The Art of the Audio Essay

This course is designed to teach students strategies for writing entertaining, provocative and persuasive audio essays.  The course builds on skills students have acquired in PWR 1—rhetorical analysis, contextual analysis, and developing a research-driven argument—and shows you how to analyze and develop compelling audio pieces, designed to be experienced via traditional broadcast, podcast, or internet radio.  As we will see, the audio form offers the essayist a fascinating mix of constraints and opportunities, much in the same way that film or photography does.  Voices and sounds are full of intimate presence, are in fact the very signs of presence, and so when they are separated from their sources (bodies, places), they can gain tremendous power and provoke us in unexpected ways.  In radio, sometimes a sound is worth a thousands pictures.

We'll begin the course by listening to some of today’s best radio documentary, drama, and memoir from popular programs such as This American Life, Youth Radio, Sound Print, and Radio Lab.  We’ll analyze how audio pieces are structured, how they integrate research, music, and interviews, and how they use strategies from both classical oratory and modern fiction.  From the beginning you will also research and write your own audio essay.  This will involve crafting a research question, writing and delivering a pitch, assembling a bibliography, fashioning a short written version of the piece, and then writing a script for the audio essay.  In this process you will refine expand your research skills, learn how to conduct interviews, explore different forms of narrative, and examine the differences between print and oral forms of persuasion.  Once you have analyzed a number of  essays and have an audio script in hand, you will begin producing your audio piece, combining narration, interviews, dialogue, sound, and music to knock our socks off. 

Collaborative learning and creativity is a strong component of this course so most students will develop their audio essays in small groups of 2 or 3.  Likewise, students will review and respond to one another’s work in small groups, both in writing and orally.  Toward the end of the quarter groups will present the first draft of their audio essay to the class and explain the rhetorical choices that have informed it.  Groups will then have 1 to 2 weeks to revise the piece for your final portfolio and broadcast on KZSU at the end of the quarter.  

The emphasis of the course will be on research and writing strategies, but you will also learn basic audio recording and production.  No prior experience in radio or digital audio is required.

The Goal and Method of the PWR Courses

The goal of PWR courses is simple: to help students develop and refine skills in incisive analysis and substantive research-based argument, using well-defined and time-tested rhetorical principles to present ideas with intellectual rigor. In your PWR courses you will learn to recognize, analyze, and use rhetorical elements of argument across a range of academic and professional genres.

The goal of PWR  2 is to help students develop skills to effectively present a research-driven argument in media other than print.  In PWR 2 you will learn to analyze how arguments and points of view are constructed in non-print media such as oratory, photography, film, and radio.  You will also further develop your research skills and then, in stages, build your own research-driven pieces in a non-print medium.  

Format of the Class

This course will be run as a workshop; that is, as a forum for debate and discussion about the production of our audio pieces.  Since this course will rely heavily on our discussions, students are expected to be present for and participate in every class.

Assignments

The main focus of the class is the production of a single, accomplished audio essay. The four principal assignments are designed to help you develop this essay, improve oral presentations of your research, and reflect on the difference between written and oral forms of persuasion.  Lengths and grade weights are given in parentheses.

                  1. Research Proposal & Pitch (2 pages; 5 minute presentation) (10%)

                  2. Essay for Print with Bibliography (6-8 pages) (20%)

                  3. Script and Audio Essay (6-7 pages, 12-16 minute recording) (50%)

                  4. Peer Letters and Research Reflection (10%)

In  addition to these principal assignments, you will be asked to present, in groups, a short rhetorical analysis of an audio essay and to write peer critiques for some of your classmates.  The presentation and other in-class work count for the final 10% of your total grade. 

 Unless otherwise  noted, written assignments must be double-spaced, typed, and use  standard margins (1") and fonts (12 pt.). They must have your name, a title  and the section number of the course at the top of the first page. They  should have  page numbers and be stapled.  All audio assignments must be saved as an appropriate  audio file (such as mp3, AIFF, etc.) and the file's name should begin with  your name and some abbreviation of the piece's title (e.g.: Josh-MonsterTruck.mp3).  Please  note that no  late assignments will be accepted unless some prior arrangement has  been made with me. Please also note that students must complete all assignments  to pass this course.

Conferences

Each student, or group of students, will meet with me three times during the quarter to discuss their essays. Conferences present opportunities for us to discuss your pieces in detail and to work together to improve them. You should come prepared to talk about the problems you encounter as you work on a particular essay, prepared also to offer possible solutions. I will happily make suggestions for developing your talents.

You should look closely at our schedule to see which weeks will be “conference weeks” and plan to carve out time that week to prepare for and come to your conference with me. Sign ups sheets will be posted on my office door the week before each set of conferences.  You may, of course, consult with me more frequently than this, and I encourage all students to come to my office hours with questions or concerns about their writing and the audio production. 

Course Web Page

The course's  web site will harbor all the information distributed in class,  including the syllabus, handouts, and reminders about assignment due dates. Also offered  will be links to relevant sources, both internal and external  to Stanford. The page will be updated regularly, so please check it often.  Its address  is: www.stanford.edu/~jonahw/PWR2-W08/Radio-Home.html

Texts

We're all about audio in  this class, so the reading is fairly light.  There is just one required text to buy —a comic book, available at the Stanford Bookstore. In addition to this book there will be a few readings made available on the course's on-line schedule—these you should always print out and bring to class. The comic book should be available the first week of class at the bookstore.  It is:

              Jessica  Abel and Ira Glass, Radio: An Illustrated Guide

Evaluation

Your  written work in this course will be evaluated according to  the Evaluation Rubric (see the course web site).  Your audio work will be evaluated by criteria  that we as a class develop in the first several weeks, after listening to  many audio essays and identifying why and how they succeed.  The only grades on your work that count toward your final grade are those on your final drafts.

Class participation in this course is a prerequisite (meaning that you must participate regularly or be dropped from the class).  By class participation I mean the willingness to ask questions, to participate in the discussions, and to bring up new and interesting ideas in class.

Course Portfolio

At the end of the course each student will submit a Course Portfolio that will include the following. Please staple or binder clip each set of items and submit everything in an envelope or folder.

•    The Research Proposal

•    The Essay for Print with Bibliography

•    The first and final drafts of the Audio Essay Script

•    The final draft of the Audio Essay as a compressed mp3 file via email and burned on an Audio CD labeled with author names & essay title

•    The final draft of the Audio Essay as uncompressed wav or aif file burned on another Audio CD for KZSU labeled with author names & essay title

•    Annotated scripts, if you received these as feedback on your Audio Essay

•    The Research Reflection

•    The Evaluation Form for Collaborators

PWR Course Policies

Attendance

Because PWR courses make use of writing activities, in-class workshops, and small group discussion, your consistent attendance is crucial to your success. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or valid University-related activities, you must let your instructor know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with your instructor as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed. If you do not take responsibility for communicating with your instructor about absences, your instructor will contact you by phone or email and issue a warning about your standing in the course. Should you miss a second unexcused class, your work in the class will be seriously compromised, and a continued pattern of absences may jeopardize your enrollment in the class. The best policy, therefore, is to be in class, on time, every day.

The Honor Code

The Honor Code is included in the Stanford Bulletin (pp. 668-670), and you are responsible for understanding the university's rules regarding academic integrity. You should familiarize yourself with the code if you haven't already done so. Violating the Honor Code is a serious offense, even when the violation is unintentional. In brief, conduct prohibited by the Honor Code includes all forms of academic dishonesty, among them copying from another's exam, unpermitted collaboration, representing as one's own work the work of another (see below), revising and resubmitting work for regrading without the instructor's knowledge and consent, and plagiarism. If you have any questions about these matters, please see me during office hours.

Plagiarism and Dual Submission Policy

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another's words, ideas, or work and is a violation of Stanford's Honor Code. Work submitted for a course must be the student's own (or a group's work, if students have collaborated on an assignment). The use of someone else's words or ideas without acknowledgement and as your own contradicts PWR goals and principles. As such, PWR will take reasonable precautions to prevent it and all measures prescribed by the Stanford Judicial Affairs Office for remedy and redress. Please remember that plagiarism is very easy to spot. If you are ever uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, please see me.

Please also note that the same paper may not be submitted for a grade in more than one class.

All written work submitted to PWR classes may be sent by the PWR instructor to one or more databases for the noncommercial purpose of checking the writer's use of sources. These databases check student writing against published works and other submitted student writing to ensure academic integrity, specifically that works and ideas have not been borrowed without appropriate citation.

Grade Disputes

If you have a complaint about this PWR course or wish to question a grade on an assignment, please write me a memo explaining the problems you are having with the course, the reasons for your dispute, and so on. Then meet with me to discuss your dispute. You may want, for example, to ask me to read an assignment again, reconsidering your work in light of points you have made about it. Many misunderstandings or problems can be worked out in such a meeting. If you wish to pursue a complaint or dispute, make an appointment to see the Associate Director of PWR. He will advise you on any further course of action.

PWR and University Support and Resources

The Stanford Writing Center

The Stanford Writing Center (http://swc.stanford.edu) The Stanford Writing Center assists students with writing in all academic contexts. The Center emphasizes support for students writing for PWR, IHUM, Stanford Introductory Seminars, and Writing in the Major courses, serving all Stanford undergraduates through one-to-one and group tutorials, workshops, and seminars. The Stanford Writing Center is located in Building 460 (Margaret Jacks Hall), Room 020. The Center's phone number is 723-0045. 40-minute appointments are available on-line at http://swc.stanford.edu/schedule.htm . Writing support is also available from peer writing tutors who work in the Center and in other locations around campus. For more information on the Stanford Writing Center, tutoring, and events, visit the Center’s website.

The Oral Communication Program at The Center for Teaching and Learning

The Oral Communication Program (http://ctl.stanford.edu), located on the fourth floor of Sweet Hall, helps students improve oral presentation skills. Students who would like coaching on oral presentations, job talks, conference papers, etc. are invited to contact CTL to find out about lab hours or to arrange a special consultation with program director Doree Allen, Tom Freeland, or a speech consultant. Call Doree Allen at 725-4149.

Stanford Libraries and Other Resources

The Stanford Libraries and Archives will be crucial to your success in PWR courses, so you should begin familiarizing yourselves with these resources early in the quarter.

In the first two weeks you will take the library’s on-line tour, available from http://library.stanford.edu, and the brand new on-line research tutorial, available at http://skil.stanford.edu. The PWR library search page, where you should begin all of your research, is receiving a new URL which I will pass on to you in class.

Office of Accessible Education (Disability Resource Center)

The Office of Accessible Education (OAE) and Office for the primary resources for students who have a disability that may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class. Students who have a disability that may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class must initiate the request with theOAE. The OAE will evaluate the request along with the required documentation, recommend appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the academic term in which the request is being made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible; timely notice is needed to arrange appropriate accommodations. The OAE/DRC website at http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC.

Students with special needs: please see me as soon as possible about accommodations, even if you do not want to seek any accommodations. It can often be difficult to provide accommodations later in the term if you find that at that point you want them.

Sexual Harassment Office

The Sexual Harassment Office is located in Building 310, Room 201. Call 3-1583, email harass@stanford.edu, or see the website for further information: http://www.stanford.edu/group/SexHarass. Students concerned about harassment, whether to themselves or to others, should contact the SHO at once.

PWR Director and Associate Director

The PWR Director and Associate Director are available to meet with students about any issues of concern-or just to talk about writing. Students can contact the Director, Andrea Lunsford, at 3-0631 (723-0631) or lunsford@stanford.edu; they can contact the Associate Director, Marvin Diogenes, at 3-4642 (723-4642) or marvind@stanford.edu.

The PWR Undergraduate Advisory Board

Students are invited to bring concerns or ideas about PWR to the Undergraduate Advisory Board (UAB). This group, which meets once each term, provides advice to the Director and Associate Director of PWR. You can contact the UAB through the PWR website.