Guidelines for Final Portfolios and Grading

Your final portfolios are due by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16. This deadline is absolute. No extensions. There will be a drop box outside my office (208 FOB).

Your final portfolio should be compiled in a binder or a folder. It should include the following seven or eight items (in this order):

1. A final revision of one piece you've done this semester. The revision should reflect your understanding of all the concepts we've covered. It will be graded on AP Style, grammar, thoroughness of reportage (5Ws/1H), effective use of sources and quotes, and overall journalistic technique (smooth transitions, organization, sense of news-worthiness, etc.). It should show evidence that you've revisited your subject, conducted more in-depth interviews as needed, and applied the feedback you received during in-class lectures and workshops.

ALSO include:

2. A one-page statement discussing your approach to revision of the piece. What steps did you take to make the piece better? Why? What guided your organization of the piece (what you chose for the lede, how you focused the story, etc.)? What did you struggle with? What did you enjoy about writing the piece? What, if anything, would you still like to improve upon (you may discuss your reportage, your interviewing techniques, etc.)?

Then include original versions of the following pieces (labeled accordingly) in this order:

3. Q&A
4. Terkel Assignment
5. Profile Piece
6. Second news brief
7. First news brief

Also include:

8. Any clips you have from The Insider, if applicable (print out and include here)

(Note: Only original copies are required. However, you may opt to revise each piece if you'd like to try and boost your grade. Staple revisions to original copies and be sure to label the revision as REVISION. Revising pieces doesn't guarantee that your grade will improve. Grading will be based on the quality of the revisions.)

Your final grade will be calculated this way:

1. 60 percent -- quality of written work/final portfolio
2. 30 percent -- quiz and test grades
3. 10 percent -- citizenship (attendance, participation, professionalism, conduct)

Post-Turkey Joy: Written/Spoken Reading Tuesday, Nov. 30 features Stacey Waite

The 2010-2011 Pitt-Greensburg Written/Spoken Reading Series continues with November speaker Stacey Waite on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Coffeehouse.

After receiving her MFA in poetry in 2003, Waite has published two collections of poems, both of which were recognized with awards. Her poetry collection “Choke” won the 2004 Frank O’Hara Prize in Poetry, and her collection “Love Poem to Androgyny” was the winner of the 2006 Main Street Rag Chapbook Competition.

Waite’s most recent work has been published in “The Cream City Review,” “Interim,” “Knockout,” and “Black Warrior Review.” Her newest collection of poems, “The Lake Has No Saint,” has just been released from Tupelo Press. In addition, her poem “Trans,” which appears in the anthology “I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Originally from New York, Waite currently teaches courses in Composition, Women’s Studies, Literature, and Creative Writing as a PhD Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. Her full length collection “Butch Geography” will be published by Tupelo Press in 2012.

Opening readers for Stacey include UPG poet Kim Wolff and nonfiction writer Montana Miller.

The Written/Spoken series offers readings on the last Tuesday of every month, and brings local and nationally-known poets and writers to campus for readings and workshops. The series is sponsored by the University’s writing program and is free and open to the public. All readings in the series begin at 7 p.m. in the campus coffeehouse, located in Village Hall. Book signings and receptions follow all events.

For more information about the series or about Waite’s visit, contact Lori Jakiela, associate professor of English, at 724.836.7481 or email loj@pitt.edu

Class canceled tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 16

Our class tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 16, is canceled. We'll pick up
on Thursday with an open-book quiz on Joan Didion's work. Please continue
reading Vintage Didion to prepare for the quiz.

Also, unless you were a member of Team 1 (the winners of News Jeopardy), there
will be a news section on your quiz. Please be familiar with this week's
headlines.

And remember to bring your Q&A to class (one hard copy + e-copy).

Thanks!

Thursday, November 4

More Terkel! We'll watch some short interviews with Studs himself, then move on to workshop of your own Terkel-inspired pieces.

Your next piece won't be due until Thursday, Nov. 18. It will be a Q&A piece. Base your work on the CITY PAPER handout I'll give you today in class. Pick a timely, news-worthy subject. AP Style. Grammar. All of it counts. Approximately 500-700 words. Bring an e-copy and a hard copy to class on November 18.

Also begin reading Joan Didion. I'll lecture a bit on her next week. We'll be focusing mostly on news next week, though, so be sure to read the headlines and follow the big stories.

Conferences on Tuesday, Nov. 2

Remember we won't meet in the classroom on Tuesday, Nov. 2. There's a sign-up sheet on my office door (208 FOB). Please sign up for individual conferences. The conferences aren't mandatory, but they're highly recommended. During the conferences, we'll go over your work one-on-one. Please be sure to bring any of your old stories with you if you'd like to review them; I'll have your profile piece on hand. I can let you know where you stand mid-term grade-wise.

Extra credit roster

The following folks will receive extra credit for attending the Written/Spoken series on Tuesday, Oct. 26:

Nicole H., Tiffany B., Phoebe N., Natalie S., Corey Fl., C.J. S., Jordan H., Eric R., Michelle W., and Justin M.

Happy bonus!

Extra credit opportunity!

If you'd like extra credit for our class -- or if you'd just like to enjoy a great night with wonderful writers -- please come to tonight's Written/Spoken reading. It's at 7 p.m. in the coffeehouse. We're celebrating Alumni Night, so all the guest writers will be graduates of Pitt-Greensburg's Writing Program.

The line-up includes our own Corey Florindi as the opening reader. Guest writers incude nonfiction/memoirist/poet Adam Matcho; poet/fictioneer Carrie Smith; and Dave Newman, whose novel Please Don't Shoot Anyone Tonight was just published by World Parade Books.

The reading is free and open to the public. Village credit. A reception and booksigning will follow the reading. We'll also have a raffle -- you can win signed copies of books by Pitt-Greensburg's faculty authors.

Your extra-credit points can buy your way out of one news brief.

Hope to see you all there!