Voyage: Summer 2013 Discipline: English Writing ENWR 3559: Feature Writing Division: Upper Faculty Name: Wendy Zomparelli SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS Prerequisite: One news writing course or equivalent (e.g., internship at a daily newspaper, staff writer at a collegiate paper). Enrollment: Limited to 25 students. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Practical instruction in journalistic techniques used in news features, profiles, arts and entertainment articles, food and travel writing and lifestyle stories. Students will develop interviewing, writing and narrative skills through a range of assigned articles and exercises. Though based on newspaper models, principles addressed will apply to magazine and online journalism. COURSE OBJECTIVES: To equip students with the tools necessary for writing compelling feature articles o Interviewing techniques o Using different narrative structures and styles o Finding and focusing story ideas o Applying Associated Press style To improve writing skills and enable experimentation in writing across a range of subjects To explore the role of the feature article in the evolving world of news media REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AUTHOR: Zinsser, William TITLE: On Writing Well PUBLISHER: Harper Perennial; ISBN #: ISBN-10: 0060891548 ISBN-13: 978-0060891541 DATE/EDITION: 30 th Anniversary Edition, 2006 TITLE: The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2012 PUBLISHER: Associated Press ISBN #: 978-0-917360-56-5 DATE/EDITION: 2012 READINGS: In addition to the texts and other readings specified below, topical feature articles from leading newspapers, websites and magazines will be assigned and distributed via PDF or hard copy.
REQUIRED SUPPLIES Students must have appropriate notebooks for taking interview notes, maintaining an in-port journal and jotting down story ideas and field observations. The use of electronic devices are fine, as long as students can print out or email notes to turn in, and if a notebook is carried as backup. CLASS POLICIES AND GRADING All papers are due by 5 p.m. on the date noted. Late assignments will be docked a full letter grade for each day (or part of a day) that they are late. Grade calculation formula: o Three in-port journal assignments: 10 percent each o Faculty interview and Sounds of Athens : 10 percent each o Free-choice feature and A Day in Provence : 20 percent each o Class participation (attendance, punctuality and demonstration of having completed the readings when called upon for comment): 10 percent FIELD LAB: A Day in Provence Bus excursion to Aix-en-Provence, Saturday, Aug. 3. Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab. Aix-en-Provence is approximately 30 minutes from Marseille by autoroute. Our tentative plan is to spend the morning at the weekly market, one of the most vibrant in the region; a presentation on the food of Provence from a local expert; group lunch at a restaurant specializing in traditional regional cuisine; visits to some of the city s tourist sites and museums. Field Lab Assignments: Write a travel article on A Day in Provence. The article must include quotes from at least two sources (other than the professor), such as local residents, market vendors or other tourists. Other reference materials, appropriately credited, may be used to add historical background and depth to the article, but standard travel guides (Fodor s, Rick Steves) may not be quoted. Papers will be evaluated largely on the student s ability to convey a sense of place and to provide useful tips for the traveler with only one day to spend in Aix. Due Aug. 10; 750 to 1,000 words. Course Outline Class C1- June 19 Introduction Review of syllabus and class policies In-port journals and student-choice article Class exercise: Student goals and objectives AP Stylebook, Statement of News Values, pp. 307-320
Class C2- June 20 What is a feature article? How feature writing differs from news reporting As the media landscape evolves, what is the feature article's role? Types of feature articles AP Stylebook and how to use it C3- June 21 Feature Writing Fundamentals Framing and angles The target reader Why this article? Why now? C4- June 22 The Observer s Eye Journalism v. tourism Curiosity and the eternal "Why?" Framing your internal questions Zinsser, William, On Writing Well, pp. 1-36 Selection from The Tourist Gaze by John Urry Zinsser, pp. 37-45 In-port journal: Setting the scene at the Hassan II Mosque. Due June 27. June 23-26 Casablanca C5- June 27 The Observer s Eye Class discussion of Casablanca exercise Writing powerful descriptions C6- June 28 The art of the interview Principles and ethics Having journalism done to you Doing your homework: Background and context C7- June 29 The art of the interview Listening Getting it right: notes v. recording Preparing questions Zinsser, pp. 101-115 Mugglemarch: J.K. Rowling writes a realist novel for adults," Ian Parker, The New Yorker, Oct. 1, 2012 Zinsser, pp. 46-66 Begin thinking about the feature article you want to write as your project for the term. Written proposal due July 18. Students will be assigned at random to interview a faculty or staff volunteer for an article introducing him or her to the shipboard community. Due July 2; 450 to 600 words. June 30 No classes C8- July 1 The interview: Critique Class viewing, discussion and analysis of broadcast journalists questions and interviewing techniques C9- July 2 Finding the story The difference between an article and a "story" Where do story ideas come from? Zinsser, pp. 67-91 Zinsser, pp. 116-146
Class Focusing the topic For which audience are you writing? When the story changes July 3-5 Antalya C10- July 6 Finding the story Narrative structure Leads and endings C11- July 7 News features The expanding role of the news feature in a 24/7 news cycle How different news outlets frame features on the same topic in the news: Which ones work best? Why? One current news feature article from The New York Times, and one on the same subject from The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal Pleasure and Guilt on the Grand Tour by Chloe Chard, pp. 1-17 In-port journal: Find three feature article ideas deriving from issues in the news for Istanbul or Turkey. Due July 12. July 8-11 Istanbul C12- July 12 News features Class discussion: Students news feature ideas from Istanbul C13- July 13 Travel writing Origins of travel tropes: Exoticism, adventure and advice Memoir v. reporting Pleasure and Guilt on the Grand Tour by Chloe Chard, pp. 18-39 Professor Handler s reading assignment to come Travel feature on The Sounds of Athens. Due July 20; 500 to 700 words. July 14-17 Piraeus C14- July 18 Travel writing Travel and the search for authenticity : Guest lecture by Professor Richard Handler Two recent newspaper or magazine travel articles C15- July 19 Travel writing Elements and styles Class discussion and analysis of assigned features C16- July 20 Food writing The role of the food writer and how it has evolved Impact of blogging and social media Selection from The Food of France by Waverley Root Chefs in Spain Must Adapt to Economic Crisis or Fail, The New York Times, July 23, 2012 In-port journal: What s for supper? Due Aug. 2; 350 to 500 words. July 21-23 July 24-26 Livorno Civitavecchia
Class C17- July 27 Food writing Understanding the economics that drive a story Local tastes, local markets C18- July 28 Food writing Food journalism v. criticism Memoir and the writer s place: Just who is the story for? The Great Olive Curing Experiment of 2012 by Katie Parla; http://www.parlafood.com/oli ve-curing-rome-urbanforaging/ After El Bulli, Spain Looks Forward, The New York Times, June 14, 2011 OR an assignment from Dean McInnis July 29-31 Malta C19- Aug. 1 Writing about arts and entertainment Guest speaker: Maurie McInnis Zinsser, pp. 193-206 C20- Aug. 2 Writing about arts and entertainment Are you the expert or Everyman? Advances and reviews Selection of arts and entertainment articles by the professor Aug. 3 Aug. 4-5 Aug. 6-8 Arrive Marseilles Field Lab: Trip to Aix-en-Provence Marseilles Barcelona Travel article on A Day in Provence. Due Aug. 10; 750 to 1,000 words. C21- Aug. 9 Making yourself part of the story First-person journalism and when to use it Making the reader care about you C22- Aug. 10 Making yourself part of the story Developing your own voice Style but substance, too Excerpts from Steve Lopez s 2005 series on Nathaniel Ayers in the Los Angeles Times Zinsser, pp. 231-252 Aug. 11-13 Aug. 14-16 Cadiz Lisbon C23- Aug. 17 Course summary Keys to success as a feature writer Where the jobs are Student-choice feature article due Aug. 18 Study Day C24- Aug. 19 Final exams No exam
Aug. 20 Aug. 21 Aug. 22 Reflection/Re-entry Convocation and packing Southampton HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed].