Literary Journalism CO308 (online) syllabus 032109

Dr. Richard Hendrickson --Communication and Theatre Arts -- John Carroll University

Summer Session I, May 11-June 12, 2009 -- 3 credit hours

--- Weekly workload at a glance ---

Monday: Read 2-3 chapters and Blackboard documents and view online lectures. After first week, submit writing assignment from previous week.

Tuesday: Submit “author brief” reports.

Wednesday: Read and participate in online discussion.

Thursday: Continue to participate in online discussion, post “comparative author” essay.

Friday: Complete short answer/multiple choice test on Blackboard. In last week, submit “summary essay.”

--- Course-specific information ---

Instructor’s office: Online (When I’m on campus, I’m at 49 O’Malley Center)

Telephones: Cell 440-570-2779

E-mail: rhendrickson@jcu.edu

Office hours: I will be at or near my computer Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST daily and will check for e-mail again around 9 p.m. EST. Students may also make specific appointments for discussion by telephone or online. (Best times to reach me to make such an arrangement will be between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. EST.)

Blackboard: Tips, memos, examples, discussions, links, grades and lecture outlines and related material will be posted the Blackboard course web site and students are expected to check it daily.

Course description: Writing and publishing in-depth features for newspapers, magazines and books, with emphasis on the study of classic works by Orwell, Hersey, Leibling, Thompson, Kidder and others. (This is not a Core course for JCU, but it does count toward 300/400 level electives for CO majors.)

Course objectives: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the approaches, ethics and practices of feature writing and freelance writing through analysis of the writing of others and by completing specific assignments and tests.

Textbook: R, Thomas Berner, The Literature of Journalism: Text and Context (State College, PA: Strata, 1999). Recommended: William Zinsser, On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary (Harper, 2006). Stylebook: Associated Press Stylebook, Norm Goldstein, ed. (Cambridge, MA: Perseus, 2004).

Hardware and software: This is an online distance-learning course designed to eliminate the need for you to travel to campus. Each student must have access to high-sped DSL or cable Internet connection, access to the Blackboard Academic Suite (provided by the university with registration) and a laptop or desktop computer. Software requirements include PowerPoint and MS Word or compatible programs, along with Adobe Acrobat Reader and either QuickTime or Apple iTunes software.  (Acrobat Reader, QuickTime and iTunes may be downloaded free from related web sites and installed on either Apple or Windows computers.)  To earn extra credit on two of the assignments, the student should have access to a digital recorder capable of recording audio and transferring it in mp3 files to a computer. An on-board video camera on the computer would be helpful, though not required. The instructor will be using a MacBook notebook and iMac desktop computers, each equipped with a camera and software facilitating video to permit occasional individual face-to-to face chat. A combination of readings from the Berner text and readings, slides, video lectures and discussion on Blackboard will be used to convey the material.

Communication: Each student must provide to the instructor a working, regularly accessed e-mail address, and home, work or cell phone numbers. The instructor will contact the student only if there is a glitch in the student’s Blackboard posting or some similar concern. The student may contact the instructor for clarification of instructions, lecture material or grade decisions, although handling such matters by e-mail is preferred. Please submit assignments and essays via the Blackboard Assignment Folder upload function. Do not use “Digital Drop Box” or e-mail.

Blackboard support: For help with Blackboard, you may contact the JCU “Helpdesk” at 216-397-3005. During the summer sessions, the Helpdesk is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Friday. The Helpdesk is not open Saturday or Sunday. You may also look in the user Manual under the course Tools section.

Pace: The pace will be accelerated because of the need to cover all of the material in a five-week summer session. You should expect to work on course reading and writing assignments almost every day of the week; a routine is suggested below. Up to 50 “participation” points will be based on the frequency of your interactions with the instructor and class.  The interactions will be worth up to 10 points per module over and above the points awarded for the author reports, assignments and weekly tests.

Author briefs: For each of five course modules, you will be expected to post under the Blackboard Assignments section a 300-word (or more) “authors briefing” report on the authors of the week (see schedule). These are worth 5 points per author, which means the first module, with two authors, will be worth 10 points; the second, with three, 15; the third, with three, 15; the fourth, with three, 15, and the last, with two, 10. You are asked to write a single passage that covers all of the authors of the week. Your passage should identify for each author (a) the techniques of gathering and writing you observed for each author (citing examples) and (b) your favorite quote from the excerpt and why you liked it. Finally, please then go to the Discussion Board section and post two good questions for discussion, based on any of the authors of the week,  A day or so later, after most of the class has posted questions, you should respond to two of your classmates’ questions.  (The “authors briefings” will total up to 65 points for the course.)

Comparative author essays: For each of the five modules you will be expected to write a short (300-word) analysis comparing and contrasting the techniques you identified from reading that week’s authors and linking them to material covered in the lectures.  These “comparative author” essays will be worth 20 points each. (80 points)

Writing assignments: Six writing assignments are to be completed for this course, as follows:

Introduce yourself: On the first or second day of the class, please go to the “Discussion Board” and post a brief (100-word) response introducing yourself  in the thread I have created. (5 points)

Place feature: Describe the look and feel of a special place. Record the sounds that go with it. Tell me in advance what place you intend to pick. Write at least 500 words (two and a half pages of 12 pt Times New Roman double-spaced) of descriptive material (people, colors, shapes, shadows, sounds, smells and feelings). Tell a story and go into as much detail as possible.  For 5 points of extra credit you may provide a few minutes of audio to support your story. (Send the audio as an attachment to an e-mail message to rhendrickson@jcu.edu). (20 points)

Four good ideas: Pick a target local publication, such as your local daily newspaper, a weekly or bimonthly paper, a college student newspaper or a local journalistic web site and come up with four good story ideas from the community served by the publication. I’m looking for a fat paragraph describing each story, the sources and the potential the audience would care. (20 points)

Feature story: Pick one of the following topics and write at least 600 words. The story must be objective reporting in the third person; it cannot contain your opinions. For 5 points of extra credit on any of these you may provide a few minutes of audio to support your story. The audio must be the voices of others, not your own. (Send the audio as an attachment to an e-mail message to rhendrickson@jcu.edu). (25 points)

1) A trend story. Pick a trend in fashion, decorating, music or recreation and write about it. The story should include real examples of people who are wearing, designing, playing or listening and participating in the experience you are describing.

2) A visual art, hobby or food feature. Find a person who is a visual (versus performing) artist, pursues an interesting hobby or devotes time to gourmet cooking. Write about what that person does and (why what motivates him or her). If it’s cooking, include a sidebar with a favorite recipe.

3) A sports feature. Find something unique about a campus athletic team, coach, player or experience and write a feature that could run anytime in the sports section of a student newspaper or its online site.

4) A short profile of another person -- someone you don’t already know. (See “Conflicts of interest” above.) For example, look for people who are new to the faculty or staff of your university over the past few years. They often have good stories to tell about why they are doing what they do and experiences they’ve had doing it.

Magazine analysis: Submit a 400-word (two-page, single-spaced) written analysis of a monthly general circulation magazine, describing (a) the perceived audience, (b) your impressions of the writing style and readability, (c) story length, (d) use of photos and other art, and (e) depth of sources. (20 points)

Story proposal: Develop a proposal for a magazine-length story. Important note: You are not expected to complete the research or writing on this project, but simply take the editor up to the point of a “go or no-go” decision. This must be more than a little memo. I expect your written proposal to include:

1) The overall theme of your idea and why you think it’s worth pursuing: the selling point or “peg.”

2) Target publication and why they’d want it: The audience for the story (should match that of publication.)

3) Potential sources of information, including Internet sites, books and local people with knowledge or experience. (This is the research plan.)

4) Results of an Internet search to determine if the story is unique, or has been done before but can be localized (include examples and links of others’ work).

5) A 400-word (two-page) report of relevant background on the topic.

6) A detailed list and discussion of the story angles, sidebars, audio, video, photos, graphics and lists. The quality and depth of your proposal is very important. (40 points)

Tests: For the first four weeks, a 20-point short-answer/multiple-choice test will be posted by 11 a.m. EST Friday on the lecture topics of (1) Introduction to feature types and observation, (2) idea generation and magazine story models, (3) interviewing and profiles, and (4) feature writing ethics and the magazine industry. The deadline for completing the test is 11 a.m. EST Saturday.. (80 points)

Final exam: Before the end of the day on June 12, the last day of class, students are expected submit via a link in the assignments folder an 800-word (four-page) “summary essay” describing what they have learned from the course, including advice on feature gathering and writing and overall understandings on literary journalism. This essay must be completed and posted by 11 a.m. EST Saturday, June 13. (25 points)

Course routine and schedule

To provide some structure to each week of study, we will follow the routine described below. (Note: As this is the first time this class has been taught online at JCU, this process is somewhat experimental and subject to adjustment dictated by the experience in the early weeks.)

On each Monday of a particular week, you should look for an online lecture or PowerPoint slide show accompanied by a message and comments in writing or by video from the instructor. After the first week, feature writing assignments or reports (listed below) from the previous week are to be posted before noon EST each Monday via the Blackboard Assignments Folder link. (For example, the “Place story” assignment item would have a link for submitting copy below it; you would attach your Word document to that link and upload it by hitting the “submit” button.) (Do not use the “Digital Drop Box.”) If you need help with Blackboard, call the Helpdesk 216-397-3005; the summer hours are given above.

On Tuesday of each week, you should complete the readings and write and submit your “author brief” by the end of the day via the Blackboard Assignments Folder link for that week’s reports (for example, “Module 1 Author Brief”).

On both Wednesday and Thursday you should look on Blackboard a couple of times a day for Discussion Board questions and enter into the interactive exchanges with other students and the instructor. Every student must submit at least four serious questions, responses or comments by 11 p.m. EST Thursday.

On Thursday you should compose and post your “comparative author” essay on the authors of the week. This is due by 11 p.m. EST Thursday via the Assignments folder link (for example, “Module 1 Comparative Author”).

On Friday of the first four weeks you will be expected to take a short answer/multiple choice test, which will be based on the Monday online lectures and the textbook and Blackboard readings. Links to these tests will be in the Blackboard Assignments folder. On the last Friday of the session, you will be expected to post your final “summary essay.”

Course modules/schedule

1.Module 1 – Intro & observation May 11-16

a.Authors: Orwell and Agee

b.Topics: Features overview, observation and photojournalism

c.Assignment due May 17: “Place feature”

2.Module 2 – Ideas & models May 17-23

a.Authors: Hersey, Ross and Garcia-Marquez

b.Topics: Idea generation and magazine story examples

c.Assignment due May 24: “Four good ideas”

3.Module 3 - - Interviewing & profiles May 24-30

a.Authors: Liebling, Haley and Stafford

b.Topics: Interviewing, writing profiles and other features

c.Assignment due May 31: “Feature story”

4.Module 4 – Ethics & the industry May 31-June 6

a.Authors: Capote, Thompson and Sheehan

b.Topics: Feature writing ethics, magazine types and query letters

c.Assignment due June 7: “Magazine analysis”

5.Module 5 – Writing & editing June 7-12

a.Authors: Wolfe and Kidder

b.Topics: Writing guidelines, 14 questions and “The Writer’s Cup”

c.Assignment due June 12: “Story proposal”

d.Exam due June 12: Summary essay

Recap of points

Participation: 10 per module, total 50

Author reports: 5 per author, total 65

Weekly comparative author essays: 20 per module, total 100

“Place” feature: 20

Four good ideas: 20

One feature story: 30

Magazine analysis: 20

Story proposal: 45

Tests: One 20-point test each Friday for the first four weeks, total 80

Final exam: Summary essay due the last Friday 20

Course total: 450 (not including 10 possible points of extra credit)

(Grades will be posted on Blackboard June 14 and go to the Registrar June 15.)

--- Standard syllabus content –-

Points and grading: You may earn a total of 450 points for this class by completing assignments and tests. These are all listed in the “assignments” section of the electronic Blackboard, and the list includes the maximum number of points and the due date for each. The following is a breakdown of the total points you will need to reach specified final grades: 437-450=A plus (posted as A), 422-436=A and 408-421=A minus (408 = 90.6%); 394-407=B plus, 379-393=B and 365-378=B minus (365 = 81.1%); 351-364=C plus, 336-350=C and 322-335=C minus (322 = 71.5%); 308-321=D plus, 293-307 =D and 279-292=D minus (279 = 62%); 278 or less=F.

Academic honesty: “Academic honesty, expected of every student as a member of the university community, is essential to the process of education and to upholding high ethical standards. Cheating, plagiarism or any other kind of unethical behavior may subject the student to severe academic penalties, including possible expulsion. All work submitted for evaluation in a course including, among other things, tests, term papers and computer programs, must represent only the work of the student unless indicated otherwise (such as in team projects). Material taken from the work of others must be properly acknowledged; consult a good academic style manual if you aren’t sure how. Materials submitted to fulfill the requirements of another course may not be submitted to this course without prior approval of the instructor.” (For additional information on this policy, see the JCU Undergraduate Bulletin, pages 111-113).

Conflicts of interest: For this class, as in professional journalism, you must not interview family members, roommates, close friends, employers, teammates, fellow fraternity or sister sorority members, or professors you have had in another class. If in doubt, ask me first.

Keep a copy: Save all assignments until the end of the semester and make immediate backup copies of material created on computers.

Disabilities statement: "John Carroll University recognizes its responsibility for creating an institutional climate in which students with disabilities can succeed. In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability, you may be eligible to request accommodations from the office of Services for Students with Disabilities. Students with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations and should have equal access to learning. Please contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (216) 397-4967 if you have any questions or to set up an appointment to meet with the interim coordinator, Brandi Rizzo, by contacting the secretary in that office, Jill Sberna. After your eligibility for accommodations is determined, you will be given a letter which, when presented to instructors, will help us know best how to assist you. Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive so it is best to register with Student Disability Services at your earliest convenience."