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CO201 Assignments

CO201, Introduction to Communication Writing, is the College of Communication's core writing course. As you refresh your grammatical and stylistic skills, you will apply those skills to professional writing assignments. At the end of the course, you should be able to write with clarity, conciseness, precision and correctness, no matter what your writing tasks or career goals. You will also learn to use narrative, persuasive and analytical techniques and to research your stories through print and electronic sources.

Good writing is the result of logical thinking, extensive reading, and a lot of writing and rewriting. You will be planning, composing, reading good models, and revising for all your assignments. Every major piece you hand in will be work-shopped in class; get feedback from a peer writer, a writing fellow and/or your instructor; and will go through at least two drafts.

News Story

Write a 2-3 page news report suitable for publication in your school or local paper.

  1. Choose an event to cover. It’s best to choose a local event you can attend. Consider attending a speech, public lecture, an open meeting, a charity walk or bike ride, a book or poetry reading, or a demonstration. You might find yourself reporting on an unplanned event—an accident, robbery, announcement—in which case staying local will give you easy access to sources you can interview. Your event should be one-time and not ongoing. For example, you could cover the opening night of play, but not simply Tuesday’s performance. (A story about one performance might turn into a review rather than a news story).
  2. Research your event, You will need to arrange interviews with organizers, participants, and experts. You can also use your own observation, Web searches, documents, and background reading. Use at least three sources in your story.
  3. Write the story using the summary and explanation organization, with the most important information loaded onto the front of the story.
Memoir

In four or five pages, write a memoir. Keep your focus narrow; stick to one event or connected series of events. Show a change: a change of mind or heart, a discovery, a confirmation or contradiction of a belief, a disappointment, a decision.

Include the following narrative elements:

  • Scenes full of detail and imagery
  • Characters with motivation and depth
  • Theme and clear conflict
  • Incremental, logical development of the plot

Proposal

Write a 3-5 page proposal that suggests a fresh way to help solve a local or global problem. Then, create two documents (public service announcements for print, radio, or television; flyers; brochures; Web pages) that will bring the issue to a public audience. For this assignment, you can assume the role of a proposal writer for a student group, a citizens’ group, a non-profit organization, or a freelance advertising team.

Here are some possible approaches to this assignment:

  • A proposal from a student group to a specific administrator at your college or university seeking a change in student life. (improved security, more liberal/stringent guest policy in dorms, improved facilities for commuter students, anti-violence campaign on campus)
  • A proposal from a citizens group to an elected official seeking their support (vote) for a piece of legislation. (any local or state-wide issue coming to a vote: for example, one student group wrote a proposal for a state representative to support an anti-vivisection bill that prohibited cutting up live animals in high-school labs.)
  • A proposal from a student/citizens group to a town or city finance committee seeking support for a public works project. (increased funding for arts programs in public schools, increased late night public transportation, revamped recycling program)
  • A proposal from a non-profit organization to a foundation seeking funds for a project (sponsorship of a walk-a-thon for a worthy charity, money to build an animal rescue shelter, creation of an innovative program to help victims of domestic violence)
  • A proposal from a “freelance” advertising team to a non-profit organization volunteering to create a public service campaign for a project. (any favorite local/national/global issue: a public awareness campaign around a health issue like early detection of cancer, prevention of AIDS, management of diabetes, etc.; an awareness campaign around a social or environmental issues like teenage pregnancy, discrimination, homelessness, pollution, endangered species, etc.)

Make sure your proposal includes these three sections:

  1. Introduction: Problem Statement and Background
  2. Body: Solution
  3. Conclusion: Benefit

Film Review

Write a film review of a movie in current release—or of a movie you can watch on tape or DVD. In either case, choose a movie that has some artistic merit, that goes beyond pure entertainment.

Choose a specific publication in which you would publish this review: a newspaper, magazine, or online site, and keep this audience in mind as you write the review.

Your research should include reading reviews in your chosen publication as well as finding out what you can about the context and sources—if any—of the film. It is best not to read other reviews of the film you’ve chosen since they will inevitably influence your opinion.

Profile

Write a 5-7 page profile. Your writing should include a focus on a part of the subject’s life or personality that has resonance for a reader.

Your profile should include:

  • Research that includes 3 interviewed sources, including your subject, and 2 print or electronic sources for background material
  • An opening that attracts the reader’s attention
  • A nut graf, or thesis, that clearly states the focus
  • Quotations, anecdotes, and illustrations
  • A structure that flows and develops the focus and integrates the quotations, research, narrative, and exposition