Welcome to CMN 131 – Journalism I. The purpose of the class is to give students a basic understanding of the fundamentals of journalistic writing, reporting and ethics
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to perform the following tasks with a reasonable degree of proficiency:
|
|
Your grade for the course is determined based on the
following criteria:
|
 |
Class participation is mandatory. Journalism requires students to work together and also to step outside their comfort zones to interact with people outside of class. Active engagement is essential and required. |
 |
Students
can miss three classes for any reason and do not need to explain their
reasons to the instructor, but they must contact another student to get
notes and stay caught up in their work. They should NOT contact the
instructor to ask what they missed. Students who miss class on the day
an assignment (rough or final draft) is due will receive the usual
deduction for lateness or missing work. Any student who misses four classes, no matter what the reason, will be automatically withdrawn from the course. Chronic lateness will lower the student's final grade. If you come to class late, please get seated quietly; do not disrupt a class in progress. |
 |
Turn your phone off at the beginning of class. If your phone rings during class you may face any number of consequences. If you have an emergency that requires you to keep your phone on, discuss it with the instructor before class begins, sit near the exit and keep your phone on vibrate. |
 |
Six
quizzes are given to
ensure that students have thoroughly read all assigned texts. Quizzes
take 20 minutes. If you miss a quiz, you will receive a grade of zero
on that quiz. The lowest of the six quiz scores will be dropped at the
end of the semester. Both the mid-term and the final are 75 minute in-class examinations comprised of four sections: 1.) 20 multiple choice and fill in the blank type questions like those found on the quizzes; 2.) three short answer essays; 3.) a long answer essay which analyzes a sample article, and: 4.) a lead construction section. |
 |
Plagiarism is simply not
tolerated. We will cover this topic in class. Familiarize yourself with
the school’s academic integrity
policy, at www.mccc.edu/admissions_policies_integrity.shtml.
We will
cover proper citation procedure, but it is each student’s
responsibility to abide by the rules described in the policy, in this
and every course he or she takes in college. Failure to do so will
result in swift and severe disciplinary action. Your instructor may use
the various Internet plagiarism tools, such as Turnitin.com to randomly
check your work or if she suspects a plagiarism violation. The
consequence of plagiarism is course failure
and all violations will be immediately reported to the academic integrity committee. |
 |
This is a fast moving class. Learning about journalism means learning about deadlines. On rough draft days students must bring in three copies of their rough draft (one for the instructor and two for their peer partners). A missing rough draft reduces the final article grade by 30%. On final draft days the final draft must be submitted electronically BEFORE class time AND must be submitted in hard copy form in class itself. Any work that arrives after class time will be marked down by 5% on the due day and 50% for each day following. No extensions are granted. Any student who does not submit all assignments will receive a failing grade in the class. |
 |
Any
student needing special
accommodation because of disabilities should contact the instructor
during the first week of
class. She will be happy to help. Students with documented learning
disabilities should see Arlene Stinson in the Learning Center in FA 129 so they
can provide their instructors with an accommodations letter. In Communications
classes students with documented LD's are often allowed to take tests
untimed. If you think you may have an LD but have not been tested, you
should go to the Learning Center and ask them to help you set up
testing. You may be entitled to accommodations. |
 |
Students must use their Mercer email accounts to send electronic copies of final drafts to the professor at mathewsh@mccc.edu. Please
identify yourself on all emails sent to the instructor and strive to
use proper grammar and punctuation in your correspondences, particularly if you expect a reply. |
 |
Office hours are held on the West Windsor campus in LA 131 Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00-10:30am and 1:30-2:30pm and by appointment. |
|
| Politeness and self respect
are expected in the classroom at all times. No matter what one’s skill level
in the subject matter, every student can and will maintain a
fundamental level of human decency. Students who are
disrespectful will be given a warning; if the behavior persists they may be asked to leave. Ongoing behavior
issues may lead to the student being withdrawn from the course. Click the link for more on the meaning of "respect": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respect |
|
|
    |
