COMM 3004 Journalism in Practice Assessment 02 Guidelines 1 Page | 1 Assessment Two: News or Feature plus Analysis Students are required to write and prepare a folio of news and/or feature articles. The combination and number of pieces is up to the student but should equal 1,200 – 1,500 words. Choice of topics for news and feature articles is individual. However, it is strongly recommended students discuss the choice with tutors before embarking, particularly to ensure that real-life examples (e.g., interviews) do not contrevene journalistic ethics. Tutors and examiners cannot read drafts of the work, but are able to review and provide comments on an outline and any in-depth ideas—time will be made in classes for this purpose and appointments can be made with tutors and lecturers to discuss these in one-onone consultation times. ANALYSIS The piece must be accompanied by ONE (x1) 500 word analysis discussing the full folio, describing why the communication forms were chosen, who were the intended target audience, in what sort of publication (e.g., internal magazine, community newspaper, mass-circulation daily, online newspaper, etc.) they would best be placed, the process and development procedures used to organise and develop the information, and how the development of the pieces in the folio comprise an example or set of examples of contemporary journalism practices. The analysis should include references Assignment objectives 1. To demonstrate an ability to write at a standard appropriate for entry into the media professions 2. To prove in-depth knowledge of the construction, research, development and presentation of journalistic writing 3. To demonstrate a capacity to follow given procedures in the preparation of news or feature articles 4. To provide evidence of an ability to analyse and value one’s own work and to show how this work fits into a broader picture of contemporary professional journalism. Value 35% of overall unit mark Layout No special layout is required. It should be submitted in exactly the way we submit an article to an editor (as double-spaced with pages numbered—no columns). Accompanying images (optional) should be appended at end of article. News and feature articles are not referenced. However, references should be used for the 500-word analysis section, with a short bibliography attached. Submission Submit as a word.document or .rtf file to the Assessment 02 Dropbox. Important!! Please ensure pages are numbered and double-spaced. File Name Please name the file before submitting using the following convention: “Lastname.Firstname.Assign2.2016” (e.g., Cover.Rob.Assign2.2016) COMM 3004 Journalism in Practice Assessment 02 Guidelines 2 Page | 2 Guidelines for Assessment 02: News or Feature Article Part 1: Writing Folio—News and/or Features 1. The news and/or feature articles written and submitted should be based on real situations. This does not have to be high-end political news but can be as ‘banal’ an example as a cat being stuck in a tree, with the real data-collection including an interview with the cat owner (you probably do not need to interview the cat) and some statistics on cat ownership [etc.]. Additional quotes can be drawn from existing media (e.g., a 60 minutes Interview about cat ownership threats). 2. Articles submitted cannot be material that you have previously developed for any other purpose, course or publication (that is, the total number of words you write must be for ‘new work’). 3. The number of news and/or features you write is up to yourself, as the standard sizes for these vary considerably—it always depends on the topic, the publication, the author and whether or not it is a news or feature. Remember, however, that a successful news article or feature will not be ‘too long’ or ‘too short’, but just right for the topic. A useful guidelines for 1,500 words is: 3 x news articles; 1 x feature; or 1 x short feature + 1 x short news article. 4. It is recommended (for your own time management) that multiple news or feature items be on related topics. There is no compulsion for them to be so, however. 5. Utilise the material from Lectures, Fact Sheets, Video Resources and Readings from Topics 5-9. Conducting research on the article/material is necessary. Interviews can be a simple one-line quote, and do not need to be transcribed. 6. This assignment is not a test as to your journalistic skills—rather it is an assessment as to your capacity to undertake a professional writing activity by complying with a set of guidelines and processes and conforming to a set of commonly-recognised standards (news articles or particular types of features). What matters here most is demonstrating an understanding of the journalistic writing process (necessary for anyone working in any area of media and communications, whether journalism, marketing, strategic communication or public relations, etc.), rather than achieving a ‘perfect’ news or feature article. 7. You will be assessed on:  Ability to determine and include components as needed, compliance with the procedures as given in lectures and other course information or other guidelines  Writing style, with particular emphasis on writing for a stated target audience and/or publication (as relevant)  Demonstrated research and reading on the topic chosen  Conversion of the research and reading into valid news articles or features. Note on plagiarism The material must not have been previously submitted professional or academically (to comply with University policy on plagiarism). You are welcome to utilise the material in a professional context after it has been assessed (and we will support this if you need), e.g., for Pelican, as a freelance submission or for a community or online publication. COMM 3004 Journalism in Practice Assessment 02 Guidelines 3 Page | 3 Guidelines for Assessment 02: News or Feature Article Part 2: Analysis ANALYSIS The piece must be accompanied by a 500 word analysis describing why the communication forms were chosen, who were the intended target audience, in what sort of publication (e.g., internal magazine, community newspaper, mass-circulation daily, online newspaper, etc.) they would best be placed, the process and development procedures used to organise and develop the information, and how the development of the pieces in the folio comprise an example or set of examples of contemporary journalism practices. Some guidelines that apply to Part 2, regardless of which Part 1 options were taken:  Effectively, you are analysing why the item or items in your ‘folio’ (your Part 1 submission) demonstrate an understanding of journalistic processes. If the folio includes news and features, you may wish to discuss the differences between news and features (and between different types of feature articles) as the basis for your Part 2.  You may wish to structure your Part 2 as follows (but no pressure to do so…): 1. Describe the material briefly 2. Why are each of these items the most appropriate format for communicating the material (that is, justify why the article types and topics were chosen) 3. Target audience and/or target publications: tell the examiner something about the target audiences and/or publications for the items in your folio—what is the link between the format, the process of development and the target audience 4. Process and Procedures: tell the examiner something about the process you have undertaken to develop the material in your folio. What sort of research and interviewing and other background activities were undertaken and why. How did they contribute to the outcome? 5. Finally, sum up or conclude by discussing how the material in your folio represents contemporary professional journalistic writing, how it relates to contemporary professional media practices, and why it is important these types of writing/communication forms and the processes behind them are understood by media professionals today.  Referencing: please reference any materials consulted for compiling this second section in the normal way. Page | 4 COMM 3004 Journalism in Practice—Practical Assessments Grade Descriptors The following descriptors are provided as a guideline to only. They are some of the elements looked at by examiners in the assessment. Please note that the grade given in this assessment is not an aggregate of these ‘sections’ but an overall grade determined by the examiner. These descriptions are best used in the final stages of preparing this assignment (e.g., moving to the final draft, proof-reading and copy-editing) to review your own work and ensure it is up to the appropriate standard. The generic descriptors here (e.g., “media content” apply to the assignment types in Part 1 and, where indicated the part 2 analysis element. High Distinction Distinction Credit Pass General Description We’re looking for submissions that demonstrate you understand the key course concepts, the process of development and presentation of the media/communications skills project documentation, and how the process ‘fits’ within a broader understanding of contemporary media professional practice. Provides an overall folio of media content (part one) and an analysis (part two) that demonstrates a remarkably strong understanding of contemporary professional media writing processes, of how communications practice fits within process/theory, and highly strong written material that would not look out of place in a professional environment. Provides an overall folio of media content (part one) and an analysis (part two) that demonstrates a thorough understanding of contemporary professional media writing processes, of how communications practice fits within process/theory, and very sound development of written material and/or content. Provides an overall folio of media content (part one) and an analysis (part two) that demonstrates a good understanding of contemporary professional media writing processes, of how communications practice fits within process/theory, and good development of written material and/or content that needs only a slight amount of work to bring up to professional standards. Provides an overall media skills project (part one) and an analysis (part two) that demonstrates an adequate understanding of contemporary professional media writing processes, of how communications practice fits within process/theory, and a good attempt at the development of written material that needs only some work to bring up to strong professional standards. Presentation This relates to the first part of the assignment. It is expected that students will present the folio of written or developed media and communication work with professional flair. The documents would not look out of place in a professional environment. The documents would not look out of place in a professional environment. The documents only slightly fails to be ‘ready’ for professional submission. Some work needed on formatting and presenting the documents to a professional standard. Written expression This relates to all parts of the assignment, with an emphasis on the Part 1. Of a very high standard, capable of expressing ideas, concepts and descriptions through both professional and academic phrasing as appropriate, with no grammatical errors. Of a high standard, capable of expressing ideas, concepts and descriptions through both professional and academic phrasing as appropriate, with very few grammatical errors. Of a moderate standard, capable of expressing ideas, concepts and descriptions through both professional and academic phrasing as appropriate, with not many grammatical errors. Needs some work on expressing ideas, concepts and descriptions in either professional or academic terms (or both), with some grammatical and spelling errors. Page | 5 High Distinction Distinction Credit Pass Demonstrated research and reading This relates to the both parts of the assessment: writing folio using professional research and sourcing, and the short description and analysis to a lesser extent. It is anticipated that students will utilise mostly the course readings (LMS / Readings) and reference these appropriately. Remarkably strong understanding of all sources used; evidence of broad reading and research beyond the course-provided materials (including online sources) and expert utilisation of research and reading sources in developing professional work. Strong understanding of all sources used; evidence of broad reading and research beyond the course-provided materials (including online sources) and thorough utilisation of research and reading sources in developing professional work. Good understanding of all sources used; some evidence of broad reading and research beyond the course-provided materials (including online sources) and adequate utilisation of research and reading sources in developing professional work. Only some evidence of broad reading and research beyond the course-provided materials and only minor utilisation of research and reading sources in developing professional work. Quality Journalism Folio This relates to the first part of the assessment. We are looking for work which demonstrates sound, appropriate use of processes for developing professional media content and content outcomes at a standard that would be appropriate for media professionals in the first years of professional practice. Demonstrates full understanding of the process, methodology, development steps and documentation used in the chosen option area(s). Demonstrates strong understanding of the process, methodology, development steps and documentation used in the chosen option area(s). Demonstrates adequate understanding of the process, methodology, development steps and documentation used in the chosen option area(s); only a few aspects that are not clearly undertaken or understood in the process. Shows more than 50% understanding of the process, methodology, development steps and documentation used in the chosen area; only some work required to bring it up to professional standards.