Overview of JMC 2033

Taylor Newcomb

Writing for Mass Media is a required course by the Gaylord College of Journalism for any student wanting to work in the world of mass media. This class focuses on improving the writing skills of each student enrolled in the class, whether they are interested in Professional Writing or Public Relations. Known by many students as the journalism “weed out” class, hard work and participation are important keys to success in this course.

Although this class does predominantly focus on the writing skills of each student, it also stresses the importance of gathering information and using that information to benefit the public. The most effective media writers need to have the ability to open themselves up to all different forms of journalism instead of just one, and that is exactly what this class does for students.

The class is broken into two sections: lecture and lab. Although the course only counts for three credit hours, each student spends five hours in class each week; the lab accounts for three hours and the lecture accounts for two. All students enrolled in JMC 2033 attend the same lecture but are broken into more focused and specialized groups for the lab. The lecture is instructed by Dr. Elanie Steyn with help from her teaching assistant, Sarah Cavanah. The lab is a smaller classroom setting with the purpose of helping students work their way through what they learned in lecture. The lab instructor depends on which section each student chooses. Between the lab and the office hours of both Dr. Steyn and her teaching assistant, students are offered plenty of one-on-one help with parts of the class they may not understand.

Source: JMC 2033 Syllabus, Spring 2011