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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "COM 221-2"
COURSE NAME: "Writing Across the Media"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2022
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Elizabeth Macias Gutierrez
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: By Appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course introduces students to the various kinds of writing they will encounter in the media professions and in digital multimedia production, and prepares them for more advanced media courses in the Communications and Media Studies program. Students will also be introduced to basic legal and ethical issues, such as libel, copyright, privacy. Activities include writing for online media, press releases, strategic campaigns, and short scripts for visual and audio media as well as exercises to pitch their ideas. They will also explore issues concerning style, communicability, and effective storytelling.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
All students will be required to create an e-portfolio using WordPress. This is where students will post and share their work from class assignments. Throughout the course students will be required to maintain a blog, with at least one post a week. There will be additional writing activities, both inside and outside of class, consisting of various different projects, including a press release, media kit, and short scripts (audio and visual) for a public service announcement and podcast. This course will include guest lectures from different media specialists.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

·      Learn legal and ethical principles of writing for the media

·      Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of writing for various media professions

·      Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for a variety of communications professions

·      Apply tools and technologies appropriate for different communications professions

·      Critically assess institutional and individual media practices

·      Understand how to promote and share written works online

·      Conceive, draft, edit and finalize a basic script for visual and audio media

TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
BlogCreate a blog based on your WAM topic with name, tagline and About Page with four blog posts (2 news, 1 review, 1 organizational profile). Wordpress site preferred.See Moodle.25%
PSAWrite a short script for a video spot, with storyboard, factsheet, and treatment, based on your WAM topic.25%
PodcastScript one podcast episode based on your WAM topic and submit with show notes and podcast treatment. Three segments included in the episode: editorial, guests interview (a scholar) and a review.25%
Press Kit Plan an event based on your WAM topic and prepare a press release, ptich letter with attachments. 15%
Attendance & ParticipationAttendance and active participation are required. Three late arrivals count as one absence. See attendance policy.10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY

You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until December 7.

Students will not be penalized for three absences from classes meeting twice a week.

Participation grade will be deducted by 5 points for each additional absence beyond the three absences.

Three late arrivals count as one absence. A late arrival begins after one minute of the official class time.

 


ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Our WAM course consists of 28 sessions across 14 weeks including a Spring Break, two holidays and two make-up Fridays.

Moodle and MS Teams are the main platforms of the course.  


2_Intro & News Research sessions

8_Blog sessions

7_PSA sessions

6_Podcast sessions

4_Press Kit sessions

 

WAM Topic: You will pitch and write four different projects within the same umbrella topic you select for the semester. You will become an expert in the topic and experience communicating in four different media or languages.


Course material: handouts, manuals, script templates and numerous Internet resources including an ethics course are expected to be read and used. 


Please refer to our Moodle course for a detailed and bi-weekly breakdown of each session, with resources, activities and assignments and other course material.  Each in-class session requires both preparation and follow up (homework).  


A course book is not mandatory. For further reference of instructor’s classes the recommended book is: The Basics of Media Writing (A Strategic Approach), by Andrew Lingwall and Scott. A. Kuehn, 2018.  Our syllabus delineates page numbers to read. See Moodle for Google docs link.


Sessions: Each session covers a different step of your creative process. If you miss one session you miss one step, and thus are expected to catch up from the respective Moodle week. 


Homework: In preparation to each deadline, you are expected to work outside the sessions on each project on a daily/weekly basis according to weekly material on Moodle.

 

 Library workshops: research is key to this course and it is expected for every project submission. The schedule signals four different library workshops held throughout the semester.

 

Office hours and contacting professor:  For questions or comments contact me via Moodle chat from Monday through Thursday. Questions or queries during the weekend will be resolved on Monday. For meetings and discussions, we can arrange a Teams chat on a weekday afternoon- before 5 p.m. 

 Electronic equipment policy- With the exception of learning accommodations or unless notified in advance for a class activity, the use of electronic equipment such as laptops, tablets, or phones is not idea during class. Please save battery and brain power.

 

Projects  are submitted via Moodle every month in the order below= five submissions. Late submission policy- Late submissions will incur in a penalty of 3 percentage points per calendar day.

 

Projects and Weight   / Submission Deadlines

 

Blog(25%)
Week 6: Monday, Feb. 21 before class
PSA(25%) Week 9: Wednesday, March 16 before class
Podcast(25%) Week 12: Wednesday, April 13 before class
Press Kit(15%) Week 14: Sunday, May 1 before midnight
Participation (10%) Class engagement, attendance

 

See general view of semester below. For details, please see Moodle regularly. Syllabus may be subject to slight changes.

Week

Session

Date

Project

Topic

Homework/

Reading

Deadline

One

1

M

Introduction

Course projects & chossing

WAM topic

WAM Worksheet


One

2

W

NEWS

RESEARCH

News curation blog


Research


Two*

3

M

BLOG


Blog post research

(2 blog posts)


Library Workshop


Two

4

W

BLOG

Defamation, Copyright, Privacy, Fair use/

Plagiarism

Poynter

Quiz


Chapter8 Media Law & Ethics pp. 248 - 286


Three

5

M

BLOG

Blog homepage: name and tagline

About Page (target audience)


Chapter 9 Target Audience

pp. 297-299

Create website

Three

6

W

BLOG

Blog post anatomy

Choose review and org.



Four

7

M

BLOG

The Review Post and Organization Profile Post

Library

workshop


Four

8

 

9

W

 

Friday

BLOG

Headlines / Summaries/ Leads /

 

Writing for Credibility and Engagement:Opinion / sources CTAs / Attribution / Quotes Punctuation

Chapter 5 Multiplatform Story and Leads

pp. 142 - 151


Five

10

M

BLOG

Q & A

Preparing for Submission

Workshop

Five

11

 

12

W

 

 Friday

PSA

Videos Screenings

 



Six

13

M

PSA

Ethos, pathos, logos persuasion /Print Ads / Aesthetics & Empathy

Chapter 11

Persuasive Writing

pp. 362- 389

BLOG DUE

Six

14

W

PSA

Planning PSA video: the treatment

Library

Workshop

Begin filling out your factsheet

Seven*

15

M

PSA

Factsheet

 

Work on treatment


Seven

16

W

PSA

Script

Work on script


Eight

17

M

PSA

Storyboard


Work on storyboard


Eight

18

W

PSA


Workshop /Submission Instructions

Concluding

ideas

Last session

Q & A


Nine

19

M

PODCAST


Project & Treatment


 


Nine*

20

W

PODCAST

Searching for Scholar to

Interview

 

 

Library

workshop


PSA

DUE

 

Ten*

21

M

PODCAST

 

Anatomy of one episode in 3 segments & fair use

 

 

 

 


Ten

22

W

PODCAST

Script

Chapter 4 Interviewing

pp.121- 132

 



Eleven 23 M PODCAST

Writing for the ear

Chapter 13


Eleven

24

W

PODCAST

History or podcast/radio

Chapter 6

Radio

p. 176+Fig.6.3


Twelve

25

M

PRESS KIT

Intro &5W+H




Twelve

26

W

PRESS KIT

News hooks & event



Thirteen

NO

CLASS

M

Intro / History

 

PODCAST DUE

Thirteen

27

W

PRESS KIT

Pitch Letter & Press Release

News Values

pp. 110–111,

116 - 117


 


Fourteen

NO CLASS

M

 

Chapter 12

Press Release

pp. 417 - 419


Fourteen

28

W

PRESS KIT

Attachments



 

 

May 1


PRESS KIT DUE





 

Thank you for reading.

Have a good semester.