Overview
This introductory unit will develop student writing skills and apply those skills to the formats expected in the media industry. Students will learn how to differentiate media genres through audience and channel, and select appropriate techniques to produce professional documents suitable for publication or broadcast in traditional and online media. This unit introduces media writing skills, which contribute to the skills required in professional communication practice.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback. Reviewed at 2016 Professional Communication Annual Course Review.
Students commented on workload. Comments ranged from positive (it was worth it) to negative (it was too much in a busy life).
The unit is set to require 10 - 12 hours per week. The assessment drives the learning, so each week's work is assessed, and there is limited 'additional' work required. The overall workload requirement will remain the same. Students will need to ensure they keep up with weekly requirements.
Feedback from Student feedback. Reviewed at 2016 Professional Communication Annual Course Review.
Some students didn't like the blogging requirement.
Blogging is a critical media skill. It allows us to cover a lot of genres at introductory level within one format. The approach will be maintained.
Feedback from Student feedback. Reviewed at 2016 Professional Communication Annual Course Review.
Overall structure and approach, including peer and staff engagement, was appreciated by students.
Maintain approach to peer and staff interaction as integral to course delivery.
- Write effectively across a range of media writing genres.
- Synthesise information and articulate it succinctly and accurately in formats appropriate to media writing.
- Use technology effectively to support writing tasks.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 25% | |||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||
3 - Written Assessment - 45% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | |
1 - Communication | |||
2 - Problem Solving | |||
3 - Critical Thinking | |||
4 - Information Literacy | |||
5 - Team Work | |||
6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
8 - Ethical practice | |||
9 - Social Innovation | |||
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
3 - Written Assessment - 45% |
Textbooks
English for Journalists: Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Special edition (2013)
Authors: Wynford Hicks
Routledge
New York New York , New York , USA
ISBN: 978-0-415-66172-0
Binding: Paperback
MediaWriting: Print, Broadcast, and Public Relations
4th Edition (2012)
Authors: Whitaker, W.R., Ramsey, J.E., & Smith, R.D.
Routledge
New York New York , New York , USA
ISBN: 978-0-415-88803-5
Binding: Paperback
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.ames@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Media Writing
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Writing for Speech and Vision
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1 Written Assessment
This assessment is a draft of your main assignment for this term, which is the Blog (Ass 3) and aims to provide feedback on specific activities and guide you as to where you can make improvements prior to your final submission.
You will be required to complete activities to Week 6 for this submission.
This submission will be graded as for Assessment 3.
Your final submission will be one file, comprising:
- A cover page that includes your student details and the URL of your blog address;
- Evidence of peer commenting and review by you on your peer sites;
- Your self-assessment.
Week 6 Friday (25 Aug 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 8 Friday (8 Sept 2017)
A detailed marking rubric will be available on the unit website, but the blog will be assessed against the following criteria:
-
Overall attention to requirements of the task
Technical ability
Practical skills
Inquiry and reflection - Blog presentation
- Standard of writing
- Referencing
- Peer review
- Response to feedback
- Write effectively across a range of media writing genres.
- Synthesise information and articulate it succinctly and accurately in formats appropriate to media writing.
- Use technology effectively to support writing tasks.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
Phase 1: Research and record the story (Twitter)
- Have a strong introductory lead based on the 5WS and H.
- Conclude the story appropriately;
- Transition between tweets and narrative so that the story moves forward; and
- Attend to grammar, spelling, and punctuation so that your work is technically correct;
Once your Storify page is completed, post it on the Assessment 2 forum.
- a cover page
- your news story (250 words)
- a URL for your Storify
- self-assessment.
Week 10 Monday (18 Sept 2017) 9:00 am AEST
Monday (2 Oct 2017)
Students should expect feedback within two weeks of submission.
The assessment criteria for this assessment is in the form of a rubric, which is available on Moodle.
You will be assessed on:
- attention to requirements of the task;
- attention to structure of narrative;
- overall effectiveness of storytelling as appropriate to the genre;
- writing quality as appropriate to the genre;
- effective use of technology; and
- quality of justification/reflection.
You will be required to self-assess your work, and submit a copy of the marking criteria, completed by you, with your assessment submission.
- Write effectively across a range of media writing genres.
- Synthesise information and articulate it succinctly and accurately in formats appropriate to media writing.
- Use technology effectively to support writing tasks.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Written Assessment
You will be required to maintain a blog throughout the term. This assessment is the MAIN assessment for you and is the largest task. It is due at the end of term. You will be required to submit a draft of your blog in Week 6 as a separate assessment piece (Assessment 1).
Your study guide will list two to three activities you need to complete each week as part of your blogging journey. These activities will be specifically associated with that week’s content and may comprise an inquiry-based activity (for example, find a piece of media writing you like, and reflect on this); a technically based activity (which will ask you to work on a writing skills based task, or complete a grammar/punctuation quiz); or a practical activity (which will ask you to do something in support of your media writing journey). The activities are scaffolded. For example, in Week 2, you will set up a Twitter account (if you don’t already have one), which then sets some foundations for your second assignment. Most of the activities aren't huge, but will encourage you to work progressively throughout the term. An activities list will be provided against which you can assess your progress.
In addition to completing the activities, you are also required to:
- review and constructively comment on other student blogs (because all media work is public, and anyone who works in this area has to deal with public comment); and
- self-assess your work prior to submission whereby you will fill in the assessment criteria rubric based on how well you think you achieved each outcome (because learning how accurate you are, or learning to be more accurate, can build your confidence).
More specific details about setting up your blog and weekly requirements will be provided in the ‘Assessment 1 - Blog’ page on the unit website.
Your final submission will be one file, comprising:
- A cover page that includes your student details and the URL of your blog address;
- Evidence of you commenting on and reviewing fellow student sites;
- Your self-assessment.
Prior to submission, you should ensure that you have reviewed your blog against the blog checklist provided on the unit website.
Review/Exam Week Monday (9 Oct 2017) 9:00 am AEST
Monday (16 Oct 2017)
Assignments are normally returned within two weeks of submission.
A detailed marking rubric will be available on the unit website, but the blog will be assessed against the following criteria:
-
Overall attention to requirements of the task
Technical ability
Practical skills
Inquiry and reflection - Blog presentation
- Standard of writing
- Referencing
- Peer review
You will be required to self-assess your work prior to submission, and should review the assessment criteria, complete this, and submit with your final assessment piece.
- Write effectively across a range of media writing genres.
- Synthesise information and articulate it succinctly and accurately in formats appropriate to media writing.
- Use technology effectively to support writing tasks.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.