COMM 2310, Print and Digital Media Writing
Prerequisites
Prerequisites for COMM 2310 will be a C+ in each of five courses: English 1304, History 1376 and 1378,
Political Science 1336 and 1337. The department will do checks on this, so there’s no getting around it.
Competent typing ability: This is a must; without it, you won’t be able to keep up.
Lab instructor information
Name: Angela Hopp
E-mail: WebCT Vista e-mail
*Please use WebCT Vista e-mail for any correspondence regarding this class. Use the e-mail address
noted in the journal entry explanation below to contact me after the session has ended regarding references
or other issues.
Contact information: If you need to spend time going over lessons with me outside of class, we will arrange
it. I work at the Division of Research and can be reached there. Do not arrive unannounced.
Course goals
Class covers the fundamentals of news writing and reporting for print and electronic media. Class focuses
on current events, spelling, grammar, style and news value.
Course materials
Required texts are available at the University of Houston bookstore and on the Internet. Fairly recent copies
of the latter three can be found at any used bookstore:
“Writing for Print and Digital Media” by Michael Ryan and James W. Tankard Jr. (2005)
“When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Guide to Grammar and Style” by Lauren Kessler and
Duncan McDonald
“The Associated Press Stylebook” (2006 or more recent)
“The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation”
Note: You will be issued a flash drive containing a course pack similar to those found at the
University of Houston copy center. (Just think digital here.) The files on it will be used for class,
for test preparation, for homework, for your journal entries and for your outside stories. Guard
your flash drive with your life.
Other recommended materials:
Small tape or digital recorder for conducting interviews.
Reporter’s notebook (or any notebook of convenient size.)
Pencils (All classwork must be conducted in pencil.)
Microsoft Word (Other programs often will not attach to WebCT or turnitin.com correctly. The
entire Windows Office suite is available at Cougar Byte in the University Center for $14.)
Keeping up with current events
You are expected to know what is going on in the world. You can keep up with the news by reading daily
papers, watching broadcast reports or sifting through the Internet. A news quiz will be assessed at least
once a week. Some will be written; others will be oral. They will be given at the start of class, so it is a
good idea to make it to class on time. I will not stop administering a quiz if you wander in late. Hint: Pay
close attention to top-headline, front-page, top-of-the-hour stories.
On the first day of class, read the Houston Chronicle or another major newspaper. If you are not familiar
with any acronyms used in headlines, familiarize yourself with them. Common acronyms often crop up on
news quizzes. If you do not know what the word “acronym” means, look it up.
Knowing style and grammar
The syllabus from the lecture part of this class contains several dozen rules taken from the "Associated
Press Stylebook and Libel Manual" and on the basics of grammar. Although you are not required to
memorize every listing in the stylebook, you are expected to know those singled out. You will have style
quizzes throughout the semester in the lab. It is a good idea to learn how to navigate the stylebook so that
you can quickly find rules not listed in the syllabus when working on daily exercises. Points will be
deducted for every style, spelling and grammar mistake.
You must have a copy of the 2006 or more recent “Associated Press Stylebook.” Here are some other rules
and advice by which to abide:
• Put the most relevant figure, meaning the most recent figure, first.
Example: The fee was increased to $50 from $47.
The fee was decreased to $47 from $50.
• See “Associated Press Stylebook” on dateline cities. Memorize which cities stand alone. Texas cities
can stand alone in datelines and stories. You will be quizzed on this.
Note: The stylebook has a very informative section on punctuation.
Study Guide
I have prepared several practice exercises and notes. See WebCT Vista for a spelling list under the Study
Guide. The words included are overlooked every day by writers. You don't have to be one of those people.
You will be quizzed on those listed and others. Also see the Study Guide for spelling exercises, editing
exercises, numbers exercises, lay/lie and sit/set exercises and commas exercises. Work on them. Discuss
them. Refer back to them.
Outside stories
You will write three stories on your own time outside of class: a meeting story, a speech story and an
interview story, in that order. Regardless of what you might hear in lecture, stick to my schedule. Each
story will count as fives grades. You also will give Ryan a copy of each story. You must have Internet
access to properly research your stories or communicate with your sources and me. For more information
about these stories, see the WebCT Vista Study Guide.
In-class assignments
Throughout the semester, there will be some exercises for which I will not take grades. If you get a check
mark on an assignment, that means you're on the right track. If you are absent and do not complete such
ungraded exercises and do not request makeup as per the syllabus, you will get a zero. So, I guess you
could say it would be graded. But, clearly, there are no "gimme" grades. Get it?
Journal entries
Each week, you will be expected to write a journal entry regarding things going on in the world (as in the
news) and how your outside reporting is going. I will post the topics on the WebCT discussion board or
announce them in class.
You will send your weekly journal entries to this e-mail address: comm2310lab@yahoo.com.
Your entries can be as simple as some conversation you had with friends or family regarding current
events. They can be as complex as how the news has affected you personally or emotionally. I will not
share your entries with the class. Really, I just want you to start thinking and writing. That is the guts of
this class.
Questions? E-mail me through Vista. The comm2310lab address is reserved for journal entries only.
Grading
In the fourth week of class, five points will be deducted for every spelling, grammatical and style error on
your classwork and homework. Your grade will quickly deteriorate if you do not study.
All daily assignments are weighted evenly. The three stories you will do later in the semester will count as
five grades each. This means that if you have about 50 poor or failing grades, 15 good grades will do little
for your average. Yes, you will likely have 60 to 80 grades by the end of the term.
You must make a combined grade of a C+ to move on in your degree plan. This lab is worth 70 percent of
your final grade. I would suggest that you keep a list of your grades and check on your progress before the
drop dates. WebCT Vista keeps a list for you.
When you get your grades at the end of the semester, the lab grade will be combined with the lecture grade.
Do not forget that absenteeism will affect your overall grade. If you have kept a record of all your grades
and considered your absences and still think that your overall grade is wrong, see me and provide your
documentation. For further explanation of your assignment grades, see WebCT.
Absences
If you have an illness, accident, injury or family emergency that will force you to miss class, you must email me at my WebCT Vista address in advance of the class or classes you're going to miss. There are no
exceptions.
Making up work
If you contact me about missing class, as described above, you will be given the assignments during the
next class upon request. I will not seek you out. Things get hectic, so, if you must, ask me repeatedly. If,
several sessions after your absence, you have not picked up the makeup, you will be given a zero. Like I
said, hound me if necessary. And know exactly which exercises you have missed. This will require asking
your classmates. Do not come up to me two weeks later and say you need whatever we did that day. I won’t
know what you’re talking about and won’t do the research for you.
Cheating
Suspected cases of plagiarism, fabrication or other types of academic dishonesty will be prosecuted
according to university policy. This could lead to your expulsion. So, go with your gut and make your own
grades. I have acted upon this before.
Classroom behavior
If you have a cell phone, turn it on vibrate when you enter my classroom. I don’t mind if you step out
briefly to answer an important call. The key word here is "important." I am always on call for work, which
means that my cell phone will be on.
Never assume class is canceled at any time. I have not missed a class in all the years I have taught here.
A notice will be posted at the COMM building and on Vista if class is canceled.
Extra credit
Look for grammatical errors, typos or factual errors in news publications. If you find something, bring the
“catch" to class. I’ll add five points to one daily exercise grade. Only one catch a day is allowed. Printouts
from the Internet will be accepted. An end-of-the-semester extra credit project can be found on WebCT
Vista.