Luebke's JOR 341 Competencies Details

JOR 341 - Editing for Publication I
Details of Competencies

Your work during the semester is aimed at acquiring or improving competency in several skill areas. The Scrapbook you turn in at the end of the course will demonstrate the extent to which you have done so. See your Syllabus for details on grading.

Journalism majors and Public Relations majors need the same skills, but not necessarily the same level of achievement in all of them. For example, Journalism majors are expected to have a better understanding than PR majors of the role and function of wire services and the special requirements of editing wire copy. Both, however, would be expected to correct factual errors as well as basic style, grammar, usage and punctuation errors in a wire story -- or any other copy being prepared for publication or distribution.

Each of the competencies you are working on is detailed below. Don't hesitate to ask questions about them!

Editing Competency
There is much to learn about editing from reading, lectures and discussions. But you learn the most about editing by editing. And whether you are editing a news story, a feature story, a press release, the copy for a newsletter or a table for a company's annual report, the approach should be the same. This semester you will have two general kinds of editing experiences: practice exercises and "live" editing. The more proficient you aim to get, the more of both you will want to do.

Practice Exercises
• These can be found in CE and are identified on your Syllabus.
• Practice exercises will be reviewed; see your Syllabus for the schedule. Remember, only reviewed material can be included in your Scrapbook to demonstrate a competency! I also encourage you to write a brief "reflection" on what you learned by doing a particular exercise after it is reviewed.

"Live" Editing
• See your Syllabus for details.
• You also have on-line access to a set of newspaper, magazine and public relations materials that I have prepared for editing.

Grammar Competency
You cannot edit successfully without understanding and being able to use correct grammar; that is to say, you must know the system of rules that defines the structure of our language. Unfortunately, you probably have had too little instruction in grammar.

Practice Exercises
Watch Your Words was selected to help you review, relearn or learn basic grammar. Use the self-help tests to measure your progress.

In CE,, begin with Chapter 2 (pp. 19-52) "Using Correct Grammar and Punctuation." For practice, do exercises 1-10 on pp. 53-62.

You will also find help throughout the AP Stylebook, which has many entries that really are reminders about correct grammar, punctuation and word usage.

Visit the Resources page of the course web site for some on-line help.

Competency Exam
The minimum passing grade is 70% (C-level). If you score below that on Exam I, you must take Exam II. Anyone wishing to try to demonstrate a higher degree of competency can take Exam II.

Scrapbook Entries
You can use annotated clippings from published materials to show your understanding of grammar. These need not be only examples of grammatical errors; you might find an unusual or complicated sentence done correctly that allows you to comment on it.

You also can use material from workbook stories that you edit or "live" editing.

AP Style Competency
No matter which career path you take (reporter, editor, PR professional, free-lance writer, etc.), you will use AP style. Mastery of the basic style rules and familiarity with the contents of the AP Stylebook are essential for professional success. JOR 220 should have made you comfortable with basic style rules, such as those governing dates, ages, courtesy titles, professional titles, numbers and abbreviations. Therefore, from the very first editing you do, I expect you to correct basic style errors!

Your task now is to become comfortable with the entire stylebook, so you can recognize potential style errors no matter what you are editing. To do this, you must make the AP Stylebook your journalistic bible. Here is how you do that; follow this 10-minute-a-day routine and I guarantee you success!

Step 1 Open the Stylebook to the A's and begin going through it page by page, reading only the boldface entries. When your 10 minutes are up, stop. Pick up the next day where you left off. When you get to the end, move on to the next step.

Step 2 Return to the A's. Again, read the boldface entries. But when you get to entries that you know from experience -- or common sense suggests -- that you will need frequently, highlight the boldface and study the explanatory material. When your 10 minutes are up, stop. Pick up the next day where you left off. When you get to the end, move on to the next step.

Step 3 Return to the A's. Again, read the boldface entries. But this time skim the explanatory material for ALL entries and study the explanatory material for your highlighted entries. When your 10 minutes are up, stop. Pick up the next day where you left off. When you get to the end, move on to the next step.

Step 4 Repeat Step 2 for the rest of the semester. That is, continue to read through all the boldface entries and study your highlighted entries. Add highlighted entries as appropriate.

Your goals:
1. "Imprint" entries on your brain, so that when editing or writing you come to recognize that there is or might be a style rule at work.

2. Memorize basic style rules so you can minimize the time you spend looking for answers in the Stylebook.

Keys to success:
1. Work at this every day.

2. Try reading boldface entries aloud sometimes.

3. Work at this every day.

4. Highlight sparingly.

5. Work at this every day.

Practice Exercises
• Chapter 3 in CE (pp. 63-76) addresses the topic of "Consistent Style and Correct Words." For practice, try Exercises 1-7 on pp. 77-85. For help in seeing the range of information in the Stylebook, try Exercises 8-12 on pp. 86 & 87.

• WYW covers usage (pp. 29-39) and AP style (pp. 42-47).

• Visit the Resources page of the course web site for some on-line help.

Scrapbook entries
Regardless of your proficiency with AP style when you begin the course, by the end you should have progressed well beyond the basics. That is what you will want to show with your other Scrapbook entries.

Math Competency
Hard as many try, journalists and public relations professionals cannot escape math, as the introduction (pp. 12-13) to Math Tools for Journalists 2nd ed. explains. See especially the fourth paragraph of that Introduction if you have any doubts about why I've chosen to use the book in JOR 341.

One of the competencies you are expected to demonstrate this semester is a Math Competency. You can do that in the following ways:

"Skill Drills"
You should work your way through the "Skill Drills" at the end of each chapter in Math Tools. You do this on your own schedule, but obviously the sooner the better. When you finish a chapter, ask me for the answer sheet, which you must return. Obviously, the honor system is at work, and I expect you to not share answers.

Other Scrapbook entries
• If you do any of the Learning Challenges at the end of Math Tools chapters, include those.

• Include "evidence" of your math skills from outside JOR 341 classwork, e.g. from an internship, The Cigar, other PR or journalism work you might do, work in another class.

• If you use any of the Online Math Resources (pp. 169-170 Math Tools or from the course web site), include them.

• Examples from exercises and stories you edit throughout the semester -- You'll want to make notes about math problems you encountered/solved when editing.