Your final grade in this class will be based on four components:

1. Newspaper/online news module: News writing exercises, a profile, and an original, final “real news” story (300 points/30%).
2. Broadcast module: Broadcast news writing exercises, including a final broadcast of your “real news” story from the newspaper/online module (150 points/15%).
3. Magazine module: Magazine writing exercises, including a final magazine story, in the magazine module (150 points/15%).
4. General media skills: This component includes exams, AP style quizzes, reports on readings, news analysis and other exercises (250 points/25%).

Note: There will be approximately 850-900 points worth of assignments for this class. Point totals listed above are approximate and may vary slightly, depending on student needs and assignment opportunities.

Grades will be computed as follows:

97-100% = A+
93-96% = A
90-92% = A-
87-89% = B+
83-86% = B
80-82% = B-
77-79% = C+
73-76% = C
70-72% = C-
67-69% = D+
63-66% = D
60-62% = D-
Less Than 60% = F

Late Papers, Missed Assignments/Tests

Journalists must meet deadlines, and so must you. All assignments, quizzes and exams are due on the specified due date. Late assignments, quizzes and exams will not be accepted. The only exception to this policy will be for a serious illness, family emergency or death in the family, preferably reported to the instructor before the due date.

Revising Your Work

If you get a poor grade on an assignment, I encourage you to revise it. In fact, if you have trouble with an assignment, I will likely ask you to revise it.

With a good revision, you can earn back up to half the points you lost the first time around. Just put “revised” in the title of the blog post, and I’ll go back and regrade it. Revising makes most sense if you get a B- or less.

Academic Integrity

All writing assignments you submit for this class must by original work written by you for this class. Be warned: I have flunked students who submitted plagiarized papers.

In addition to academic sanctions, the consequences of plagiarism, fabrication and other types of academic dishonesty can range from failing the assignment to failing the course. If you are in doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, you may want to take advantage of SJSU’s online plagiarism tutorial. You may also want to review the student resources and tips for academic success offered by the SJSU Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development.