Module Code and Title:        JRN 101 Elements of Style in Media

Programme:                          BA in Communication Arts and Creative media

Credit:                                    12

Module Tutor:                        Pallavi Majumdar

General objective: This module is designed to improve students' foundational skills and the ability to effectively communicate in English. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will learn how to use English language effectively in various media formats, including writing, speaking, and visual communication. The module will also facilitate critical engagement with texts in a wide range of forms, so that students can understand and respond to their content, and enrich their own spoken and written output.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Identify correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling to enhance the clarity and professionalism of the communication
2. Apply the conventions and best practices in the effective use of using English language in media formats.
3. Identify main ideas and inferences in media messages
4. Evaluate multimodal media messages for their effectiveness in communicating ideas and information
5. Compose media messages using English language effectively
6. Develop proficiency in written and spoken English for media and communication settings
7. Apply the literacy skills to manage information needs
8. Synthesize and analyze information using a variety of media
9. Integrate technology and digital media tools to learn, communicate, work and think collaboratively and creatively in a responsible and ethical manner.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

Students will be provided 5 worksheets (3 marks each) consisting of fill-in-the-blank quiz, sentence-writing activity, matching activity, multiple-choice quiz, word-sorting activity which will assess their style usage. The worksheets will focus on various aspects of usage in the English language.

Students will be provided 5 worksheets (3 marks each) consisting of fill-in-the-blank quiz, sentence-writing activity, matching activity, multiple-choice quiz, word-sorting activity which will assess their understanding of elements of style. The worksheets will focus on use of specific style guidelines to write media messages.

Students will be required to retell a famous story from the perspective of another character. For example, telling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk through the eyes of the giant or the giant's wife. The story will be 400-500 words long. 

3    Delivery of story

3    Flow and Pacing

3    Aesthetic appeal

4    Structure and mastery of story

2    Impact

Students will individually create an itemized list of news covered in a newspaper or broadcast. They will then analyze the factors behind the prioritization of at least 5 news items with reference to the sequence, scope (running time, space or column inches devoted to the story), structure and style of the story, and the statement and slant. They will present their analysis in about 10-12 minutes.

4    Existing knowledge, research and views

6    Analysis

5    Perspective

5    Conclusions and related outcomes

Students will be expected to participate substantially in class activities and discussions, with contributions reflecting adequate preparation for topics under discussion. This will be done both in class and on VLE to provide students maximum opportunity of participation. 

Students will take a written exam of 2.5 hr duration encompassing all the subject matter covered in the semester. The assessment is comprehensive and summative in nature, and will comprise structured questions from all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Overview of assessment approaches and weighting

Pre-requisites: None

Subject matter:

1. Unit I: Review of essential rules of English usage
   1. Using punctuations
      1. Forming the possessive singular of nouns by adding ’s
      2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, using a comma after each term except the last
      3. Enclosing parenthetic expressions between commas
      4. Placing a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause
      5. Not joining independent clauses with a comma
      6. Not breaking sentences in two
   2. Using a colon after an independent clause to introduce the following 
      1. A list of particulars
      2. An appositive
      3. An amplification
      4. An illustrative quotation
   3. Using a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary
   4. The number of the subject determines the number of the verb
   5. Use the proper case of pronoun
   6. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
2. Unit II: News Writing Style
   1. Understanding style guides
      1. Definition and role of style guide
      2. Key style guides: Associated Press, BBC, The Guardian, A Progressive’s style guide
   2. Style guidelines
      1. Parts of speech 
      2. Basic Rules of Writing
      3. Abbreviations and acronyms
      4. Active and passive
      5. Attribution first
      6. Clichés and journalese
      7. Collective nouns
      8. Confusables
   3. Elements of Style
      1. Cues and Danglers
      2. The definite article
      3. Devolution
      4. Foreign phrases
      5. Jargon
      6. Numbers and measures
      7. Names and titles
      8. Pronunciations 
      9. Reported speech 
      10. Sensitivity and Speaking it out loud 
      11. Superlatives 
      12. Words: simple, troublesome, in vogue and superfluous
3. Unit III: Writing for Media
   1. Types of media and their characteristics
      1. Print - newspapers and magazines
      2. Radio and Television
      3. Out of Home (OOH)
      4. Digital media
   2. Audience analysis and targeting
      1. Definition of audience
      2. Need for audience analysis
   3. Understanding news
      1. News definition and conventions
      2. Introduction to news writing for different media
4. Unit IV: Writing techniques for different media
   1. Use of tone and voice in writing 
   2. Use of language to engage and persuade readers/viewers
   3. Use of structure and formatting for different media (news articles, scripts, digital content)
5. Unit V: Writing Process
   1. Elements of storytelling
      1. The role of storytelling in different types of media (e.g., film, television, radio, print, digital)
      2. The importance of storytelling in building connections with audiences
   2. Brainstorming and outlining
   3. Research and fact-checking
   4. Drafting and revising
   5. Editing and proofreading
6. Unit VI: Analysing news stories
   1. Identifying key information and main points in a news story
   2. Evaluating the reliability and credibility of sources
   3. Determining the perspective and bias of the article
   4. Analysing the structure and language used in the article

Reading List:

Essential Reading

Associated Press Stylebook. (n.d.). https://www.apstylebook.com/

BBC Training and Development. (n.d.). The BBC news styleguide. peteburns.com. http://www.peteburns.com/downloads/BBC%20news%20styleguide.pdf

Pickering, I. (2017). Writing for news media: The storyteller’s craft. Routledge.

Strunk Jr, W., & White, E. B. (2007). The elements of style illustrated. Penguin.

Wren, P. C., & Martin, H. (2000). English grammar and composition. New Delhi: S Chand‎ & Company Ltd.

Writing with Impact. (n.d.). https://bbcacademyfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/Writing%20for%20news/WritingwithimpactSimplelanguage/index.html#/page/5f0c48593584d52005586839

Additional Reading

Dowling, D. (2019). Immersive long form storytelling: Media, technology, audience. Routledge.

Friedmann, J. (2021). Storytelling for media: Introduction to the theory and practice of narrative design (Vol. 5764). UTB.

Yopp, J. J., McAdams, K. C., & Thornburg, R. (2007). Reaching audiences: A guide to media writing. Pearson Allyn and Bacon.

Date: March 2023