CMPS 201 Assignment Independence Junior College

Aug_Dec 2023

NEWSLETTER ASSIGNMENT

Students will create an authentic newspaper story. As they are transformed into reporters and editors,
they will become effective users of Information Technology in order to publish their own newspaper.

For the course the student will be required to produce two (2) newsletters

• Each newsletter is to have a minimum of two articles; one advertisement and one editorial.

Be sure that you save your work and print a hard copy of your article before submission, for your editing
purposes. Students' stories should be self-edited and edited by other persons.

Students can access the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/div/news/) website and explore
newspapers from around the world. They should pay particular attention to the design and layout
elements. For example, some articles may include graphics (e.g., photos, charts, graphs).

Your newsletter layout should include, but is not limited to:

 Headline News: Top priority articles are near the front (1-2 pages). These are typically of high
interest to your entire audience of readers (e.g., town news such as a new park or community
center). Long front-page articles can be continued on an inside page to provide room for other
headline news.
 Feature Articles: Stories about topics or events that are of interest to a certain group of readers
(e.g., sports, animal stories, academic topics, interviews with school staff, book reviews). These
are typically grouped into sections.
 Pictures or graphics: The image should always appear with the story. A caption can be included.
The size usually depends on how much space is available in the layout.

Submission dates of newsletters are:

1st Newsletter October 31st, 2023

2nd Newsletter November 30th, 2023

Please note: *The 3 relevant grading rubrics are available in your Course Outline for reference.

Resource: ReadWriteThink Interactives (dev-rwt-interactive-v2.azurewebsites.net)

Rationale:

• Reading and writing allows you to make sense of real language in real contexts and will help you to
develop the skills necessary to become fluent readers and writers. Creation of a newspaper provides
such a real context. Use of the computer motivates students to learn and students' attitudes toward the
newspaper genre are affected by active participation in the production of an authentic and original
newspaper of their own.

• Abilities in formal writing are best developed with a "process approach" that goes through five distinct
phases: prewriting, composing or drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Using this approach helps
students more fully understand the process of producing formal written documents, such as magazines
and newspapers and ties in with Business Communication course.