JMC 2033 Overview by Suzy Boulavsky

JMC 2003 Writing for the Mass Media, is a mandatory course for journalism students designed to increase focus on writing in all professional journalism areas.  In order to be admitted into Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, students need to pass with at least a 69.5 percent.  The class exemplifies the need for better writing and communication skills and prepares students to be familiar with writing in any media atmosphere.  

The class consists of a three-credit lecture and a zero-credit lab.  Students meet twice a week within each section, where Kathryn Jenson White teaches the lecture aspect of the course and works with several other instructors who are responsible for the lab portion.

Within the lecture, students learn in a structured environment that allows no cell phones or lap tops. Almost daily, students take a grammar or media-related quiz.  Therefore, attendance and timeliness is expected by the professors, with consequences in tact for failure to comply to either one.  No quizzes can be made up for absences nor will there be extra time if a student is tardy. 

Labs compose the second half of JMC 2033 and is worth equally as much as the lecture.  Lab instructors are skilled writers as well as teachers of the material and can be used as coaches and editors for all assignments.  They will point out errors in writings and will recommend ways to fix them in order for the student to do their best work.  Labs are made up of a significantly less number of students;  familiarity with the lab instructors is a key component of excelling in the class.

Because language and grammar are main compositions of writing, students need to be aware of Fact Errors within this class.  Throughout the semester, severe penalties exist for production of false information in areas such as names, ages, or locations within one's work.  Penalties include automatic severe point deductions on assignments, and as the semester continues, the deductions increase.  As a result, students will recognize the importance of accurate information in journalism.