Journalism 202, Feature Writing, Spring 2003
Instructor: Betsy Powell Mullen
Room 500, Ryland Hall
MWF, 9:20-10:10 a.m.
Phone: 270-3502 (w), 270-2499 (h)
emullen2@richmond.edu
What to expect
Feature Writing is a fast-paced, challenging and creative course. If you like
good writing and are willing to work hard to write well yourself, you’re
in the right place. You will learn to stretch yourself as a writer and improve
on the skills you mastered in News Writing. You will combine the best of what
you learned in journalism and English to craft first-rate features.
Among the topics we’ll cover:
*types of feature stories
*stalking the feature story
*showing, not telling: writing for the reader
*wordplay: it’s a big language - use it well
*tone, tempo and transitions: good writing has it all
*give me rewrite, quick: first drafts are your best friend
*lots of personality: writing about people
*Mayberry and Richmond: writing about places
*Impact and react: writing about issues
Texts
The Art and Craft of Feature Writing, by William E. Blundell
Literary Journalism, by Jean Chance and William McKeen
The John McPhee Reader
Writing for Story, by Jon Franklin
Online editions of the Washington Post and The New York Times
Selected newspaper and magazine features
For reference, you also should have copies of:
The Associated Press Stylebook
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (latest edition)
A good dictionary and thesaurus
Attendance
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. Journalism, including feature writing, is a fast-paced,
deadline-driven business. You can fall behind quickly, even if you miss only
one class. This also means you must come to class on time. Three late starts
count as an absence. Think of this as good practice for those deadline pressures.
Unexcused absences mean zeroes on assignments and quizzes. Call me in advance
if you know you will not be in class. It is your responsibility to find out
what you missed and complete the assignments on time.
As added incentive for a perfect attendance record, I will drop your lowest writing grade AND your lowest quiz grade if you miss no classes. If you miss only one class, I will drop your lowest quiz grade. Six or more absences mean you automatically will fail this class.
Reading
In addition to the required texts for this course, you are required to read
the Style section of the Washington Post (every day) and the Sunday New York
Times Magazine. Continue with the habit you formed in News Writing: read The
Richmond Times-Dispatch daily and The Collegian weekly. Great feature ideas
spring from what’s going on in the world and in your community. Keep up
with current events - this needs to be a lifelong habit, not just a requirement
for the News Writing course. Reading also helps make you a better writer.To
help you keep current, there will be frequent, and unannounced, quizzes based
on your daily newspaper reading.
Writing
Feature writing is part art, part craft and a skill that requires patience and
practice. Rewriting is essential, and will help you grow as a writer. Expect
to shed some blood, sweat and tears in the writing process. This is a different
process from News Writing and will require some additional skills. Do not be
discouraged by this, especially in the beginning. It sounds frustrating, but
you will improve and you can expect to have some fun along the way. I am available
to coach you before all of your assignments are due, and I encourage you to
take advantage of this.
Formats for assignments
Double space all copy. On each page, write your name in the upper left-hand
corner, the slug (a one-word description of the story) and the page number.
It should look like this:
Powell
Chaos
Page 1
If the story is more than one page, write “more” at the bottom.
On the final page, use the symbol # or -30- at the end.
“F Words”
Certain infractions of the language will guarantee you an automatic “F”
on assignments, quizzes and tests. These include misspelling or misusing the
following words: accommodate, occurred, a lot, receive, its, there/their, that/who
and very. (I reserve the right to add to this list as problems arise during
the semester.) Other mistakes that guarantee an F: misspelling a name, a major
factual error in a story, using only one source in a story, missing a deadline.
Speaking of grades…
You earn your grades; I don’t give them. Grades are performance-based
and your work will be evaluated according to professional standards. Criteria
include accuracy, clarity, correct use of language and AP style, thoroughness,
conciseness, meeting deadline and the absence of bias, libel and editorial opinion.
You also are expected to participate in class. Grading will be more tolerant
at first and become tougher. Your progress is part of your grade. In other words,
if you’re doing C or D work early in the semester, but consistently making
Bs the last month and participating in class, you are likely to get a B.
Grading key:
A = Publishable as is; minor editing required; meets professional standards.
B = Publishable with some additional editing/rewriting.
C = Needs substantial editing or contains serious errors.
D = Requires extensive rewriting or contains multiple errors.
F = Not publishable or contains misspelled name or factual error.
Pluses or minuses will be given if you’re close - or far - from the letter
grade. They also may be added to your grade based on effort, progress, participation,
extra credit and attendance. The plus grade generally recognizes work that is
above grade level, and the minus grade generally recognizes work that isn't
quite up to grade level. However, a minus grade can also represent a boost --
for example, a student who has a C+ but has demonstrated enterprise and made
great effort at improvement could earn a B-. That means a student with A's could
end up receiving an A- as a result of poor attendance, excessive tardiness,
poor effort and participation.
Numerically, the grades will be broken down like this:
A+ = 98-100; A = 92-97; A- = 90-92
B+ = 88-89; B = 82-87; B- = 80-81
C+ = 78-79; C = 72-77; C- = 70-71
D+ = 68-69; D = 62-68; D- = 60-61
F = 59 and below
Weight of grades:
Class work, writing assignments - 70 percent
Midterm -- 5 percent
Final - 10 percent
Progress, participation - approximately 5 percent
Quizzes, news tips - 10 percent
Feature Tips
Every Monday, turn in a feature story idea that could be done by the Collegian.
You may email them to me before class, or turn in a written copy before class
gets started. Write the story idea as if you are proposing it to your editor,
including:
*a complete description of the story idea
*why it’s important
*the angle
*a list of as many sources as possible
Final exam
Your final exam will be a feature story of your choice that is 1,500 to 2,000
words. You can select the style of story from any that we have discussed in
class. You will need at least eight sources, and you need to remember to tell
people you are writing for publication.
You may start working on this project now if you’d like. By Feb. 3, you
need to turn in a one-page story description. I’ll get that back to you
in a week with some comments. You must have my approval for your project. By
March 3, you’ll need to turn in a three-page rough draft. I will also
get that back to you with comments within a week. Missing these two deadlines
will cause your final project to automatically drop half a letter grade.
The final story is due by final exam day, but you may turn this in earlier.
Do not put this project off until the last minute.
Plagiarism
It is illegal, immoral and unethical to take someone else’s work without
permission. It is also an honor code violation. You may use material from other
sources as long as you give credit. If you are involved in plagiarism, you automatically
will fail this course. This has taken on new significance in recent years with
the ease of obtaining information from the Internet. We will cover this topic
more thoroughly in class to make sure there is no confusion. When in doubt,
check with me before handing in an assignment. No form of plagiarism will be
tolerated.
Assignments
There are five major assignments for this course, broken down this way:
* A personality profile of 750 -1,000 words;
* A review/critique of food, art, music, theater or movies;
* A “place” profile - also known as a take-me-there piece; 750-1,000
words;
* A spot feature of 500 - 600 words - this will be a quick turnaround story;
* A travel feature of 500 - 600 words;
You will learn how to write these kinds of stories, and you will read writers who have mastered features that will make you jealous of their talent. I expect these stories to be good enough for publication. If nothing else, you will do a good enough job on these stories to include them among your clips when you start looking for internships and jobs.
Deadlines for these stories will vary and will be set shortly after we begin class. Unless I tell you otherwise, I am available to coach you by email about a week before your assignment is due. We’ll discuss several options for editing help, too, including breaking the class into writing groups. Note well, though: writing groups do not mean group projects. It’s perfectly fine to run some of your writing past a fellow writer; it happens in newsrooms all the time. But you don’t let other people do your work for you. If there are any doubts, ask me.
We also will cover features on pop culture, trends, sports, consumer-oriented issues and something I call a “blended” style that blurs the lines between news and features.
There will also be in-class writing assignments that will challenge you in other ways and require work on specific feature techniques. Some of this will be unannounced.
Class schedule
Here is a tentative schedule of the topics we will cover during the semester.
Please complete the readings before class. The schedule will likely change depending
on breaking news events and other factors. I will keep you posted on these changes.
Come to class prepared to lead some part of the discussion on what we’ve
read.
Week 1 - Blundell, 1,2; transition from News Writing to Feature
Writing; a look at the Post Style section and the NY Times Sunday magazine;
Week 2 - Blundell 3, 4; story idea selections; stalking a good story
Week 3 - Blundell 4, 5 writing for variety (first story due)
Week 4 - Blundell 6,7; word crafting; bring color alive
Week 5 - Blundell 7, 8; word crafting, stretching yourself (second story due)
Week 7 - Blundell, 9; and people, people; starting to write about people
Week 7 - Says who? How to write critiques (third story due)
Week 8 - Where’s that? Writing about places; McPhee: Introduction, the
Pine Barrens and The Oranges. Scene-setter writing
Week 9 - McPhee; and Literary Journalism, Tom Wolfe and Gail Sheehy; (fourth
story due)
Week 10 - Literary Journalism: Rick Bragg; Nancy Shulins
Week 11 - Writing for Story; The Annotated Ballad of Old Man Peters (fifth story
due)
Week 12 - Writing for Story: The Annotated Mrs. Kelly’s Monster
Week 13 - The spot news feature - it can be done
Week 14 - ReviewKicker
Think of me as your editor. Whether you pursue a career in journalism or not,
this course is a valuable tool in developing your communications skills. With
the right attitude, it can also be a lot of fun.
Back to the Journalism Department Main Page