Journalism Course Description
Students will learn the essential skills of researching, reporting, editing, and publishing. They will produce high-quality features and personal essays for school, contests, and freelance blogs, newspapers, newsletters and magazines as they explore careers in writing. The class will emphasize the art of storytelling, human interest, and analysis through profiles, criticism, and narrative writing. Assignments will include interviews, reports and critiques on music, art, food, drama, movies, sports, fashion and travel. Quality work will be published in the ASM newsletter. Students are responsible for all content on the class blog: Two Teens in Morocco.
Grade Scale
97-100 A+
94-96 A
90-93 A-
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
64-66 D
60-63 D-
0-59 F
Attendance and Tardy Policy
Students must be present to do well. At the university level, many departments/professors have policies stating if a student misses a certain number of days (usually 5 per semester excused or unexcused), he/she will automatically fail the course. In my class, if a student is absent or late to class and does not have an excused note, he/she will not be allowed to make up any work/test missed.
Late or Make-Up Work
If you have an excused absence, turn in your note from a parent the day you return with homework. Reading checks must be made up at the beginning of the first day students return to class.
In class essays and tests missed due to excused absences must be made up before the last day of the course. Extra credit is due by the last day of the course as well. Late homework (less than 100 pts) is not accepted but late major essays are. (See below.)
If you are unable to attend class the day an essay (or other major assignment worth more than 100 pts) is due, email it to meand submit to TurnItIn.com. Essays are lowered one letter grade for each day they are late. Out of class essays must be submitted to turnitin.com by midnight of the day the hard copy is due to me. The penalty for not doing so is one letter grade for every day it is not submitted. This will be enforced. If a paper is never submitted to turnitin.com, it will receive a failing grade. (I highly recommend that you submit papers earlier than the deadline. That way, you’ll have time to correct any areas of unintentional plagiarism turnitin.com finds.)
Academic Integrity Policy
Students must be sure (even with group projects and partner assignments) that all submitted assignments, projects (seminars, presentations, etc), and essays comply with the expectation that their work is fully their own. When told to use critical articles as research, Spark Notes and resources like them are not acceptable academic resources. They should not be cited or used. Reading Spark Notes with the text can be helpful with more complicated works but should be avoided as much as possible since such aides are not permitted on SAT and AP tests. Students should avoid reading the analysis sections of Spark Notes since those ideas can creep into students’ papers and, without citation, become plagiarism. Should a student not understand/have questions about a reading assignment, he/she should seek help from me before or after school, during recess or lunch, etc. Our goal is for you to become independent critical thinkers and writers, and I will help you get there.
Students will learn the essential skills of researching, reporting, editing, and publishing. They will produce high-quality features and personal essays for school, contests, and freelance blogs, newspapers, newsletters and magazines as they explore careers in writing. The class will emphasize the art of storytelling, human interest, and analysis through profiles, criticism, and narrative writing. Assignments will include interviews, reports and critiques on music, art, food, drama, movies, sports, fashion and travel. Quality work will be published in the ASM newsletter. Students are responsible for all content on the class blog: Two Teens in Morocco.
Grade Scale
97-100 A+
94-96 A
90-93 A-
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
64-66 D
60-63 D-
0-59 F
Attendance and Tardy Policy
Students must be present to do well. At the university level, many departments/professors have policies stating if a student misses a certain number of days (usually 5 per semester excused or unexcused), he/she will automatically fail the course. In my class, if a student is absent or late to class and does not have an excused note, he/she will not be allowed to make up any work/test missed.
Late or Make-Up Work
If you have an excused absence, turn in your note from a parent the day you return with homework. Reading checks must be made up at the beginning of the first day students return to class.
In class essays and tests missed due to excused absences must be made up before the last day of the course. Extra credit is due by the last day of the course as well. Late homework (less than 100 pts) is not accepted but late major essays are. (See below.)
If you are unable to attend class the day an essay (or other major assignment worth more than 100 pts) is due, email it to meand submit to TurnItIn.com. Essays are lowered one letter grade for each day they are late. Out of class essays must be submitted to turnitin.com by midnight of the day the hard copy is due to me. The penalty for not doing so is one letter grade for every day it is not submitted. This will be enforced. If a paper is never submitted to turnitin.com, it will receive a failing grade. (I highly recommend that you submit papers earlier than the deadline. That way, you’ll have time to correct any areas of unintentional plagiarism turnitin.com finds.)
Academic Integrity Policy
Students must be sure (even with group projects and partner assignments) that all submitted assignments, projects (seminars, presentations, etc), and essays comply with the expectation that their work is fully their own. When told to use critical articles as research, Spark Notes and resources like them are not acceptable academic resources. They should not be cited or used. Reading Spark Notes with the text can be helpful with more complicated works but should be avoided as much as possible since such aides are not permitted on SAT and AP tests. Students should avoid reading the analysis sections of Spark Notes since those ideas can creep into students’ papers and, without citation, become plagiarism. Should a student not understand/have questions about a reading assignment, he/she should seek help from me before or after school, during recess or lunch, etc. Our goal is for you to become independent critical thinkers and writers, and I will help you get there.
Assignment 1: Feature Story Interview
Like all other stories, profiles must have an angle, a primary theme. That theme should be introduced in the lead, it should be explored and returned to at the end of the story. Something of a person’s character, spirit and style will then be revealed through that theme.
Whatever the theme, it takes a thorough understanding of a person’s life to create a revealing sketch of that life. Reporters should spend time with their subjects while they’re doing whatever makes them newsworthy. If you are not in the person’s class, ask if you may observe a lesson.
Good profiles - and all good journalism stories - show, instead of telling. Use all five senses when you interview someone. What is the teacher wearing? What mannerisms do you notice as you talk? Is the person relaxed? How do you know? What questions does the interviewee excitedly answer? What is the person passionate about?
Ask to use a tape recorder so you can quote accurately. Every story needs quotes from the interviewee. Get positive quotes from students in the teacher’s class as well.
Good profiles use the appropriate tone. Think about audience/purpose of the publication. If it’s the school newsletter, write from a PR perspective.
1. BEFORE INTERVIEW
Before you interview or write the story, think about your goal -- the type of story you want to write, the space you'll have to tell it in, where it'll be published, and who'll be reading it.
Decide what your angle is: What is interesting or unusual about this person? What is this person's story?
All of these things will affect the direction you take with your story (as well as how freely your subject talks with you
Get background info: Do a LexisNexis search for old newspaper articles about your subject and/or do a Google search. Does the person have a personal website or a bio on his company’s website? Ask him to e-mail you his resume.
You may find something interesting in the resume. For example, if you’re interviewing a teacher, you may find that your subject went to private, exclusive, costly schools all her life but has chosen to teach at a very poor school. What inspired this choice? Why is this rewarding for her? Or you may see that she has won awards in soccer in college, and you didn't know she was a former jock. Do your research before you show up!
Talk to people who know them well (friends, coaches, coworkers, mentors, parents, siblings, even enemies). Get the correct spelling of names and their qualifications/titles.
2. SETTING UP INTERVIEW
Assemble Tools: notepad, tape/digital recorder, camera, pens
Test tape recorder
Meet them at place they are comfortable but not too distracted. Meet at time they aren’t too busy.
Prepare possible questions. Examples follow.
What brought you to ASM/Marrakech?
Have you taught abroad before?
Where are you from?
What are your first impressions of Morocco? ASM?
What are the best things about being an expat/your new life here?
What are the worst things about being an expat/your new life?
What is most rewarding about your career (what makes it worthwhile)?
Where did you go to college? What degrees do you have? What, if any, further degrees or certifications are you pursuing? Do you have any other special training that has prepared you for your career?
Where have you worked before this job?
Why did you become a teacher and choose _________ to teach?
What honors/awards have you received?
Could you give some personal background (single/married, children, etc.)?
What are your hobbies?
Where did you grow up? Did you move around a lot? If yes, how did this affect you? If no, how did the stability of living in one place all your life affect you?
Are there any political or social issues you feel passionately about?
Do you have a nickname?
List your favorites (book, movie or play, quote, poem, website, type of food or individual dish, music genre, song, band or individual musician, perfume, clothing style or designer, etc.).
Where have you traveled?
How do you keep a healthy work/life balance?
So far what's been your most embarrassing moment as a ________?
What's the newest, freshest approach you are bringing to your job?
What's the next skill or knowledge set you want to add to your repertoire to make you a better _________?
Favorite weekend activity?
What's your favorite funny story about yourself?
Name three things about yourself that most people don't know.
List three misconceptions that people often have about you (and, if none, why).
What's your life plan? What do you plan to have accomplished in five, 10, 20, and 50 years -- personally and/or professionally?
What was your favorite toy (or game) as a child, and why?
What makes you laugh?
Best compliment you've ever received?
Anything else you’d like to add?
Did the person have a model or idol who they aspired to be as a youth?
Did the person have specific goals as a youth? How did they go about achieving those goals?
Who has helped them during their personal or professional career?
Has there been a defining moment in that person's life that made them decide to take the direction in life that they did?
Does the person have advice to offer people who are aspiring to be as successful as he/she?
Tell me something about yourself that people might not readily know.
3. AT END OF INTERVIEW
Thank them for their time and ask them if it’s OK for you to contact them again if they have questions. Ask them if there’s anyone else they should talk to about them. Give them a timeline for when you plan to write your story and where you hope to publish it, questions to ask in advance. Group questions into categories.
4. WRITE and REVISE interview.
How many words are you allowed? Read drafts aloud. Use alliteration, variety of structure and length of sentences, other techniques of effective creative nonfiction.
5. Have a peer give you feedback.
6. Submit to teacher for feedback and possible publication.
Adapted from http://journalism-education.cubreporters.org/2010/08/how-to-write-profile-story.html
Read this post and be willing to explain his views on 11/23.