In addition to reviewing the following blog posts, please keep working on your out-of-class story. Everyone's tip sheet has been approved by now. If you haven't yet started on your reporting, please do so ASAP. Your deadline is no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 to omars@msu.edu. That's a very generous time allotment, as the syllabus notes you should usually have a one-week turn-around time.
Let's revisit the assignment parameters, as listed in your syllabus:
>>> The topic must be pre-approved by me, via tip sheet
>>> The story must be at least 700 words long
>>> You need to note the word count at the end of the story
>>> The story should include at least three sources who you have personally interviewed. Three is the bare minimum, but I expect to see many more than that.
>>> You should try to incorporate at least one neutral expert, as noted in the syllabus
>>> On a separate page, attach a source sheet where you list by name, title, phone number and email address each interview source you communicated with. I will be randomly spot-checking sources to check your accuracy and make sure you spoke to whom you claim to have spoken.
>>> Also, keep in mind you will have the opportunity to do an optional rewrite of your story, after the graded version is returned to you. To earn credit for a rewrite, you must do additional reporting and rewriting, as suggested by me. Then, your initial grade and rewrite grade are averaged, and that average becomes your final assignment grade.
I strongly suggest you take advantage of rewrite opportunities; first, because out-of-class stories are such a big part of your final grade, any increase in grade is bound to make a difference. Second, the more you write and report, the better you get.
So, you get an opportunity for a higher grade, and I get the reassurance that you're taking more opportunities to refine your craft.
Either way, please don't wait until the last minute to work on this. In past classes, that has been a sure way to make this assignment a disaster.
Let's revisit the assignment parameters, as listed in your syllabus:
>>> The topic must be pre-approved by me, via tip sheet
>>> The story must be at least 700 words long
>>> You need to note the word count at the end of the story
>>> The story should include at least three sources who you have personally interviewed. Three is the bare minimum, but I expect to see many more than that.
>>> You should try to incorporate at least one neutral expert, as noted in the syllabus
>>> On a separate page, attach a source sheet where you list by name, title, phone number and email address each interview source you communicated with. I will be randomly spot-checking sources to check your accuracy and make sure you spoke to whom you claim to have spoken.
>>> Also, keep in mind you will have the opportunity to do an optional rewrite of your story, after the graded version is returned to you. To earn credit for a rewrite, you must do additional reporting and rewriting, as suggested by me. Then, your initial grade and rewrite grade are averaged, and that average becomes your final assignment grade.
I strongly suggest you take advantage of rewrite opportunities; first, because out-of-class stories are such a big part of your final grade, any increase in grade is bound to make a difference. Second, the more you write and report, the better you get.
So, you get an opportunity for a higher grade, and I get the reassurance that you're taking more opportunities to refine your craft.
Either way, please don't wait until the last minute to work on this. In past classes, that has been a sure way to make this assignment a disaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment