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| Class meets: MW, 5:30 p.m.-7:15 p.m. in 312 OEC
Instructor |
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SAMPLE SYLLABI HOME | PLENKE 1 2
The Basics
Class meets: Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m.-7:15 p.m. in 312 OEC
Instructor: Mark Plenke
Phone and email: Office 422-3568, home 866-9637; e-mail: plenkema@an.cc.mn.us
Office hours: I'll be available after each class or by appointment. Because I'm on campus only for this class, I encourage you to call me at home if you need help with assignments.
Required texts: Writing Across the Media by Kristie Bunton, Thomas B. Connery, Stacey Frank Kanihan, Mark Neuzil and David Nimmer.
Working With Words by Brian Brooks, James Pinson and Jean Gaddy Wilson.
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, Norm Goldstein, editor.
You'll also need:
A dictionary.
A pair of 3.5-inch floppy computer disks.
A student computer account at St. Thomas.
What's Covered: This course will introduce you to mass media writing for print and broadcast journalism, public relations, advertising and online media. You'll also learn reporting strategies and review the mechanics of writing and AP style.
Grading: Your grade will be determined by how well you do on two tests and 15 in- and out-of-class writing assignments. The exams will make up about 20 percent of your grade, the writing assignments the other 80 percent.
The tests will be given March 24 (midterm) and during finals week (our regular class time on May 17). They will include a writing exercise and objective questions about AP style, grammar, punctuation and spelling. You'll have reading assignments and in-class activities to prepare you for the exams.
With a few exceptions, the writing assignments will be assigned on Wednesdays, a first draft will be due the following Monday and a final draft will be due the next Wednesday. The class will function as a writer's workshop, in which you'll build skills as critical readers and writers while you help one another improve your writing. The final drafts will be gridded (instead of graded) to focus on your strengths and weaknesses as a writer on the key skills for each assignment.
Here's an example of a grid:
Other issues: The only real ways to fail this course are to blow off the work or to cheat. Plagiarism on assignments and stealing or cribbing answers for a test will result in an automatic "F" for the course.
A good part of the learning in this class takes place in class and you'll have papers due almost every class period, so attendance is crucial. If you think you'll have conflicts with work, school activities or other classes, reconsider your enrollment in this course. If you miss more than two class periods, we'll sit down to discuss your withdrawal from the class.
SAMPLE SYLLABI HOME | PLENKE 1 2
Exceptional OK Needs Work
____ ____ ____ Lead reflects main idea
____ ____ ____ Inverted pyramid structure
____ ____ ____ Use of tense, person
____ ____ ____ AP style
____ ____ ____ Mechanics
____ ____ ____ Overall
Comments:
On out-of-class assignments, handing in a reasonable first draft on time will be worth 10 of the possible 40 points. The remaining 30 points will be awarded based on your overall score from the grid: 30 points for an exceptional assignment, 25 for "OK" work (approximately a low B) and 21 for a paper that needs work (approximately a D). Even with nothing but OKs on your work, perfect scores on your midterm and final will still earn you an "A." But it's likely that you'll need some exceptional papers to earn the top grade.
Because deadlines are a crucial part of media work, I won't accept late work (unless you have a documented emergency that's been communicated to me before deadline). Late papers earn 0 points.
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