Finals Checklist

Your final grade in the course will be based on the following criteria:

* Quality and consistency of your blog (Is your concept unique and interesting? Is it working? Has the blog developed and improved over the term? Do you update regularly? Is the writing good? Is the information presented accurate and useful? Do you show a clear sense of audience? Are you working to develop your own voice? Do you regularly incorporate visual/audio components into your blog?)

* Quality and consistency of your interaction with your blog community (Do you regularly comment on the blogs in your community? Do you respond to comments? Do you work to develop a dialogue through your blog? Do you show a genuine desire to reach out to others?)

* Attendance and participation (More than two unexcused absences in the course may drop your grade by one letter for each additional absence. Presence in the class does not necessarily count as participation. If you've spent the semester Googling or typing entries for your own blog instead of paying attention to lectures and presentations, this will count against your participation grade.)

* Quality of your in-class presentation. (Was it thorough? Was the information presented accurate and useful? Was the presentation professional? Did you make useful connections between the blog you studied and your own blog?)

* Quality of your final paper.

Details:

The paper should be 4-7 pages long -- double-spaced, standard margins. It should include the highlights from your in-class presentation.

Topics covered should include: the history of the blog you studied; the demographics of the blog (audience, etc.); a thoughtful and informed analysis of the quality of the writing and information on the blog; a thoughtful and informed analysis of the design of the blog; and a discussion of what you learned from studying the blog. Please be sure to cover: elements you can incorporate into your own blog and your own new-media writing; what you admire about the blog you studied and how you might imitate it; what you'd do differently. Please discuss whether or not you'll continue to follow this particular blog and why.

Grammar counts. Use Associated Press style. Notate as needed. No bibliography necessary, but be sure to cite within the text itself.

The paper is due on Thursday, April 28 by 5 p.m. There will be a drop-box outside of my office. No e-copies please. (I know. The irony!)