March 29, 31
Introduction, grammar, mechanics, language issues
See the grammar quizzes and references on the class home page.
Zinsser, Chap. 1 "The Transaction"
Chap. 2, "Simplicity"
Chap. 3, "Clutter."
April 5, 7
Language and writing issues: Objectivity(?), clarity, sexism, stereotyping
News in print and broadcast, leads
A few online refererences about news leads.
A few online refererences about broadcast writing.
Zinsser, Chap. 4, "Style"
Chap. 5, "The Audience"
Chap. 6, "Words"
Chap. 7, "Usage"
April 12, 14
More on leads
Building a news story, Use of quotes
Cover Ruhl Lecture, April 13
Zinsser, Chap. 9, "The Lead and the Ending"
Chap. 10, "Bits and Pieces"
April 19, 21
Interviewing
Words and images. Writing and visuals (get some references)
Zinsser, Chap. 8 "Unity"
Chap. 12, "Writing about People: The Interview"
April 26, April 28
Feature writing approaches
Zinsser, Chap. 11 "Nonfiction as Literature"
Chap. 13, "Writing about Places: The Travel Article"
Chap. 14, "Writing about Yourself: The Memoir"
May 3, 5
Feature structure
Skim Zinsser Chap. 15-17;
Zinsser, Chap. 15, "Science and Technology"
Chap. 16, "Business Writing"
Chap. 17, "Sports"
May 10, 12
Public relations writing forms
Persuasive writing: Editorials, reviews
Guest lecture-public relations writing
Zinsser, Chap. 18, "Writing about the Arts: Critics and Columnists"
Chap. 19, "Humor"
May 17, 19
Persuasive writing: advertising
Strategy and content
Ad-writing forms
May 24, 26
Summarizing and integrating: headlines, titles and subheads
Search engine optimization, text and visuals, caption-writing
Zinsser, Chap. 20, "The Sound of Your Voice"
Chap. 21, "Enjoyment, Fear and Confidence"
A few online refererences about headlines, titles and search engine optimization.
Grammar quiz in class May 26.
May 31, June 2
No class May 31, Memorial Day holiday
Ethics and responsibilities
Zinsser, Chap. 22, "The Tyranny of the Final Product"
Chap. 23, "A Writer's Decisions"
Chap. 25, "Write as Well as You Can."
Feature project due at the beginning of lab June 4.