English 3125, Writing for Contemporary Media
Spring 2013
Class Meeting Times: Mon-Wed-Fri, 1-1:50 p.m.
Classroom: King 03 (Subject to change if needed for computer and software reasons)
Instructor: Thomas A. Grant, Ph.D.
Instructor’s Office: 3rd Floor, Branch Student Center
Contacting Instructor:
E-mail:
Office Phone: 229-391-4957 (preferred)
Cell phone: 229-947-9738
Instructor Office Hours: MWF 9-noon, Tu-Th 9-11 a.m., or by appointment.
Important dates: Jan. 9 – Last day to drop class without a “W”
Feb. 26 – Mid-term grades
Feb. 27 – Last day to drop class with a “W”
Wed, May 1, 12:30 p.m – Final project due.
Course Objectives:
This course is designed to prepare students to write in multiple media styles. By the end of the term, students should have the basic skills to write news and feature articles for newspapers and magazines, to write copy for radio and television, to write press releases and advertising copy, and to write for online media.
Students should enter the class with an understanding of grammar, spelling and Associated Press style. Over the course of the class, they should develop skills to prepare clean and professionally competent copy. Students will be expected to prepare manuscripts suitable for distribution to media and general public.
Because contemporary media is highly visual, students will gain the ability to develop strong graphic elements as part of their story-telling repertoire. These elements may include photographs, video, data-based graphics, and other materials. Students will learn technical skills associated with the developing multi-media presentations, including techniques to gather audio, video and photos. Students will learn basic production elements necessary to distribute those presentations, including audio and video editing, and desktop publishing.
The class will emphasize skills suitable for one-person operations, and rely as much as possible on free or inexpensive software and hardware that young professionals may find on the job.
Course Structure:
Each class will open with a quiz about your readings, class discussions, postings under discussion on WebCT. The purpose of the quiz is to make sure that you have read the materials for the day and are fully prepared to engage in discussion, as well as to keep track of your attendance.
This class will rely heavily on interactive class discussion as part of a process by which the students and the instructor will gain new knowledge. You are expected to contribute to the growth of knowledge for everyone in the classroom. The class may also include lectures in the form of simple oral presentations or Power Point presentations with multimedia. Notes and PowerPoints will be posted on WebCT following their presentation in class.
Because this is a writing class, students will be expected to complete weekly writing assignments.
Course Policies:
Academic integrity is expected of all students. Two areas of concern are:
Cheating, including copying another student’s answers or allowing another student
to copy your answers.
Plagiarism, which is the copying of someone else’s words or ideas without giving proper
acknowledgment. Students are expected to work independently on all assignments and to
cite their sources whenever necessary or appropriate.
The penalty for academic dishonesty in this class is zero points on the assignment or exam on which the violation is discovered. Students also may be subject to college discipline.
Attendance:
Because the importance of attendance cannot be overemphasized, roll will be recorded. At the heart of the course will be in-class discussions, writing assignments, and quizzes. Participation in discussions, assignment reviews and topical lectures is essential to acceptable performance.
If you miss a class without a legitimate excuse, you will lose any quiz and attendance points for that day. Because quizzes and attendance account for 40 percent of the class grade, those who fail to attend class cannot expect to pass.
Absences will not be excused unless the absence is due to participation in official university activities or programs, personal illness, family illness and care or other compelling circumstances. Excused absences must be documented (e.g. with a doctor’s note or a copy of a newspaper obituary, or letter from your coach or advisor). All students, including those participating in athletics, are required to notify the instructor in advance of each planned absence.
Meet your deadlines. It is the responsibility of students who have an excused absence to acquaint themselves with the material covered and to make arrangements with the instructor to makeup assignments. Absence from class is not an excuse for turning in a late assignment. Late assignments are immediately assessed a 10 percent deduction. Media practitioners are expected to understand and comply with deadlines; for that reason, it is critical that students learn to meet deadlines.
Email:
All students are required to check WebCT and their email regularly. Reminders of assignments, changes in the schedule and links to related Web sites will be distributed there. A discussion will be posted following each class. The discussion will often include questions for the upcoming quiz. However, if you wish to contact me, please use email and sent it to .
Class Etiquette:
Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, beepers and other devices during class. Class participation is critical. You will be addressed directly with questions and must pay attention to the instructor and others in the class. Distracting side conversations will be discouraged. Students found napping will be asked to leave. Everyone in the classroom, including guests, will be treated with attentive respect.
Essays:
Students will write an essay each week. The essay will be due on Friday. The topic will be assigned at least one week before the deadline. The paper is intended to encourage critical thinking and emphasize writing skills. The paper will generally be 1-2 pages, but length will vary. They should be submitted double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman types and must meet AP style.
Extra credit:
You may have extra credit opportunities, possibly including the opportunity to attend an out-of-class speaker, panel or program and write a one-page paper summarizing the speaker’s main points, usually due the next class session after the talk. Exact deadlines will be announced in class.
Extra credit assignments are not graded but assigned a single point total that is added to the final grade calculation. Extra credit may help tip the balance when a student’s final point total is close to the next higher grade but do not count on extra credit to move you up one full grade.
Grading formula
Quizzes – 30%
Attendance and participation – 10%
Essays – 60%
Course Resources:
Writing News for Broadcast, by Edward Bliss and James Hoyt, Paperback, 1994,
ISBN-10: 0231079737 | ISBN-13: 978-0231079730
The Multimedia Journalist, by Jennifer George-Palilonis, Paperback, 2012
ISBN-10:0199764522| ISBN-13:978-0199764525
Students will be held responsible for the content of textbook readings, even those not discussed in class. Questions may be drawn from the text as well as classroom lectures.
Manuscript Format: All papers must be produced on a word processor. All papers are expected to follow AP format. Papers should be typed double-spaced papers with one-inch margins, and 12 pt. font. I expect the font to be Times New Roman, which is the font used in the syllabus. In the upper left margin of the first page arrange identifying information in this fashion:
Your name
Engl 3125
Date
Slug
Identify each additional page by placing your last name, the slug line and the page number in the upper left margin. Staple all pages. Do not include a cover sheet. End the story with -30-.
Help with study skills: To earn a good grade in the course, students should attend class every day and keep up with the reading. If you have problems understanding the course content, please visit me during my office hours. The Academic Assistance Center is staffed by faculty as well as student consultants. You can go to the Academic Assistance Center for additional assistance with every phase of the writing process. I strongly encourage you to do so. However, the Academic Assistance Center is not a proofreading service, and tutors will not “fix” problems for students. It is free for all ABAC students.
Special Needs: Students requiring classroom accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability should discuss this need with the instructor at the beginning of the semester. Students not registered with Student Support Services should contact the Student Support Services office in Conger Hall.