Assignment #7: Weekly Feature & Scheduled Posts

Two blog posts from each group member due Tuesday (11/13) by midnight

1st weekly feature due Thursday (11/15) by midnight

Hopefully you've found yourself "getting into the groove" with our social issue publishing course component: identifying times when you can create posts; gathering the information and links you'll need to make your point; writing with clarity and enthusiasm; and then moving on with life...

As detailed on our social issue publishing calendar and schedule, you each have two blog posts (one full, one curated) due by Tuesday (11/15) at midnight. My expectations for these full and curated posts remain the same as last week. Remember, you don't have to wait until the last minute to post to your blog. Do yourself a favor: knock out a little bit of information gathering and writing over each of the next few days, and you'll find this a much easier (and maybe even enjoyable) process.

Now for the new stuff...

Weekly features: description & examples

You'll remember that we read about weekly features last week and discussed them in lecture on Thursday (11/8). A weekly feature is really nothing more than a blog post that is published on a weekly basis, with a consistent theme and standardized format. Take, for instance, these examples of different blogs' weekly features, each of which incorporates a consistent theme and standardized format:

• Mysterious Muse is an art blog
• "Artist of the Week" is this blog's weekly feature 
• Weekly feature theme: the blogger's favorite artists
• Weekly feature format: brief biographies of each artist and examples of work
• Slate is a daily politics and culture website
• "The Longform Guide to..." is this blog's weekly feature 
• WF theme: longform journalism
• WF format: links to longform writing about new topics each week
• Cisionblog is a music and PR industries blog
• "Q&A with..." is this blog's weekly feature 
• WF theme: influential fashion industry executives 
• WF format: a short Q&A with each executive
• All Songs Considered is NPR's music blog
• "Drum Fill Friday" is this blog's weekly feature
• WF theme: popular drum fills and intros
• WF format: a quiz matching drum fill clips to albums
• Eat Your Heart Out is a food blog
• "Pinteresting Pairings" is this blog's weekly feature
• WF theme: pairing dishes to make a full meal
• WF format: photos of and recipe links for each dish for a full meal

Developing and publishing your first weekly feature

For this assignment you will (as a group) develop a weekly feature for your blog. Feel free to be creative in this process. Think about all the different themes (angles, aspects, and dimensions) of your social issue, and consider the various formats for conveying information about those themes (e.g., text, quizzes, quotes, images, interviews, links, etc.). One good way to do this is to have each member of your group come up with 2-3 weekly feature ideas, and pick (or combine) from the best ideas. You'll also want to come up with a title for your weekly feature that is both snappy (i.e., catchy & unique) and informative (so the reader can make sense of the feature).

You'll publish your first weekly feature this Thursday (11/15) by midnight. You'll begin your post with a short description of your weekly feature. This description should be 100 words or fewer. In this description, you should:

1. let your readers know that this post is part of a new weekly feature for your blog
2. describe to readers what, exactly, they can expect from this weekly feature
3. generate interest in this weekly feature among your readers

Here is a good example of the kind of description I'm looking for.

Below this short description, you'll then include your first weekly feature.

Weekly feature rubric

Your weekly feature should:

• include a description that meets each of the three criteria above
• have a well-defined theme and format
• take advantage of embedded linking (if necessary)
• employ appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• be logically organized and clearly formatted for the reader
• include a name for your weekly feature that is snappy and informative  

Weekly features are worth 10 points for each group member.

• A full-credit, 10-point post will meet each of the criteria above
• 8-point posts satisfy most, but not all of the criteria above
• 5-point posts satisfies some, but not all of the criteria above
• 3-point posts satisfy few of the criteria above
• 0-point posts are not submitted or submitted late

Please let me know if you have any questions: corrigan@csusb.edu