Overview
Introduction to Public Relations will provide you with an overview of the public relations industry. You will learn how to develop an ethical and professional public relations campaign; including identifying publics, and developing realistic goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. You will also learn how to research, monitor and evaluate public relations strategies through an analysis of public relations case studies. This unit is a prerequisite for COMM12108 Advanced Public Relations.
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 1 - 2020
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 Satisfaction survey
Assessment requirements were misinterpreted by some students, which may have impacted on their satisfaction.
It is recommended that the Assessment requirements be reviewed to ensure simplicity and understanding.
Feedback from Student Satisfaction survey
Students enjoyed the real-world client and the way that content linked to real-world situations.
It is recommended that the focus on authenticity and real-world assessments in this unit are maintained.
- Define public relations and discuss the historical development of public relations and the evolution of public relations tasks.
- Illustrate the ethical implications of decisions, actions and outcomes to reflect the professionalism of the industry.
- Describe and identify the primary features of a public relations campaign.
- Identify methods of evaluation used within a public relations context.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 45% | ||||
2 - Written Assessment - 55% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
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 - 45% | ||||||||||
2 - Written Assessment - 55% |
Textbooks
Public Relations Writing
Edition: 3rd (2017)
Authors: Mahoney, J.
Oxford University Press
Melbourne Melbourne , Victoria , Australia
ISBN: 9780190304652
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Copies can be purchased from the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
c.lawson@cqu.edu.au
a.johnson2@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
About Public Relations
Public relations is planned communication: there is a reason for everything practitioners write. Even the strategic public relations plan that identifies the goals and objectives an organisation wants to achieve when it communicates with target publics, and the ways in which it will develop its messages, must be written clearly, accurately and concisely. This module introduces you to public relations and where it fits. You will learn specific public relations terms and identify planning tools.
Chapter
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PR as a Strategic Partner
This module explains how public relations practitioners need to be aware of the social, political, economic and cultural environments in which they work, and how what they plan and write is linked to an organisation's strategic goals. You will start to learn about the legal and ethical frameworks in which public relations practitioners work.
Chapter
Chapter 2 – Contexts for Public Relations
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The PR Plan: Planning, Goals and Objectives
This module introduces basic concepts of public relations planing. You will learn how to identify communication issues facing an organisation and how to write a situation analysis. You will learn how to write communication goals and objectives.
Chapter
Chapter 3 – Research and Planning
Chapter 4 – PR Goals and Objectives
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The PR Plan: Target Publics and Messages
This module will reinforce your appreciation of the public relations context and help you identify target publics for a public relations plan. You will learn how to develop and write informative and persuasive messages. You will learn how to match messages to target publics, goals and objectives.
Chapter
Chapter 4 – PR Goals and Objectives
Chapter 5 – Developing and Writing Messages
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The PR Plan: Communication Pathways and Tools
Messages are the information that organisations want target publics to know about a situation or issue. This module will guide you in choosing appropriate communication pathways to deliver messages to target publics, and help you identify effective public relations tools to carry messages.
Chapter
Chapter 5 – Developing and Writing Messages
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
BREAK WEEK
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The PR Plan: Logistics
In this module you will look at how public relations practitioners work with other specialists to implement public relations projects.
Chapter
Chapter 11 – Getting the Job Done
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The PR Plan: Evaluation
Explaining how the success of a public relations plan will be measured is the essential final section of a plan. This module explains how you will write an outline of the steps you will take to evaluate public relations outcomes and outputs against agreed goals and objectives.
Chapter
Chapter 12 – Writing a Public Relations Evaluation Plan
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PR Tools: The Media Release
Writing material for the news media is an important skills for public relations practitioners. This modules examines how practitioners use this material as a public relations tools to implement an uncontrolled communication pathway.
Chapter
Chapter 6 – Writing a Media Release
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PR Tools: Social Media and the Web
This module discusses writing for public relations tools that use social media and internet applications. You will learn how to adapt your writing to the needs of social media.
Chapter
Chapter 7 – Writing for Social Media and the Web
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PR Tools: Written and Interpersonal
Public relations practitioners produce a lot of materials that inform target publics about their client's organisations. This module deals with writing these important public relations tools.
Chapter
Chapter 9 – Beyond the Mass News Media
Chapter 8 - Interpersonal Communication
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PR in Practice
It sounds almost like a cliche, but employees are an organisation's most important asset. Keeping employees informed about the business and, sometimes, social life of an organisation is an important task and one that is most often the responsibility of the public relations team. This module introduces the principles of employee communication.
Chapter
Chapter 10 – Communication within Organisations
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Review
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
NOTE: WORD COUNT for written assignments
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
1 Written Assessment
This assessment covers individual elements of a public relations campaign based on a real-world client (who will be the focus of both Assessments 1 and 2). Details of the client brief will be posted to Moodle in Week 2.
Students are required to complete the series of six campaign-related exercises provided on the Moodle website. All six exercises must be attempted in order to successfully pass this assignment.
The elements to be addressed are:
- Goals and Objectives
- Target Publics
- Key Messages
- Communication Pathways and Tools
- Timeline and Budget
- Document Structure
You are required to justify each response, and these justifications must be referenced with at least two formal sources in the APA format, with a reference list at the end of your document.
The completed exercises in this assessment will form the basis of your final assessment (Campaign Report and Justification).
You will be able to submit drafts of each exercise on the Moodle Discussion Forum for peer feedback prior to the final submission. You can make any changes to the submitted drafts based on feedback received prior to the final submission.
All six exercises are to be submitted via Moodle as a single Word document in Week 8. Your word count should be between 1000 – 1200 words.
NOTE: WORD COUNT for written assignments
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Week 8 Monday (4 May 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
A single Word document containing all six exercises.
Week 10 Monday (18 May 2020)
Marks and feedback will be returned within two weeks of assignment submission.
Marks are awarded for appropriate completion of each exercise, attention to requirements of the task, presentation, referencing, spelling and grammar. For a copy of the assessment marking matrix, go to the Moodle website and read each criterion carefully.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
- Define public relations and discuss the historical development of public relations and the evolution of public relations tasks.
- Illustrate the ethical implications of decisions, actions and outcomes to reflect the professionalism of the industry.
- Describe and identify the primary features of a public relations campaign.
- Identify methods of evaluation used within a public relations context.
2 Written Assessment
This assessment is in two parts.
From the real-life public relations case provided for you and using your Assessment 1 Campaign Elements as a base, develop a campaign based on the concepts introduced and discussed during the term.
Note: if the plan meets professional standards, it may be submitted to the client organisation for potential implementation. This is a fantastic resume-building opportunity for those interested in a PR career.
PART A: CAMPAIGN PLAN (2,000 - 2,500 words)
Using the case study provided on Moodle, produce a public relations campaign plan for submission to the organisation's management team. Present the plan as a professional public relations report.
Content should include:
- Table of Contents
- Situation Analysis (research about the organisation/industry may be required)
- Goal and Objectives
- Target Publics
- Key Messages
- Communication Pathways and Tools
- Timeline
- Budget
- Measurement and Evaluation
- Appendices (if needed) and References
Note: Graphs/tables/images can be used where appropriate.
Part B: JUSTIFICATION (1,000 - 1,500 words)
Explain and justify your campaign plan. Your justification will be in the format of an academic essay, including an introduction, conclusion and references. Minimal headings may be used.
The following aspects must be incorporated into your response:
- Explain how the campaign is Public Relations.
- Justify and link your identified goal, objectives, communication pathways and tools, target publics, timing and budget. For example, your timing may have been selected in order to reach a specific target public or to coincide with a national event.
- Identify at least one problem that occurred in the development of the plan, or might arise that would affect the implementation of your plan. For example, the key message may not be consistent across strategies and needed to be crafted with this in mind, or the strategies may not reach an element of the target public. Perhaps a potential issue (like a crisis such as disease outbreak) might arise that would result in rethinking the campaign.
- Throughout your response, incorporate how the plan meets the ethical standards of Australian public relations practice? You will need to refer to the PRIA’s Code of Ethics.
Both Part A and Part B
It is expected that research will be undertaken, using credible and professional references outside of the unit content. A reference list is required in APA format. One reference list is sufficient for both Part A and Part B.
The word count for this assessment is deliberately challenging and is assessable. You will have to think about what you write very carefully in order to meet the word count requirements. You may have to be selective in how you justify your campaign plan, rather than trying to cover everything.
This assessment is to be submitted as a single Word document, which contains Part A and Part B. Total file size for Part A and Part B (combined) is not to exceed 10mb.
Review/Exam Week Monday (8 June 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
A single Word document containing Parts A and B
Exam Week Monday (15 June 2020)
Marks and feedback will be returned within two weeks of assignment submission.
Marks are awarded for adherence to the requirements of a public relations plan. Elements will include the campaign brief, goals and objectives, target publics, key messages, communication pathways and tools, timeline and budget, evaluation, research, justification of choices, and presentation, spelling and grammar. For a copy of the matrix, go to the Moodle website and read each criterion carefully.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Define public relations and discuss the historical development of public relations and the evolution of public relations tasks.
- Illustrate the ethical implications of decisions, actions and outcomes to reflect the professionalism of the industry.
- Describe and identify the primary features of a public relations campaign.
- Identify methods of evaluation used within a public relations context.
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.