Podger, Pamela J.

English

University of Montana

University of MontanaScholarWorks at University of MontanaSyllabi Course Syllabi9-2009JOUR 415.01: Feature WritingPamela J. PodgerUniversity of Montana - MissoulaLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabiThis Syllabus is brought to you for free and open access by the Course Syllabi at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted forinclusion in Syllabi by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contactscholarworks@mso.umt.edu.Recommended CitationPodger, Pamela J., "JOUR 415.01: Feature Writing" (2009). Syllabi. 1235.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabi/1235J415 -  Feature WritingInstructor: Pamela J. Podger Semester: Fall, 2009Email: pam.podgen’Simso.umt.edu Phone: (406) 721-3831Class dates and location: This online course runs from Aug. 30 to Dec. 12. The class is available through Blackboard.Availability: I will be available for telephone calls and will check my email daily, Monday-Friday.1 also will make office appointments in DAH Room 432 or by web chat (my Skype ID is pjpodger).Tech Support: UMOnline: 406 243-6367; courseware-supportialumontana. edu; or http://umonline.umt.edu (Contact Us tablCOURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVESStudents will gain an understanding of the differences in interviewing, reporting and writing required in feature stories and build on the traditional “hard news'’ style they’ve encountered in prior classes. This class will teach the various genres of feature writing and help them develop style and nuance and further their foundation in news writing to prepare them for working in newsrooms, online operations and elsewhere.PREREQUISITE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE______________________________Students must have successfully passed J270. Any experience writing feature stories for online or print publications is desirable, but not mandatory.LEARNING OUTCOME ASSESSMENT METHODUnderstand the difference between hard and soft news articles.Discussion board, synthesis papersWrite a wide variety of feature stories in the genre.Discussion board, synthesis papersBecome adept at recognizing and practicing the nuances of strong writing, including voice, pacing, tone, mood, narrative, use of lively verbs, dialog, metaphors, similes, precision, clarity and repetition.Discussion board, synthesis papers, writing exercises.COURSE PARTICIPATION/COMPLETION CRITERIA• Complete all course readings, activities, assignments and assessments.• Participate regularly in asynchronous discussions via the discussion board -  posts should be thorough, thoughtful and timely.• Regular and active participation in small group activities.ASSIGNMENTSYour final grade is based on the following and the distribution is subject to change:Each paper: 15 percent (75 percent total)Discussion board and writing exercises: 25 percentWith an online class and limited face-to-face engagement, your learning from other students and sharing of ideas will happen on the discussion boards. You will comment twice a week on the lectures and readings, and also once a week in response to an observation of a classmate. Treat the discussion board as a public square where analytic, creative and courteous responses are invited. Please double check your spelling, grammar and punctuation before you hit the submit key to publish your posts to the discussion board.BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PAPERSW e'll do five stories during the semester, including one as a two-part narrative. They are due at midnight on Sunday of the assigned week.Each assignment will be specified as you progress through the learning units. Most papers are about 500 words and should be double spaced in 12 pt. type.News feature: Second-day spins, people & places behind the news.Narrative stories (two papers): What is going on behind/around/during the main event? At a gubernatorial convention, who is hawking buttons and bumper stickers? Who cleans up the dining room after the keynote speech?Profiles: Getting to the intimate details and heart of a subject.Trends: How to make relevant what is happening across the nation.GRADING RUBRICS• See Grading Criteria in the navigation bar for the online course.GRADING SYSTEM________________________________________________________• Five papers, discussion board and participation. Grading is done with both numbers and letters: A+=98 and above, A = 93 to 97, A- = 90-92, B+ 87-89, B =83 to 86, B - = 80 to 82, etc.Grading scaleLetter A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ c c- D+ D D- FTest 98-100 93-97 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-62 0-59ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES___________________________________________• All assignments, unless otherwise noted in the learning units section of the course site, are due by midnight MST on Sunday of the week listed.• Discussion board posts are due by midnight on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday of the week listed.• Please use Explorer or Firefox as your browsers (per advice of Blackboard tech folks)• Please write in Word and save your story as a "doc" item, then upload your completed paper. This way, I can edit the Word document using “track editing /changes” and you can compare what you've written with my comments.• Always check your spelling, punctuation and syntax. This is a writing course. Students may find it helpful to read their assignments out loud and, thereby, catch awkward phrases.• Assignments must be labeled consistently: For example, the first paper would be named like this: Podger _  Trend.doc. Please use an underscore (_) not a dash (-) to separate your name from the name of the assignment or other symbols.• Late work marked down a half grade for each day late. Please contact me immediately if you have an emergency or extenuating circumstances that you feel warrants an extension.• Rewrites are allowed and encouraged for all stories, and must be submitted within one week of the original deadline. Rewrites must be done on a new Word document, marked Podger TrendRewrite.doc and you must submit your original with the tracked editing remarks so I  can gauge how fu lly  y o u ’ve reworked the article. You must rewrite two stories.• Be sure to follow AP style. There is a partial online AP guide here: http://www.wwu.edu/iournalism/svllabi/207iabmanual.htm• Reread your paper for spelling, punctuation and grammar before you file your copy to me. Three misspellings or a misspelled name is an automatic F.• Most of the reading assignments are linked to my online blog for this class: http://i415. blogspot.comDSS STATEMENTStudents with disabilities and/or special needs should notify the instructor at his or her earliestconvenience and contact Disabilities Services for Students, http://www.umt.edu/dss/ or x2243.Academic Misconduct and the Student Conduct Code:All students must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the course instructor and/or disciplinary sanction by the University. All students need to be familiarwith the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/Index.cfm/page/1321.And, more on academic honesty, is available here: http://life.umt.edu/vpsa/student conduct.phpPLAG1ARIASM: Have pride in your work and banish the idea of turning in something written by someone else. Penalties range from flunking this class to expulsion from school.CLASS WORK: You may not submit for this course any assignment that has previously, or will be concurrently, be submitted for another class unless you receive prior approval from the professor for this course. To do so without permission will result in an F for the assignment and could result in an F for the course.COURSE SCHEDULEWeek One 8/30 to 9/5: Introductions Assignment: Build a profile for your home page.Find a childhood photograph and post it to your home page for an exercise later in the class.Week Two 9/6 to 9/12: Differences between hard news and feature stories.Week Three 9/13 to 9/19: Interviewing techniques for feature stories.Interviewing exercise.Week Four 9/20 to 9/26: Organizing notes into clear, succinct writing.Week Five 9/27 to 10/3: Capturing what is new in a trend story.First paper: Trends paper o f  about 500 words is due by midnight Sunday 10/4.Week Six 10/4 to 10/10: Profiles and unearthing the vital details.Second paper: Profile paper o f  about 500 words is due by midnight 10/11.Week Seven 10/11 to 10/17: Elements of strong story telling.Childhood photo exercise: Write a  200-word story on the emotions, memories and descriptions in your picture. Swap with a classmate and write a 200-word story on what you envision is happening in their picture. Both are due by midnight 10/18.Week Eight 10/18 to 10/24: Handling difficult subjects and emotionally tough interviews.Week Nine 10/25 to 10/31: Other types of features, anniversary stories, brights, etc. Post a “bright"feature story to the discussion board early in the week so others can comment on it.Week Ten 11/1 to 11/7: Trends (continued).Week Eleven 11/8 to 11/14 : News featuresThird Paper: News feature o f  about 500 words is due by midnight 11/15.Week Twelve 11/15 to 11/21: Narratives overview and short-form articles.Select someone or a situation fo r  your 1000-word narrative early in this week. This cannot be a relative, f ie n d  or someone you already know. You may select an acquaintance, someone who intrigues you or someone y o u ’ve heard about at a campus group/activity. It's  important to get the right person. Feel _free to contact me set up an appointment to talk about subjects, questions, etc.Week Thirteen 11/22 to 11/28: Cliff hangers, gold coins and propelling long narratives forward.Fourth Paper: First part o f  your 1,000-word narrative story is due by midnight 11/29.Week Fourteen 11/29 to 12/5: Narratives, long-form articles.Fifth Paper: Second part o f  your 1,000-word narrative story is due by midnight 12/6.Week Fifteen 12/6 to 12/12: Recap and review.COURSE MATERIALSRequired: “Feature Writing for Newspapers and Magazines” by Edward Jay Friedlander and John Lee.Optional: “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing” by William E. Blundell.“Intimate Journalism” by Walt Harrington.OTHEROnline learning is different from the face-to-face encounters and discussions most of you have experienced. We'll do our best to build an online community and share our insights,observations and appreciation of feature writing. You’ll find yourself clicking through the various “learning units” for the content of the course and each “learning unit” has several pages (arrows in the upper right-hand comer will help you scroll through the pages). Please email me or post to the General Discussion board if you have a question -  especially if  other classmates might benefit from the answer, too.

JOUR 415.01: Feature Writing

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JOUR 415.01: Feature Writing

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