Our final exam will partly consist of the story you covered Friday, April 30, of the SpringFest celebration in Gingko Square. I check my Yahoo! account several times a day. The exam, posted below, is a takehome, but you have the option of coming in and writing it during the regularly scheduled period, from _____ to _____ Friday, May 7, in Dawson Hall. In the meantime, I'll keep banker's hours in my office during final exam week, and I'm always available by email.
COMM 209: Basic NewswritingSpring Semester – May 7, 2010
Instructor: Pete Ellertsen pellertsen@sci.edu
Final Exam
Question 1. Write a story (50 points). On Friday, April 30, the university’s annual SpringFest was held on Gingko Square. Your assignment: Write a color story about the event in modified inverted pyramid newspaper style. Length: 10 to 15 column inches, at least 450. Quote at least three sources. Organize it with a narrative lede, a nut graf that sums up your overall impression of the event and pertinent detail including quotes and description in the body of the story.
Question 2A. Self-reflective essay (25 points). How has your perception of yourself as a writer changed as a result of what we have studied in COMM 209? What was your overall sense of your writing before you took the course? How has that changed as a result of your reading, class discussion and the stories you wrote? How much have you used what you learned in COMM 209 in your other writing? Consider it in the context of what you knew at the beginning of the semester and what you know now. In grading this essay, I will evaluate the relevance of your discussion to the main goals and objectives of the course (which are listed in the syllabus); the detail you cite to support or illustrate your points; and the connections you make. Be specific.
Question 2B. News value (25 points). Attached to this exam is a story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune on the blessing of fishing boats in south Louisiana where the economy is threatened by an oil spill. Evaluate it in terms of the elements of news value outlined by Tim Harrower in “Inside Reporting” and his principles of writing a good news-feature story. Be specific: How do specific elements of news value correspond to specific angles in the story? Quote specific examples of feature elements, human interest and color in the story.
Question 2A. Self-reflective essay (25 points). How has your perception of yourself as a writer changed as a result of what we have studied in COMM 209? What was your overall sense of your writing before you took the course? How has that changed as a result of your reading, class discussion and the stories you wrote? How much have you used what you learned in COMM 209 in your other writing? Consider it in the context of what you knew at the beginning of the semester and what you know now. In grading this essay, I will evaluate the relevance of your discussion to the main goals and objectives of the course (which are listed in the syllabus); the detail you cite to support or illustrate your points; and the connections you make. Be specific.
Question 2B. News value (25 points). Attached to this exam is a story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune on the blessing of fishing boats in south Louisiana where the economy is threatened by an oil spill. Evaluate it in terms of the elements of news value outlined by Tim Harrower in “Inside Reporting” and his principles of writing a good news-feature story. Be specific: How do specific elements of news value correspond to specific angles in the story? Quote specific examples of feature elements, human interest and color in the story.
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