In-Depth: Feature and Specialist Writing (11087.1)
| Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
|---|---|---|
| View teaching periods | On-Campus |
Bruce, Canberra |
| EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
| 0.125 | 3 | Faculty Of Arts And Design |
| Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
| School Of Arts And Communications | Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit | Band 2 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905) |
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:1. Write engaging longer format 'feature' and 'specialist' stories;
2. Apply visual storytelling capabilities to enhance 'feature' and 'specialist' journalism;
3. Critically discuss the history, diversity and importance of 'feature' and 'specialist' journalism and its continuing relevance for target audiences and communities of interest in the digital age; and
4. Gather, verify, and synthesise information from multiple sources as part of an editorial process.
Graduate attributes
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
Prerequisites
Must have completed 24 credit points to enrol in this unit.Corequisites
None.Incompatible units
None.Equivalent units
9309 Longform and Investigative Journalism.Assumed knowledge
None.| Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 2 | 31 July 2023 | On-Campus | Dr David Nolan |
Required texts
Prescribed texts:
Writing Feature Stories, by Matthew Ricketson and Caroline Graham, second ediiton, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 2017.
Recommended texts:
Journalism Research and Investigation in a Digital World, edited by Stephen Tanner and Nick Richardson, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 2013.
There is a broad range of books, journal articles and media coverage about long form journalism and investigative journalism. The university's library has a good collection of references about the field as well as a developing collection of works of long form journalism. The books listed below are all held in the library, as are the books from which excerpts are taken for the readings prescribed in the week by week timetable. Some of the references below are how to guides that offer you alternative perspectives to the prescribed and recommended texts above, while others survey the field or discuss issues arising in its practice. A number of the books listed below are anthologies that contain examples of long form journalism and narrative non-fiction, which gives you an opportunity to sample the breadth of writing in the genre. Many of these books can be ordered online from various suppliers. Just search for the titles and authors on the internet.
Applegate, Edd, ed. Literary Journalism: A Biographical Dictionary of Writers and Editors. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Bak, John and Bill Reynolds. Literary Journalism across the Globe. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2011.
Bly, Nellie. Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and Other Writings, edited by Jean Marie Lutes, New York: Penguin, 2014.
Cheney, Theodore. Writing Creative Nonfiction. California: Ten Speed Press, 1991.
Connery, Thomas, ed. A Sourcebook of American Literary Journalism: Representative Writers in an Emerging Genre. New York: Greenwood, 1992.
Eisenhuth, Susie and Willa Mcdonald, eds. The Writer's Reader: Understanding Journalism and Non-fiction. Cambridge, Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Gaines, William. Investigative Journalism: Proven Strategies for Reporting the Story. Washington: CQ Press, 2008.
Glass, Ira, ed. The New Kings of Nonfiction, New York: Riverhead Press, 2007.
Harrington, Walt, ed. Intimate Journalism: The Art and Craft of Reporting Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1997.
Harrington, Walt and Mike Sager, eds. Next Wave: America's New Generation of Great Literary Journalists. United States: The Sager Group, 2012.
Hart, Jack. A Writer's Coach: An Editor's Guide to Works that Work. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006.
Hart, Jack. Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Keeble, Richard and Sharon Wheeler, eds. The Journalistic Imagination: Literary Journalists from Defoe to Capote and Carter. London: Routledge, 2007.
Keeble, Richard and John Tulloch, eds. Global Literary Journalism. New York: Peter Lang, 2012.
Keelbe, Richard and John Tulloch, eds. Global Literary Journalism, volume 2. New York: Peter Lang, 2014.
Kerrane, Kevin and Ben Yagoda, eds. The Art of Fact: An Historical Anthology of Literary Journalism. New York: Scribner, 1997.
Ricketson, Matthew. Telling true stories: navigating the challenges of writing narrative non-fiction. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2014.
Sims, Norman. True Stories: A Century of Literary Journalism. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 2007.
Tanner, Stephen, Molly Kasinger and Nick Richardson, Feature Writing: Telling the Story. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Wheeler, Sharon. Feature Writing for Journalists. New York: Routledge, 2009.
Participation requirements
None
Required IT skills
None
Work placement, internships or practicums
None
