Here is a downloadable copy of our syllabus.

MEDIA WRITING
Instructor: Roxanne K. Dill

 Office Hours
Monday-Wednesday, 2:30-4:30 p.m., 133 South Hall
Tuesday, 2-4 p.m., 223 Hodges Hall.
Monday-Thursday by appointment.

Email: rdill1@lsu.edu

Assignment (only) email:
MC2010: lsumc2010@gmail.com

Class website: lsuwriting4media.com

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” (Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”)
In many ways, media writing will be different from others types of writing you’ve learned. If you excelled in English essay courses, you may not necessarily find media writing easy. Conversely, if essay writing is not your forte, you can be an excellent journalist if you are willing to learn.

You may have been able to coast through other courses with minimal studying and by waiting until the last minute to finish assignments. You will quickly find this is not the case for Manship’s media writing course. Everyone will work hard, including your instructor; however, don’t assume that a large amount of work will translate into a good grade. The quality of the work is what counts, and that quality includes promptly meeting deadlines and striving to improve with each successive writing assignment.

TEXT AND COURSE MATERIALS:

• REQUIRED: “Reporting for the Media,” by Bender, Davenport, Drager, & Fedler; 12th edition, Oxford University Press. (11th edition is acceptable.) This book is not optional. You cannot complete the course work without it.
  • An e-book version, which is about half the price of the book, is available through Red Shelf at this link: https://www.redshelf.com

  Note: Red Shelf does not have an app for your iPhone/iPad/Android device.

• REQUIRED: Associated Press Stylebook (2019 edition preferred). Online and iPhone app versions available at about $25 each for an annual subscription. See http://www.apstylebook.com. Keep this book throughout your time at Manship.
• RECOMMENDED: A grammar resource book. Two options are “The Elements of Style” by Strunk & White or “Working with Words” by Brooks, Pinson and Wilson. Consider this an investment that you can keep indefinitely. All good writers have at least one grammar resource book.
• NOTE: The LSU Bookstore offers rental options on most books that cost considerably less than purchasing.

ALSO REQUIRED:

• Notebook for in-class notes and interviews (No laptops allowed for taking notes.)
• Access to a camera (Smartphone camera is OK.)
• Money on your Tiger Card and syncing to classroom printer for printing in the Journalism Building and Hodges Hall.
• Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts
• Manship Writing Essentials & A Manship Education (Open this link to see these documents in a downloadable syllabus.)

COURSE OBJECTIVE/GOALS
Objective
MC2010 are beginning writing courses for mass communication majors and minors. The courses introduce skills associated with writing, grammar, style and information gathering and is meant to prepare students for advanced writing courses in all Manship School concentrations. (Students must make an A or B in either course before being considered for admission to the Manship School of Mass Communication.)

Manship School goals for this class:
At the end of this semester, you should be able to do the following:

• Develop skills in writing lead sentences and in organizing news stories in an inverted pyramid and hourglass structure under deadline pressure
• Develop skills in conducting interviews and using the Internet and the library for information gathering
• Develop understanding of the basic legal and ethical principles of mass communication, including principles of libel as outlined in the “Associated Press Stylebook”
• Develop ability to recognize news bias and to write with sensitivity to diverse audiences
• Develop skills in using Associated Press style
• Refine basic grammar and language skills that include, among other things, parallel structure, subject-verb agreement, active-passive voice usage and spelling

LAB RULES

• No food or drinks in the writing labs. If time permits, you will have a snack/drink break.
• This is a media writing class, not French study hall or the library reading room. Don’t come to class if you intend to study instead. You’ll be asked to leave.
• Do not use lab computers during class time for chats. You will be asked to leave. If time permits, you will get a break to feed your habit.

FATAL FLAWS OF UNPROFESSIONALISM

• Repeatedly doing less than your best
• Blaming others for your mistakes
• Lying
• Cheating
• Complaining
• Being sloppy in group work, which requires someone else to work twice as hard
• Thinking you know everything there is to know and don’t need instruction
• Yawning and sighing as though you have better places to be
• Habitually arriving late and/or turning in late work
• Chatting via laptops/smartphones when you are meeting with someone else
• Failing to respond to emails within 48 hours, especially those asking for information or a response
• Repurposing your own past work and presenting it as original
• Stealing the work/ideas of others and presenting it as your own

CELL PHONE ETIQUETTE

• We will practice professionalism, which includes cell phone etiquette. Your cell phone should be on silent or vibrate during class and away from your hands and in your purse or backpack. It should not be in your hands, under your keyboard, in your hoodie or pocket, or in your underwear.
• DO NOT ANSWER CALLS OR SEND TEXT MESSAGES DURING CLASS.  Please tell your friends and family that you are busy during this time, and you can’t answer your phone. If you are expecting an important call or text, let me know, and you can step outside to take the call.
• If your phone rings during class, I get to answer it and take a message for you. If mine rings, you get to do the same for me. If you take your phone out during class to send text messages, you’ll be asked to leave.
• If you are asked to leave for abusing your computer or cell phone privileges, you will get a zero for that day’s assignments.
• Only daily tweeters will be allowed to use their phones in class.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, QUIZZES AND EXAMS
One AP Style exam will be administered during the semester. We have a mid-term and final writing extravaganza in place of an exam. Expect to have writing assignments each time we meet.

An 800- to 1,000-word feature assignment will be due during the final weeks of the semester. Expect to be quizzed on the Manship School’s Writing Essentials, reading assignments, current events, AP style facts, grammar and “Roxanne’s Rules of Writing.” You will also complete an online grammar course.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s work or idea and claiming it as your own. Assignments should be the work of the student whose name is on the completed task. Material copied from classmates or Internet material that is not attributed will be considered plagiarism. Any documented example that you did not do your own work (cheating or plagiarism) will result in filing of a report to Judicial Affairs in the Office of the Dean of Students. You should aim to be known as a communicator with integrity.

THE LSU OFFICE OF DISABILITY SERVICES
Students who have a condition that may make it difficult to complete class work in the time, format, quantity or quality required should notify me within the first week of the semester so that we can develop an appropriate plan of action. To receive academic accommodations, you must register with the LSU Office of Disability Services.

ATTENDANCE AND DEADLINES
We will write every day. Consider this class as you would a job. Our class will work like a newsroom: I am the editor, and you are the reporter. As such, you will turn in your assignments to your editor, who will check them and give them back to you. In a newsroom, some rules will apply:

Attendance
Attendance is 5 percent of your grade because you can’t learn if you don’t come to class. No makeup work will be allowed for in-class assignments missed because of an unexcused/unofficial absence. You are also expected to be on time. Quizzes and tests begin when class starts. If submit a fake medical excuse, you will visit the dean.

Deadlines
As a reporter, a missed deadline is a missed story. Deadlines are a practical fact of life and will be strictly enforced. One minute after the deadline is late. All late assignments will be assessed at least one letter grade and may receive a zero, depending on the circumstances.

Plan ahead.
Computer or transportation problems are insufficient excuses.
All outside assignments must be turned in at the start of the class in which they are due or you’ve missed the deadline.

Absences
LSU recognizes valid reasons for absences: illness, serious family emergency, special curricular requirements such as judging trips or field trips, court-imposed legal obligations such as subpoenas or jury duty, military obligations, serious weather conditions and religious observances.

You are responsible for providing reasonable advance notification and appropriate documentation of the reason for the absence. (Don’t turn in a photocopied/scanned doctor’s note.) If you are sick or have an emergency, please let me know ASAP. Don’t send your instructor an email with a request for an update on what you missed or with an assignment attached. Check with a classmate to find out what you missed.

Late work because of an excused absence is due (printed) at the start of the next class period. Current events quizzes do not account for make-up work.

GRADING
In- and out-of-class assignments will be used to enhance your understanding of story structure, effective presentation, grammar, vocabulary and knowledge of AP style. Your assignments may be graded in either of two ways: one grade given as an assessment of the overall quality of the paper or points deducted to determine the final grade.

Here is a short explanation of these two possible grading systems, the first of which an editor might use: 

Overall assessment:

• A – Excellent story content, good lead, minimal technical problems.
• B – Good story content, good lead, few technical problems.
• C – Acceptable story content, acceptable lead, technical problems.
• D – Story content is weak, needs to be rewritten, weak lead and/or many technical problems.
• F – Story cannot be rewritten as presented, poor lead, large number of technical problems, misspelled or misused proper name.

Nuclear Option:
Stories worth 100 points each will be assigned throughout the semester. The following is the nuclear option where points may be deducted:

• Missed the lead—20 points
• Awkward, wordy lead—15 points
• Misspelled words—10 points each
• Misplaced or missing time element—20 points
• Misspelled proper noun (name of person, place or thing—100 points)
• Factual error—50-100 points
• Grammatical error—10 points each
• Incorrect choice of homonym—30 points each
• AP Style error—10 points each

Note: No matter how many points your assignment might be, a misspelled name will result in a zero, and a factual error (one that would mean one where I, your editor, would get an unhappy phone call) will cost you at least half the total points.

FINAL GRADE
The grade breakdown directly below is unique to MC 2010. The point/letter scale is established by the Manship School and is followed by all MC 2010/MC2011 sections. Note: This is not a 10-point scale.

Exams and exercises will be weighted as follows:

• Writing exercises — 60 percent
• AP Exams – 10 percent
• Grammar Exams — 10 percent
• Final feature project — 10 percent
• Quizzes – 5 percent
• Attendance – 5 percent

The percentage of points gained will be translated into a letter grade as follows:

• 93-100—A
• 85-92.99—B
• 77-84.99—C
• 69-76.99—D
• 68 or lower—F

LSU has a plus/minus grading scale, which will be reflected on Moodle. Here is a breakdown of what number grades represent on the 8-point scale we use in MC2011/MC2010:

98 – 100      A+                               95 – 97.99   A                            93 – 94.99 A-
90 – 92.99   B+                               87 – 89.99   B                            85 – 86.99  B-
82 – 84.99   C+                               79 – 81.99   C                            77 – 78.99 C-
75 – 76.99   D+                               72 – 74.99   D                            70 – 71.99   D-
Below 69.99 F

Rounding up and extra-credit assignments are not a policy in this class. Begging your professor to round up your final grade is unattractive and unprofessional, and it will not change your grade.

Schedule a visit with me before midterm week, and I’ll add a point to the writing portion of your grade.

*Manship Assessment and AP Style/Grammar exams are administered through the Office of Assessment and Evaluation’s Computer Testing Center, Himes Hall. Students are responsible for scheduling tests via PAWS.

This course is certified as a “Communication-Intensive Course” and meets all of the requirements explained on the CxC Web site: http://cxc.lsu.edu., including the following: Emphases on formal and informal assignments in written and visual communication, class time spent on communication, 40 percent of the final grade based on communication projects, revisions after faculty feedback on 2 formal projects (one for each emphasis), and a student/faculty ratio of 35:1. Because it meets these requirements, students may count it toward “Distinguished Communicator” certification on LSU transcripts. (See the attachment at the end of this syllabus. The communication emphasis of our class will be written and oral.)