Journalism 133: Prof. Craig: Midterm Study Guide
JOUR133 Midterm
Study Guide
The midterm exam will be held online at the usual class time on Thursday, October 24. The exam must be taken in real time and will run from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. I will email you a link a few minutes before the exam starts at the email address I've previously used to correspond with you. The exam will require you to have an Internet connection and will be taken through your normal Web browser. You are not required to come to class to take the exam.
You will have the entire class period to complete the exam, though you may not need that long. There will be 100 points total on the exam, which will be divided among four parts: basic copy editing (15 points), a headline exercise (15 points), a story flow exercise (30 points) and a fact checking exercise (40 points).
I've provided examples of each type of material below -- these are intended only to illustrate the format of the exam.
I. Copy Editing Quiz (15 points): Please correct the following and write up the corrected version in the text box below.
TAYLOR, Mich. – A raised middle finger is a form of free speech; a court’s ruled, allowing a lawsuit by a driver who made the gesture at a police oficer to move forward. The United States Court of Appeal’s for the 6th Circuit says a Michigan womans consitutional rights were vilated when she was handed a speeding ticket after giving the finger to a suburban Detriot officer in 2022. The decision means a lawsuit by Debra Cruise-Gulyas can proceed.
In a 3-0 decison Wednesday, the court said Officer Matthew Minard “should have known better,’ even if the driver was rude.
Minard stopped Cruise-Gulyas & wrote her a ticket for lesser violation. But when that stop was over, Cruise-Gulyas raised her middle finger.
Minard pulled her over again and changed the ticket to a more serious speeding ofense.
Cruise-Gulyas sued saying her free speech rights, and her rights against reasonable seizure were violated.
(You will write up your answer in a box like this one)
II. Headline Exercise (15 points): Read the three brief news stories, then choose TWO and write two headlines for each of them -- one straightforward headline and one creative one using elements of the story. Type the headlines into the text box at the bottom, each on a separate line. Headlines should run no longer than 50 characters, preferably shorter. (ONE EXAMPLE STORY IS PROVIDED HERE; THERE WILL BE THREE ON THE EXAM.)
Sea Life Aquarium's new "Brave the Rainforest," adventure, featuring the cockroaches, opened on October 14.
The cockroaches, also known as Blaberus Giganteus, are one of the world's largest cockroach species.
Families can get the ultimate cockroach selfie as they bravely go into the giant 8-foot-tall dome bubble to be safely surrounded 360 degrees by one thousand flying cave cockroaches that are up to 4 inches in length.
"Guests of all ages will love the new Brave the Rainforest in Sea Life at Mall of America with its many up-close unique encounters." Trisha Ruf said. "We are also so proud that the largest pop-in dome tank of any Sea Life in the world will dare entire families to crawl into a dome full of one thousand flying cave cockroaches. The entire experience is game-changer for us and Aquariums around the world."
Guests will also get up-close to blue-tongued skinks, tarantulas, snakes, and more in the Ranger Camp area.
(You will write up your answers in a box like this one)
III. Story Flow Exercise (30 points): Reorganize the provided story information so that it uses narrative flow to draw readers in and keep them reading to the end. You may copy and paste text into the box below, but make sure the final version is organized the way you want it.
Lead Paragraph:
South campus at San Jose State University is home to football games and student athletes. But little do most students know, it is also home to two friendly felines.
- While some athletes may be having a bad day, once they see Smokey and Blacky that mood instantly changes. If you are lucky enough to see them, you will always see someone stooped down petting them. "I leave the cans of food in a hidden place but both Smokey and Blacky know where they are at" said Imura. If you are running around the stadium you can always see a can or two by the outside of the bathrooms already cleaned by the cats. "Sometimes they are shy, but every time I come to the stadium I look out for them to see where they are" said Laura Leen, senior cheerleader. "I didn't know that they had names or even got fed like real cat food," she said. The only athletes that really know the most about the two cats is the football team because they are the ones that spend the most time around them and feed them plates of food.
- It is always scary to the athletic community if they don't see Smokey or Blacky because something may have happened to them. "One time we didn't see Smokey or Blacky for 3 days but as soon as we put the food out, they came runnin' over" Alexander said.
- "They are like our babies," said head athletic trainer Hisashi Imura.
- "Smokey and Blacky have been here since two years ago," said Alexander. Some of the football players have superstitions involving the cats. "Some believe that the cats had something to do with our success that year," Imura said. There is a third cat that comes around sometimes and there is no name for it. That cat is very skittish and shy and does its own thing and likes to be on its own. "That one doesn't seem to eat any of the food that we put out," Imura said. "Occasionally I will be on my run and I will see something wresting in the bushes or an empty food can" Leen said.
- Smokey and Blacky are two cats that have been adopted by San Jose State's athletic community. They live in the bushes and come out whenever they please. "They came to us 2 years ago, and we are convinced that they are sisters" said assistant athletic trainer Laura Alexander. Smokey and Blacky are nothing short of spoiled. They have the entire stadium to roam and many different athletes to get attention from. Most would wonder why Smokey and Blacky stay at the stadium and don't wander off to a new area. "We feed them" said Imura "I come on the weekends and leave cans of food for them to eat but when football is in season, the players will leave them plates of food."
- Only the athletic community knows about Smokey and Blacky. Because students only go over to the stadium for athletic events and Smokey and Blacky are not out to be seen. "I had absolutely no idea that there were two cats that live at the stadium" said student Anouk Bryckaet. Bryckaet said that she thinks it is very cool that athletics did not get rid of the cats and that they use them as a natural way to take care of rodents and they are also able to live in an amazing place.
- Not only do the cats have canned food, and human food to eat, they also get the pleasure of eating rodents that may live around the stadium. "I think that having Smokey and Blacky here around the stadium really helps out with mice, and other rodents because I haven't seen any in a really long time around here" said Alexander. "During football season they get a little bit hefty" said Imura. They are not really fed during football season because of all the leftovers they are able to get their hands on.
(You will arrange the paragraphs in a box like this one)
IV. Fact Checking Exercise (40 points): Please locate factual errors in this story using reliable sources online, and rewrite it in the box below so that those errors are eliminated.
The bottle of Grand Marnier, more than a century old, was stolen last week from the Mountain House restaurant and recorded on surveillance camera video. The restaurant's owners say the bottle has been returned.
The video showed that the bar was empty when a man walked behind the bar, grabbed the bottle, then walked out with a woman beside him.
The man had been part of a group of 12 dining at the restaurant last week; it was their second visit there, said the owner.
(You will find the accurate facts and write up your answer in a box such as this one)