Assessment Task No 3: Illawarra Academy of Sport Project
Weighting: 20% of final assessment (marked out of 100)
Description: The Illawarra Academy of Sport is an organization that assists promising young sports people from the region. It is sponsored by the university and local councils and this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The UOW School of Journalism is assisting the Academy to develop a series of articles that will form part of a history of the group. Students will be allocated to a group and will work as a group to develop a series of features about a designated area of the Academy’s activities. The group will work collectively to come up with their feature ideas and individual students will each complete one major feature or profile.
Due date: Students will be allocated to a group in week seven and the group will present their features to class in week 10. They must be handed in for marking via email by 24 September.
Assessment Criteria: Students must show that they:
- have researched the features thoroughly;
- have sourced and used original interview material;
- can write in an engaging and readable style;
- have followed the conventions of media feature writing;
- have worked with other members of their group to produce a cohesive and varied feature series which covers their designated area from a number of different angles.
Must attempt: Yes
Tasks for the whole group:
1. Research the history of the sporting program through:
- IAS Yearbooks
- IAS Press Clipping collections
- General internet and Library searches
2. Decide as a group on the overall mix of articles that you will present as a group.
3. Edit each other’s articles and make sure the articles are connected as a group but that there is no major overlap
Tasks for individual writers
Each student will complete either a profile or a general feature about the sport and IAS program
Write a 1000 word profile of designated sportsperson or coach. Try to arrange an interview in person where this is not possible talk by phone. The profile should include a mix of elements from different parts of their life but have a strong emphasis on their connection to sport.
It should include with a separate summary box that would accompany the profile:
Jo Blogs and the IAS
Program: Athlete or Coach
Years Involved at IAS:
Favourite IAS memory: “…100-200 word direct quote…”
Write a feature about the IAS Program or sport. This may take a number of formats:
- A historic approach looking at key turning points
- A story that relates to the success stories of the program
- A story that profiles a current vent of the program
- A story about an aspect of the sport in general
Each feature should be 1000words. Students may choose to collaborate and do a jointly bi-lined piece of the relevant length.
Together with the feature each writer will also supply some additional information that can be used in a side bar such as:
- Key dates
- Bios of key stars
- Excerpts from press coverage
This is meant to be a collaborative project so those doing the interviews for the profiles are expected to provide some information and quotes that may be of use to those doing the general features and vice versa.
Marking
30% will be awarded as a group mark on the strength of the overall group of features as a package.
20% will be given as a peer mark by each group member on all other group members assessing the strength of the contribution of each person to the team.
50% will be awarded on individual features.
