Availabilities:
| Location | Domestic | International |
|---|---|---|
| Online |
Unit description
Completes students' introduction to journalism as a contemporary cultural and media practice. Students consolidate their skills in news gathering and writing, and are introduced to feature writing techniques through applied theory and practical activities and assessment. Students learn further research and interviewing skills, and develop a critical understanding of key professional, legal and ethics issues relevant to journalism.
Unit content
- The nature of features
- Story ideas and planning
- Advanced interviewing
- Feature writing techniques
- Narrative and description
- Legal issues and ethics
- Rhetoric and persuasion
- Data and verification
- Marketing your work
- Investigative journalism
- Wordcraft and editing
- Book-length features
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | discuss the characteristics of feature writing, including the role of argument, narrative, persuasion and description | Creativity | Knowledge of a discipline | Lifelong learning | ||||
| 2 | apply skills in planning, researching and interviewing for feature-form journalism writing projects | Creativity | Knowledge of a discipline | Lifelong learning | ||||
| 3 | access, critically evaluate and document information sources, including reports, databases and specialist publications | Creativity | Knowledge of a discipline | Lifelong learning | ||||
| 4 | write a newspaper/magazine feature article | Creativity | Knowledge of a discipline | Lifelong learning | ||||
| 5 | identify and discuss professional, legal and ethical issues in feature journalism practice. | Creativity | Knowledge of a discipline | Lifelong learning | ||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
- discuss the characteristics of feature writing, including the role of argument, narrative, persuasion and description
- GA2: Creativity
- GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
- GA5: Lifelong learning
- apply skills in planning, researching and interviewing for feature-form journalism writing projects
- GA2: Creativity
- GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
- GA5: Lifelong learning
- access, critically evaluate and document information sources, including reports, databases and specialist publications
- GA2: Creativity
- GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
- GA5: Lifelong learning
- write a newspaper/magazine feature article
- GA2: Creativity
- GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
- GA5: Lifelong learning
- identify and discuss professional, legal and ethical issues in feature journalism practice.
- GA2: Creativity
- GA4: Knowledge of a discipline
- GA5: Lifelong learning
Prescribed texts
- Available to order through the Co-op Bookshop, www.coop.com.au: Tanner, S, Richardson, N & Kasinger, M , 2017, Feature Writing (Telling the Story), 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. ISBN: 9780190304881.
Teaching and assessment
| Teaching method |
| Structured online learning (12 weeks) |
| Assessment | |
| Profile feature on a place and/or person | 30% |
| News feature, research plan and critical reflection | 40% |
| Genre feature (eg travel, sport, product, event) and feature pitch | 30% |
Fee information
Domestic
Commonwealth Supported courses
For information regarding Student Contribution Amounts please visit the Student Contribution Amounts.
Fee paying courses
For postgraduate or undergraduate full fee paying courses please check Domestic Postgraduate Fees OR Domestic Undergraduate Fees
International
Please check the international course and fee list to determine the relevant fees.