JOMC 53: Newswriting

Summer 2004

Park Library Pathfinder:

JOMC 53 (Biographical Searches)


Course Description:

53, Newswriting
4 credits. Prerequisites: sophomore standing, keyboarding skills. Study of news story elements, writing of leads, organization and writing of various types of news stories.

Required Texts (Each book is sold in the textbook division of the Student Stores):

Recommended Texts

The following texts can be purchased in the Textbook Division of Student Stores. They can also be found in the news-editorial section of the School's library.


INTRODUCTION

JOMC 53, Newswriting, concentrates on teaching students how to gather and organize information and how to write news articles on deadline according to acceptable professional standards. Students are taught and practice writing effective leads and various types of news stories. The course emphasizes respect for and correct use of the language, with particular stress on spelling and grammar, style consistency, accuracy and clear writing. Attention is also paid to bias, libel and ethical considerations. Students are also given an introduction to information retrieval via computer databases.

The faculty of the School of School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes strongly that anyone interested in a career in any communications field must be able to write clear, tight copy with care and precision. JOMC 53 is required of all journalism majors, regardless of whether their intended careers are in newspapers, advertising, public relations, broadcast, photojournalism, graphic design or other communications fields.

TESTS AND ASSIGNMENTS -- THE COMPONENTS OF GRADES

A. Common Competency Exams

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication administers three exams common to all sltudents in JOMC 53 to test the students' level of competency at certain points in the course. The week-to-week guide for the course incorporates the material you will need to have read and the skills you should have acquired by each competency test.

The first will test your ability to exercise sound news judgment. You will be asked to write a simple news story from a set of facts. Your should apply news values in determining which facts to use and follow the inverted pyramid style of writing. At that point in the course, you should also be familiar with AP and UNC-CH style. Your will also be graded on spelling and grammar. The first competency test is given in class on Friday, May 21.

The second will test your mastery of points and principles covered in assigned readings in Reaching Audiences, class lectures and any other material from the instructor. Part of the exam will be short-answer questions, and you will be expected to be able to discuss briefly topics such as libel, ethics in journalism, research and interviewing techniques, the need for editing standards and the basic principles of newswriting. The second competency test will be Friday, June 4.

The third -- the final exam -- tests your ability to write a news story from your own notes taken from an event. A practical exam, it usually takes the form of a videotape of a speech or news event. Your are expected to produce a well-written and well-copyedited story, applying in practice all the skills and principles you have learned throughout the semester. The final exam is given the last day of class, which is Friday, June 11.

JOMC 53 instructors take pains to ensure that all common exams -- the final exam in particular -- are fair and appropriate tests of the material covered in the course. All JOMC 53 instructors work together to compose and grade the exams to help ensure equality in coverage and grading. The exams are designed to ensure that all passing JOMC 53 students achieve certain levels of competency by the end of the course.

If you have to miss an exam, it is up to the individual instructor to schedule a make-up exam. Your may receive a grade of zero on the exam if you miss it without an excused absence or if you did not make arrangements in advance

GRADE PERCENTAGES

The aim of the course is to make students competent in the basic writing skills needed for a successful communications career and for further studies in communications. Competency will be tested in the manner described above. Your total course grade will be based on all in-class work, including stories written in and out of class, quizzes, your scores on the first two competency exams and taken in class. Your grade could also include scores on assigned book reviews or investigative news articles.

This is the way your grade will be computed:

60 percent: All in-class work, including but not limited to exercises in class; quizzes, including those on copy editing, AP and UNC-CH style, news names and events, language use and other subjects at the instructor's discretion; outside-of-class stories; book reports or report on investigative news articles. (Writing assignments may carry more weight than quizzes in grading; for example, quizzes may be 10 percent and daily work 50 percent to make up the 60 percent.

10 percent: Spelling and Grammar Exam score

10 percent: first competnecy exam

10 percent: second competency exam

10 percent: third competency exam (final exam)

Honor Code:
Students are reminded that a failure to do all of their own research and writing would be a violation of the University Honor Code and could result in disciplinary action by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. For comprehensive information on the Honor Code, go to the UNC-CH Student Judicial System web site at www.unc.edu/depts/honor.

Plagiarism
To learn how to avoid plagiarism, students should go to the Writing Center's Honor System Plagiarism site at: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html.

Students may also go to the "Avoiding Plagiarism" site at the University of California-Davis at: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/avoid.htm .