College: Agriculture and Life Science
Department: Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications
Type: W
Status: Approved
REPORT ON RECERTIFICATION OF W COURSE: AGCJ 313
CERTIFICATION PERIOD: 1/1/23 to 1/1/27
We recommend that AGCJ 313 Agricultural Media Writing I be certified as a writing (W) course. We have reviewed a representative syllabus and have determined that the course meets or exceeds the following criteria: (1) 90% of the final grade is based on writing quality; (2) the total number of words is 2250; (3) the instructor to student ratio is 1:12; and (4) the assigned writing is appropriate to the major.
Writing assignments include writing a lead, writing up an interview, two news stories, discussion questions based on class work, and 20 writing lab assignments. The writing is by definition concise, and the process requires writing quickly and accurately. Since the course topic is writing, instruction is intense and is provided, with regular formative feedback, in a lab setting. For example, the first news story assignment is low-stakes, and a draft version gets instructor feedback before revision with a slightly different set of facts. Students have the opportunity to revise their assignment after they receive the grade. The news writing process is a focus of each class.