JOUR 1033 Syllabus

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Rev. 1/08
 

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 Professor Katherine Shurlds

 Shurlds' Office Hours: 2-3 p.m. Thursdays or by appointment

Office: KH 109D Kimpel Hall

Phone : Office 575-6305

E-mail: kshurlds@uark.edu

Web Page: http://www.uark.edu/~kshurlds

 Course Description: This course will introduce students to the skills of observation, critical thinking and concise writing required in all aspects of journalism, as well as to the technology they will need in upper-level courses. Students also will practice using references for grammar and journalistic style. The course is a prerequisite to JOUR 2013, 2031L, 2032 and 4143.

 Learning Objectives

• Students will develop the ability to write quickly, accurately, clearly, concisely and grammatically, on deadline, on any topic, amid typical workplace distractions.
  
• Students will develop an instinct for what makes a good story, for what will interest readers.
• Students will develop the skill to order facts in a story in a way that enhances understanding.
• Students will develop the ability to use journalistic style in a consistent and accurate manner.
• Students will develop an understanding of the diverse nature of sources and information that go into news stories. They will learn to attribute each fact accurately in a news story while maintaining an interesting writing style.
• Students will learn to use numbers in news stories in an understandable and accurate manner.
• Students will develop skills in editing stories for style and grammar.
• Students will develop listening skills necessary in all journalistic pursuits and will learn the importance of following directions precisely.
• Students will develop skills in time management and task planning and will apply them to meeting deadlines.

REQUIRED TEXTS and READINGS:

YOU MUST CHECK YOUR E-MAIL: You are required to check your e-mail for messages from me at least twice a week. There will be messages that pertain to assignments and you will be responsible for knowing the information found there. If you are not using your uark account, be sure to check it regularly so that it will not go over quota. You will miss many important messages if your account is blocked. I will send messages to an alternate address if you provide it to me by e-mail.

WEB PAGE: You are also required to use the information on the Web page to complete your assignments. Most assignments will be mentioned in class only in passing. You are responsible for checking for assignments and having them ready on time.

FUNDAMENTALS LAB: You are also registered for the FOJ lab. You will meet JOUR 1033 (lecture) for 80 minutes a week, then complete your three-hour course by attending your lab for 80 minutes a week. Your final grade will be based on work in both lecture class and writing lab, although the lab is officially "ungraded."

“THURSDAY LECTURES”: You are not required to come to class on Thursday; the other half of your class is taken up with lab. However, I am assigning a “Thursday lecture” to you each week in the form of a grammar lesson you will read on my Web page. Obviously, you don’t have to wait until Thursday to read the lesson, but you will be held responsible for that reading on the quiz given the next Tuesday in class, as well as on the exams. I won’t “teach” much grammar in class because you have already passed the GSP and have shown that you can teach yourself. However, of course I will be happy to answer any grammar questions you have, whether in class, in person or by e-mail.

 EXTRA CREDIT: Unlimited. I will let you know by e-mail when I am offering extra credit. See the "Standing Extra Credit Assignment" on the Web. You must turn in the assignment within a week of the event. Points range from 2-10. The points available are for a perfect paper. Errors in grammar and style will reduce the credit.

Use 12-point Times as your font. Do not print on both sides of a sheet of paper.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Not the same as the lab policy

Missing a Class:

 If you call me or e-mail me before the time the class meets when you must miss class, you will be allowed to make up 20 points at the end of the semester. Regardless of what you miss, 20 points is all you can make up. (If you only missed 5, 10 or 15 points, that’s all you’ll get.) To get the makeup points, you will take an exam. The exam will be worth 20 points. Whatever percentage you make on the exam will be applied to the number of points you have missed and that will be your makeup score.)

• Missing an Exam

  To make up an exam for full credit, you must call me or e-mail me before the time the class meets. You must make arrangements to make up the lab as soon as you return to school.

  You may need to present a doctor's note or an obituary before a makeup exam is permitted.

  If you expect to miss an exam because of an official school activity, you must present a letter from the faculty sponsor on letterhead ahead of time.

  DO NOT SCHEDULE DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS OR OTHER APPOINTMENTS DURING CLASS TIME

SUBMITTING PAPERS OUTSIDE CLASS: If you have been told you can turn in a paper in outside class, it is best to find me or your lab instructor to hand it over personally. You MAY leave papers in our boxes in the journalism office, but this practice is at your own risk. If the paper is lost, you have no recourse.

CLASS WEATHER POLICY: Of course, if the university is closed, we will not have class. Otherwise, if I decide to call off class because of bad weather, I will leave a message with the journalism office, 575-3601, and on my home phone, 443-9061. If there is no weather message in either place, class will be held as usual.

If you miss class because of weather, the absence will be counted as an unexcused absence. However, if your grade will be adversely affected by your absence, I will hear your appeal provided you contact me in person or by telephone before noon that day.

THE WRITING CENTER: This is a student service run by the English Department, in Kimpel Hall 315. I encourage you to seek help there if you are having trouble with grammar. Phone 575-6747 for information.

CENTER FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you are a student with special needs who requires extra time for completing assignments or special equipment, I am happy to help you in any way I can. You should contact the Center for Students with Disabilities, 575-3104, a service available to assist you.

If you are already registered with the Center for Students with Disabilities, or are in the process of registering, please let me know as soon as possible. You must have documentation from the Center for Students with Disabilities to be eligible for special accommodations.

ACADEMIC HONESTY FOR FUNDAMENTALS OF JOURNALISM:

When you register for classes at the University of Arkansas, you are in effect signing a legal contract promising that you will follow all university rules and policies.

Most important to this class are the various university guidelines on academic honesty found in your college catalog, (or use the link on the class Web page on the syllabus).

Pay particular attention to the warning against "collaborating on ... homework or other assigned work when instructed to work independently," and "submitting as one's own any theme, report, term paper, essay, computer program, other written work ... prepared totally or in part by another."

The policy also proscribes "facilitating or aiding in any act of academic dishonesty."

ALL WORK IN FUNDAMENTALS OF JOURNALISM IS TO BE INDEPENDENT WORK UNLESS THE PROFESSOR SPECIFICALLY TELLS YOU TO WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

What happens when you violate any of the academic honesty policies is that I call you in for a conference, often with the person with whom you have been sharing work without authorization. You will be confronted with the evidence and asked to explain it. Seldom is any explanation other than "Yes, I cheated" accepted because I only confront cases for which I have very good evidence. Unfortunately, I still have three to five cases a semester.

Students often say they didn't realize what they were doing is cheating. That's why I'm spelling it all out here.

Here are some things that you might have an opportunity to do. Don't.

• You weren't able to attend the extra-credit lecture, but your roommate was. He lets you borrow his notes, but you each write up different quotes.
• The assignment is to watch a TV news show and you watch it with a sorority sister who's in the class. You each take notes, but you don't understand yours very well. You borrow her notes to complete the assignment.
• You complete your assignment and a friend asks if he can "look over" your paper because he's not sure exactly what format Shurlds wants for the paper. You let him see your paper.
• Your friend has just completed his assignment. It's on the computer -- why should you retype all the stuff that will be the same for both assignments? So you change the name on the paper and start editing his paper to make it yours.

Students think they can get by with cheating because I have so many students. Unfortunately, I am cursed with a brain that makes similar language and similar selections jump out at me. (Students think they can get by me with "thesaurus changes" -- taking someone else's work and changing a word here or there. In general, they can't.)

The list above shows just some of the cheating for which I have had to confront students and dock their grades. Depending on the severity of the cheating -- and the conduct of the student once confronted with the violation -- the grade sanction might be half a letter grade or more. Students will also be referred to the university's Judicial Affairs Coordinator. This is the university's policy and I follow it.

Don't cheat in my class.

Any questions? I'll take them in class or by e-mail.