
Punctuating compound sentences
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Read for next week:
Yopp 3 and the section of Yopp 5 on
news values
Newsroom 101: Set 1 due 1/17. Set 2 due 1/24. Review AP Stylebook table of contents
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Week 3 1/24–26 |
Due Tuesday: Newsroom 101, set 2 In class: Newsroom AP exercises A What is the Associated Press? What's news? (Read Yopp 5 on news values)
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About AP style (review stylebook table of contents)
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Reference:
Yopp 3 and 5 (section on news values) Newsroom 101: AP-A set due 1/31.
Assignment
for Tuesday, 1/31: Find and summarize one local news
story illustrating each of Yopp's news values plus the idea of
currency. (Note headline or summarize; do NOT clip/copy and turn
in entire stories.) Check out: InForum.com
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Week 4 1/31–2/02 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom AP-A, full set. Due Tuesday: local news stories demonstrating Yopp's eight news values (chapter 5) plus currency.
Due Thursday: Reflection on first news story you
remember. News elements and hard-news structure (Yopp 5)
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Read: Yopp 3
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Write to discuss: Summarize the first news story you remember. Why did it catch your attention? Due Thursday, Links to worksheets:
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Week 5 2/07–09 |
Due Tuesday: Newsroom 21-25 Due Thursday: News elements in 3 hard-news stories Text: Beyond the Lead (Yopp 6) Inverted pyramid structure
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AP Essentials
Better Writing — suggestions and writing project
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Assignment for Thursday: Locate three typical four- to six-paragraph hard-news stories in The Forum or on www.inforum.com. Cut or print them out. Mark up the essential news elements in each paragraph, including the two "who's" -- the label identifier in the lead and the full idents, usually in the second paragraph. Due Thursday Write: Four- to six- paragraph news story about the I-94 turkey tragedy. Use hard-news recipe. Be sure to focus on most recent element of story as of press time. Raw information for story. Read for next week: Yopp 8 and 10
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Week 6 2/14–16 |
Due Tuesday: Newsroom 26-30; AP B-C Also due: Hard-news story on turkey tragedy Interviewing, Quotes and Attribution (Yopp 10)
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Word Choice, Redundancy & Writing Tighter
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Read for next week:
Yopp 9 Write: Personality profile (feature) on media writer of your choice. Length -- 3-4 double-spaced pages (800-1200 words). Emphasis is on use of quotes and scene-setting.
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Week 7 2/21–23 |
Due Tuesday: Newsroom 31-35; AP
D Report on interview with media writer (email) Text: Yopp 9 Research & Observation
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Handling Quotes and Attribution
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Read for next week:
Yopp 8 and Yopp 7 (5th ed.)
Assignment: Brief report on your interview and how you plan to organize your personality profile — rough outline. Due Tuesday,.
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Week 8 2/28–3/01 |
Due Thursday: Newsroom 36-40; AP E-F Beyond Breaking News — Features & News Features (Yopp 8)
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AP Essentials |
Assignment: Feature or news feature on topic of your choice related to a personal interest of yours. Three double-spaced pages. Due Tuesday,
Check out: Essential Google tips Google advanced operators (printable) Google cheat sheet 20 Great Google Search Tricks
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Week 9 3/06–08 |
Due Tuesday: Newsroom 41-45; AP G Due Thursday : Personality profile THURSDAY: Midterm exam Producing Online Content (Yopp 7 in 5th edition)
Midterm exam on Thursday
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Midterm review Midterm exam covers Yopp chapters 1-10, especially topics discussed in class. All questions are multiple choice or T/F. A large section of the test covers AP style, emphasizing the areas covered in class and in the worksheets that have been distributed. |
Read:
Yopp
7 (fifth edition)
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Spring Break 03/12–16 |
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Week 10 3/20–22 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom 46-50; AP H-I
Recognizing bias and stereotypes (Yopp 11)
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AP Guidelines on race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender & disabilities |
Read:
Yopp 11
Assignment: Brief report on your choice of topic for the feature assignment. List and describe the sources you plan to use. You should investigate these sources and line up your interviews BEFORE writing this summary for next week. Due 3/22. Links about usage for race, physical ability and other issues:
Words to Age By: Glossary & Tips
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Week 11 3/27–29 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom 51-55; AP J-K-L
Due Thursday: Web research on libel cases (see details at right) Libel and slander (Yopp 11)
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Read:
Yopp 13
Research & Write: Research and report on two current or recent libel suits (Web research). One to two grafs on each is adequate. THEN, in bullet points, briefly list three examples of illegal usage of copyrighted material in everyday life ... and three more practices that reflect respect for copyright holders' rights. Research & Write: Find two current or recent copyright cases involving the media; summarize briefly. Due Tuesday, |
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Week 12 |
Due
Tuesday:
Newsroom 56-60; AP M Feature story due Due Tuesday: Web research on 2 copyright cases
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Watch & report:
Newscast log. Watch a half-hour
LOCAL newscast with a timer in hand. List each of the stories,
in order presented, and note the approximate time given to each.
Weather counts as a single entry in your log. Note specific
sports stories; reading scores counts as a single entry, too.
Due Tuesday,
Read for next week: Yopp 13 |
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Week 13 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom 61-65; AP N Also due Tuesday: Log of one local newscast
Due Thursday: Feature story Writing for Broadcast (Yopp 13)
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Read
for next week: Yopp 14
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Week 14 4/17–19
No class |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom 66-70; AP O-P Due Thursday: Personal ad recall essay
Strategic
communications:
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Write: Describe the three earliest ads that you remember. (Please do not look them up online prior to writing about them. Your memory is the key here). Why do you think each has stuck in your mind? If you received the product, did it live up to your expectations at that time? Then describe three current ads that you easily recall. Again, why did these ads catch your attention? If you've bought the product, does it live up to its advertising? Compose your paper as a personal essay. Due Thursday
Read: "Cutting through the advertising clutter" on
www.cbsnews.com
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Week 15 4/24–26 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom 71-75; AP Q-R-S
Due Tuesday:
VALS/psychographics essay
Due Tuesday:
Ad recall assignment
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VALS Write: After taking the VALS survey (using link above, write several paragraphs on how well (or not) it pinpoints your motivations, preferences and interests. Do you think your group placement is intrinsic (part of who you are) or situational, or both? Then — using your experience with the questions and the SBI key to characteristics of different groups — compare your profile with the answers and results you presume your parents or another older friend would achieve. |
Group project: Gladekua Yogurt |
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Week 16 5/01 |
Due Tuesday:
Newsroom AP T through Z In class: Prep for final exam |
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Final exam 5/04 |
10:30 class: Friday, May 4, noon Noon class: Friday, May 4, 3 p.m. |
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