March 31, April 2
Introduction, grammar, mechanics, language issues
See the grammar quizzes and references on the class home page.
Zinsser, Chap. 1 "The Transaction"
Chap. 2, "Simplicity"
Chap. 3, "Clutter."
April 7, 9
Language and writing issues: Clarity, sexism, stereotyping, objectivity
Writing to inform, news writing, leads
A few online refererences about news leads.
Zinsser, Chap. 4, "Style"
Chap. 5, "The Audience"
Chap. 6, "Words"
Chap. 7, "Usage"
Chap. 10, "Bits and Pieces"
April 14, 16
More on leads and news writing
Guest lecture: broadcast writing
A few online refererences about broadcast writing.
Zinsser, Chap. 9, "The Lead and the Ending"
April 21, 23
Building a story
Use of quotes, interviewing
Zinsser, Chap. 8 "Unity"
Chap. 12, "Writing about People: The Interview"
April 28, April 30
Feature writing approaches
Zinsser, Chap. 11 "Nonfiction as Literature"
Chap. 13, "Writing about Places: The Travel Article"
Chap. 14, "Writing about Yourself: The Memoir"
May 5, 7
Feature structure
Skim Zinsser Chap. 15-17;
Zinsser, Chap. 15, "Science and Technology"
Chap. 16, "Business Writing"
Chap. 17, "Sports"
May 12, 14
Public relations writing forms
Persuasive writing: Editorials, reviews
Zinsser, Chap. 18, "Writing about the Arts: Critics and Columnists"
Chap. 19, "Humor"
May 19, 21
Persuasive writing: advertising, ad-writing forms
Guest lecture-public relations writing
May 28
No class May 26, Memorial Day holiday
Grammar quiz in class May 28.
June 2, 4
Summarizing: headlines, integrating text and visuals
Writing for new media; ethics and responsibilities
Zinsser, Chap. 20, "The Sound of Your Voice"
Chap. 21, "Enjoyment, Fear and Confidence"
Chap. 22, "The Tyranny of the Final Product"
Chap. 23, "A Writer's Decisions"
Chap. 25, "Write as Well as You Can."
Feature project due at the beginning of lab June 6.
A few online refererences about headlines, titles and search engine optimization.