COURSE SYLLABUS

ENGL / JRNL 117AD – FEATURE WRITING

Course Description: JRNL 117 – A writing workshop focusing on student writing and marketing in-depth non-fiction feature articles. Emphasis will be on guiding students and developing interesting non-fiction stories from the idea stage through publication and finding suitable markets for publication. The course is designed for beginning, intermediate and advanced writers interested in understanding and practicing an advanced level of journalistic writing. Stories written in class will be either assigned by the instructor or pitched by the writer. Appropriate articles may be solicited for publication in the Coast Report, the weekly campus newspaper. Same as Communications 117AD. Students completing English 117AD may not receive credit for Communications 117AD. Transfer CSU.

REQUIRED READINGS

1. Handbook for Freelance Writing (paperback)
   By Michael Perry
   Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1st edition 1998
   ISBN: 0844232564
   
2. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (paperback)
   By Maria Augusta Trapp
   Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st edition 2001
   ISBN: 0060005777
   
3. Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life (paperback)
   By Robert Spaethling (Editor)
   Publisher: W. W. Norton; Reprint edition 2005
   ISBN: 039332830

ENGLISH / JRNL 117 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Generate a marketable story idea, write a compelling query letter, and target the appropriate editor/magazine
2. Know how to professionally present material to newspaper and magazine editors
3. Structure an article with attention to the three major components: Introduction, body, and conclusion
4. Write coherent, focused paragraphs exhibiting a variety of sentence structures
5. Exhibit a command of college-level vocabulary appropriate to the article subject
6. Use a variety of prewriting activities to generate ideas, focus a story, and formulate a method of developing a story
7. Distinguish between writing for a business-to-business publication and a general consumer publication
8. Edit a story for content, organization, style, and mechanics

ENGLISH / JRNL 112 EVALUATION METHOD
Evaluation of the student will be based upon the following items:

1. Write feature articles containing the following elements:
   

   a.	A well-developed lead
   b.	A structure developed according to one of the standard patterns of organization
   c.	An effective body and conclusion
   d.	Well-developed paragraphs exhibiting coherence and unity
   e.	Coherent, focused sentences exhibiting a variety in sentence structure
   f.	Effective transitions
   g.	College-level vocabulary

   
   
2. Select appropriate prewriting activities
3. Edit feature articles in a small group for content, organization, style, and mechanics
4. Evaluate feature articles using content, organization, style, and mechanics as criteria
5. Participate in individual oral analyses or group discussions, explaining the structural and developmental elements of feature articles
6. Write in-class feature articles

Your final letter grade will be calculated based on the following:

1. Written assignments 60%
2. Midterm examination 10%
3. Final examination 10%
4. Class participation 20% (includes homework, journal, quizzes, discussions)

Feature articles are due at the beginning of the class period. All work should be doubled-spaced and typed. In-class assignments must be written in ink, preferably black.

GRADING METHOD

1. The A feature article makes for compelling reading because it’s fresh and provocative. The prose follows easily from point to point, and is solidly supported with the appropriate material and research. Language is handled deftly, often gracefully, with striking phrases. Sentences are effectively crafted with variety and economy. Mechanics are accurate.
   
2. The B feature article is not only competent in all areas, but excels in several. The B feature article conveys a clear sense of purpose and audience, supports most ideas fully, reveals a clear structure, contains almost no mechanical errors, and conveys a definite sense of style.
   
3. The C feature article reveals a minimal sense of audience and purpose, written mainly to fulfill an assignment. The writer has stated the thesis generally, organized the paper mechanically, and handled mechanics erratically, but not horribly. The ideas are organized, even though weakly, and most generalizations are supported, even though thinly and with few mechanical errors.
   
4. The D feature article is deficient in either organization, development, mechanics/usage or content. A writer of the D feature article often makes numerous errors, rambles from one point to another without a clear thesis and logical organization, and states illogical ideas.
   
5. The F feature article is seriously deficient in organization, development, mechanics/usage or content. Typically, an F feature article is confusing and frustrating to read. It demonstrates no sense of reader or purpose, and contains serious mechanical/usage errors.

WORKING POLICIES

1. Plan to attend all scheduled class sessions. You are responsible for information dispensed during your absence: class notes, changes in assignments, etc. Exchange phone numbers with classmates to update yourself when you are unavoidably absent.
   
2. Plan to carefully follow the schedule of assignments. Late papers receive reduced credit. The only exception will be illness or personal emergency, in which case you should submit your assignment on the day you return to class.
   
3. Submit typewritten writing assignments on 8 _” x 11” paper, double-spaced.
   
4. Plagiarism is unacceptable and seriously treated in this class. To avoid plagiarism, follow these guidelines:
   

   a.	Identify direct quotations by quotation marks or other appropriate designations. Give the source either in text or in acceptable footnote form.
   b.	For paraphrasing or summarizing material from another source in your own words, acknowledge the source.
   c.	For borrowed facts or information obtained from your reading or research, acknowledge the source.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Students are expected to attend ALL schedule class sessions. Missed papers will receive a zero. It is possible to miss a session or even two and still do well in the class, but after four (4) absences, the instructor will drop you from the course. Late papers WILL NOT be accepted, unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor.

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