Syllabus for AJRL 366 Magazine Writing: spring 2011
(Section 6729)
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:45 – 4:05
ED 121
Sari Botton
Adjunct Professor Journalism
Office: Humanities 333 Office Hours: 11:45 – 12:45 Tuesday and Thursday
sari@saribotton.com http://www.professorbotton.blogspot.com
646-298-5636 (cell) or (office) 518/442-4056, or (home) 845-658-9567
Objective:
Students who take this course will gain an understanding of the different types of articles for magazines – those that exist in print, and also on the Internet, and learn to write them. You will also become more sophisticated readers of magazines, so that you can become freelance writers for them. We will focus on how pitch articles – and actually do that.
Magazine writing requires mastery of both reporting and creative language skills. This course provides opportunities to practice both. You will be asked to think and often to act like a freelance writer. All written work should demonstrate pride in the craft of language. That means it must be in English that is clear, grammatical, idiomatic, correctly spelled, and properly punctuated. It will be read and graded on that premise. All assignments should be typed and DOUBLE SPACED.
The classroom will operate as both a writing workshop, where you will do a good deal of writing and reading aloud in class, and as a magazine staff meeting, where we discuss weigh the merits of articles and ideas through discussion.
Materials:
Required:
1) Feature & Magazine Writing: Action, Angle and Anecdotes, by David E. Sumner and Holly G. Miller
2) The Best American Magazine Writing 2009
3) Twitter account. This is free. Go to http://www.twitter.com and sign up. You will use this mostly as a research tool.
4) A blog, on Blogger, Tumblr, or WordPress. You will post your more polished work there, and also post short pieces there. Think of your blog as your own personal magazine.
5) Digital camera or cell phone camera, for photos to illustrate stories. If you do not have one, you can borrow one. The Interactive Media Center in the basement of the library can help you.
6) Attention to the your email account! Occasionally I will email or bring in copies of an article from a newspaper, magazine or website that is a good – or really bad – example of a certain type of story.
Recommended:
Writer’s Market
Attendance:
You must come to class. There are people who want to take this class but are shut out. If you are fortunate enough to enroll, you must be willing to come to class and do the work. Some rare excuses are acceptable for missing class, such as court appearances, deaths in the family, and severe illness. In these cases, absences can be excused. Please let me know in advance, via email or phone. Unexcused absences will lower your final grade by a third of a mark (from A to A-) for example.
Assignments and Grading:
This course has no final exam. The primary requirements are the writing of magazine articles and accompanying query letters (you will have to craft a well-written query letter for each article) as follows:
1. A service article of about 750 words. First draft due March 8, final draft due March 15. Include a detailed source list both times.
2. A personality profile of about 1,000 words. First draft due April 5, final draft due April 12. Include a detailed source list.
3. An in-depth feature of about 1,500 words. First draft due April 26, final draft due May 3 – which is the last day of class. Include a detailed source list. This assignment requires multimedia content, including photos, audio or video materials. You will present a “linky” multimedia version, posted on your blog, to the class.
There are three other minor required assignments, including: an analysis/profile of a magazine; a 500-word “person” sketch; a detailed list of at least five articles you could write for this class, with target publications. All assignments will be discussed in greater detail in class, and at the end of this syllabus.
Grading:
Your final grade will be based primarily on the quality of the articles you write, and on the successful completion of ALL assignments on deadline. The quality of the contribution you make to your classmates during discussions and critiques will also figure in your final grade. You must write with a minimum of errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Gross errors will lower your grade, as will errors of fact. Grades are not curved in this class. Your instructor's role is much like that of an editor.
Note: I will grade the rewritten versions of the three major articles, not the initial versions that you work on with your critique groups. (But if the initial version is late, I will lower your grade for the revised version.)
60 percent of your final grade will be based on the three major writing assignments (with query letters). They are 20 points each.
30 percent of your final grade will be based on your three minor writing assignments, which will not require revision. They are worth ten points each.
10 percent of your final grade will be based on class contribution, which includes in-class editing sessions and discussions. Offering insightful answers or asking probing question will all contribute to your grade. Also, maintaining your blog will figure in.
Deadlines:
ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Grades will be lowered on late assignments.
Critique sessions
All three of your articles will be critiqued in depth in class. You will go over your first drafts with your group, and you will be graded on your second drafts, due the following week.To make this as productive as possible, you will be required to supply printed or electronic copies of your article in advance to the members of your critique group. More on this in class. Please put your initials on copies. There will be a list of questions to follow for critiquing.
***Please remember to e-mail your articles to your members to read at least one day in advance of March 8, April 5 and April 26, which are the due dates for the first drafts of the major articles. Remember to read the article and bring your critique guidelines to class. Other dates for critiques are November 9 and November 30.
Schedule:
Week 1
Thursday, January 20 – Introduction to the course. What makes a feature a feature? We’ll talk about the distinctions between news and features, and between news features and lighter features. For next class, read “Introduction” by Chris Anderson (pp. xi-xv) in The Best American Magazine Writing 2009 (hereinafter referred to as BAMW.)
Week 2
Tuesday, January 25 – The different types of features. We’ll discuss the many different types of features. HW: Start thinking about topics you want to write about and start reading the Feature Writing book. For next week, read Part I, chapters 1-5 (hereafter referred to as FMW).
Thursday, January 27 – Front-of-book pieces for magazines. We’ll discuss these shorter pieces that are often a great way to start off with magazines. HW: FMW Chapters 6-7 (on marketing your articles) In BAMW, read "Papa" and "I Choose My Choice!" Assignment: For next Thursday, interview someone and write a 500-word sketch of him or her. Start blogging on some of the topics you chose. You can do original posts, or you can “aggregate” from other sources, with commentary.
Week 3
Tuesday, February 1 – Analyzing magazines: Looking at the “front-of-book,” and “feature well.” HW: Read BAMW "The Things That Carried Him."
Thursday, February 3 – Hand in person sketch. Constructing a feature: how to write a feature story. We’ll look at a few structures, and talk about the “nut graph,” also known in some places as the “who-ha.” We’ll try some ledes and nut graphs in class. We will discuss your article/publication ideas. More on the structure of the feature, including the “tie-back.” HW: FMW chapters 8-12.
Week 4
Tuesday, February 8 – Present your ideas for magazines. We will also discuss: Thorough reporting, even in features. Even though the feature is different than a news story, the same thoroughness in reporting is required – maybe even more so. A news feature covers news that’s already been reported in numerous places. You need to make sure you read much of what has already been written by checking on Nexis and web search engines like Google News and on Wikipedia. Know your story from all sides. HW: “Broken” and the Lost Years article in BAMW. Choose a magazine and analyze/profile it. Due next Tues, February 15.
Thursday, February 10 – Quotes from several sources. These days, most newspapers won’t publish a news feature with fewer than three sources. How do you know whom to quote? You want people from all sides of the issue. It’s important that your stories don’t read like lists of quotes strung together. HW: FMW, chapters 13-15
Week 5
Tuesday, Febuary 15 – Present your Magazine profiles. The query letter. We’ll discuss what these letters are, and how to write effective ones that can get your message across and get your features sold. We’ll also look at a few different types of lifestyle articles, including “service” pieces. HW: “Broken” and the Lost Years article in BAMW.
Thursday, February 17 – The service piece. We’ll examine some of these. As reader attention spans get shorter, and advertisers gain more leverage, these are becoming increasingly popular. HW: FMW, chapters 16-19. Choose your topic for your service feature, and get started. It is Due March 8th
Vacation Feb 20 - 26
Week 6
Tuesday, March 1 – The lifestyle trend piece. We’ll look closely at some of these, and also talk about things not to do – such as: avoid clichés like the plague (I’m being ironic here), and the obligatory “more and more people are…” clause that has grown very tired. HW: "Making It" in BAMW.
Thursday, March 3 – More on lifestyle features. HW: FMW, chapters 16-19.
Week 7
Tuesday, March 8 – First drafts of service features due, emailed to your critique group, and handed in to me. We will critique in groups, in class. HW: in BAMW "Disowned by the Ownership Society."
Thursday, March 10 – The entertainment feature. In anticipation of arts events, newspapers and magazines run “advance” features about the events, as well as profiles of the people involved. We’ll take a look at some of these. HW: FMW chapters 20-23. Prepare re-write of How-to-do-it service features to hand in by next Tuesday, March 15.
Week 8
Tuesday, March 15 – Hand in rewrite of service feature to me, DOUBLE-SPACED. The travel feature. Travel pieces offer you an opportunity to either visit places for a reduced fee or free – or to at least make some money toward your trip. They can be straight travel features, which are service pieces in their own way, or they can be travel essays, written in the first person. HW: "Bleak Houses" in BAMW.
Thursday, March 17 – Preparing to write a lifestyle feature. We’ll discuss students’ ideas in class, and I’ll answer questions about newsgathering, writing and more. HW: "The Homecoming" in BAMW. Come up with five feature article topics & target publications, write up and bring to next class next Thursday.
Week 9
Tuesday, March 22 – Profiles. We’ll look at a variety of personality profiles and discuss what makes them interesting – and credible. We’ll also compare profiles of the same people in different publications. HW: Choose the subject of your 1,200-word profile piece and get started. "The Butcher" in BAMW.
Thursday, March 24 – Bring in your list of five feature articles and target publications. Be prepared to share them aloud with the class. Who makes a good profile? And who else belongs in the piece? The best profiles include quotes from friends – and foes – of those being featured. We’ll discuss the elements of a good profile.
Week 10
Tuesday, March 29 – The art of the interview. We’ll talk in-depth about how to get the best interviews, and recording vs. taking notes. We’ll also talk about when you can’t get interviews, how you write profiles around people. We’ll look at examples of good profiles and Q&As, including those by Deborah Solomon in the New York Times magazine each week. HW: "The Glass Stampede" In BAMW.
Thursday, March 31– The long obit. Most of the really long obituaries you read were at least partially written before the person was dead. We’ll discuss how this is done. HW: "The Healing Season" in BAMW. Finish profiles, prepare to turn in next Tuesday, and to email to your critique group beforehand. HW: "They Fought the Laws (of Supply and Demand), and the Laws Won" in BAMW.
Week 11
Tuesday, April 5 – First drafts of Profiles due – must be sent to critique group by the day before. In-class critique of them. HW: In BAMW, "Making Toast." Decide on the subject for your third major assignment, the 2000-word in-depth feature, with the final draft due the last day of class, May 3. Start researching.
Thursday, April 7 – First person pieces. We’ll discuss the different types of first-person features, including opinion pieces, personal essays, columns and humor pieces, and I’ll bring in assorted examples. We’ll also discuss “blogs” or weblogs as the latest first-person innovation. HW: In BAMW, "The Source of All Things." Think of a magazine writer or editor to interview for your fifth minor assignment. Second drafts of profiles due next Tues.
Week 12
Tuesday, April 12 – Second drafts of profiles due to me. Assignment about ledes due, discussed in class. The column, and the ‘blog. We’ll look at examples of each, and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the immediacy of online publishing (such as: people firing things off into the blogosphere before they’ve had a chance to think their thoughts through, be edited, or cross their I’s and dot their T’s). HW: “Vickie’s Poor House in BAMW.”
Thursday, April 14 – The personal essay. I’ll bring in excerpts from Phillip Lopate’s “The Art of the Personal Essay,” as well as other examples from newspapers and magazines, such as “Modern Love” pieces from the New York Times and “My Turn” pieces from Newsweek.
Vacation April 18 - 25
Week 13
Tuesday, April 26 – First draft of 1500-word in-depth feature due. We’ll discuss the students’ ideas for their final features. We’ll also talk further about personal essays, specifically about the emotional and legal risks involved in writing them and the precautions to take in telling your life story, which often involves telling the stories of others.
Thursday, April 28 –Freelancing for newspapers and magazines. We’ll talk about how to begin going about selling your features to newspapers and magazines. Specifically, we’ll talk about how you know what different magazines and newspapers want, and who to contact at them.
Week 14
Tuesday, May 3 – Tuesday, December 7 – Last Class. Re-writes of 1500-word in-depth features due. Presentation of multimedia versions of these stories on your blogs. Course review, and talk about types of entry-level journalism jobs that can lead to feature-writing positions and related opportunities.
Other very important information:
Manuscript form (for final submission of magazine articles):
1. Type all articles in 12-point type. Use white, non-erasable bond paper only. Type only on one side of the page.
2. Begin typing your copy about 1/3 of the way down the first page.
3. In the upper left corner of the first page, place your name, address, phone number, and email address (single-spaced).
4. Double-space all copy.
5. Paper-clip the pages together in the upper left corner, and number the pages. Write "-30-" or "###" on the last page, at bottom, to indicate the end.
6. Strive for clean, error-free copy by carefully editing your article and reading it out loud before you turn it in. Use a pencil for minor editing.
Explanation of three minor writing assignments:
A. "Person" assignment Due February 3
Many magazine and newspaper feature articles rest upon the reporter's ability to understand and translate people. The purpose of this assignment, then, is to help you develop empathy--to understand how people feel, what they are like, and what behaviors best show these feelings and preferences. Quietly observe a person, but do not engage in conversation with him/her. Then, in a 500-word sketch, describe that person. Use literary techniques where appropriate (dialogue, dramatization, scene-setting, etc.), but don’t make anything up. Show, don't just tell; try to use some anecdotes, specific description, and/or dialogue, etc. to make your sketch as vivid as possible. You should aim to make a point or a statement. The reader must be able to draw a conclusion: This person is joyful, This person is vain, this person is angry, this person has recently lost a loved one. N.B.: WRITE THE STATEMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, APART FROM THE BODY.
B. Magazine profile assignment Due February 15
Choose a high-quality consumer or trade magazine, print or online version, and scrutinize at least two recent issues. Also consult the publication’s Web site to locate its writers’ guidelines and other relevant information. Then, prepare a report (about 2-5 pages, double-spaced) that profiles the magazine. You should address these areas: Who is the target audience? Demographics? What kinds of ads dominate? What kinds of editorial content? What seem to be the best ways for writers to break into the magazine?
C. Five article topics and target publications Due March 24
This is a description of five different articles you could write for this course. Include at least a paragraph on each. What will be your theme or focus? What appear to be likely sources (both documentary and personal)? For each article, describe the target publication. Don't just write "women's magazines," or "outdoor publications," but give a very specific example. Explain briefly how you will tailor your article to the specific audience requirements of the target publication.
