COMM 310, Advanced Writing

Instructor: Ross F. Collins, Professor of Communication, North Dakota State University, Fargo

Class resources

Featured presentations

Syllabus Fall 2019 (pdf)

Syllabus Fall 2020 (pdf)

Advanced writing students approach the pandemic from a variety of angles, both student-centered and staff-centered, based on interviews with those who were there and those who remember.  

Introductory grammar video: "Ross's Big 5." Learn grammar in a (virtual) outdoor classroom.

The 10 Commandments of Logic.

Weird Ways of News: an online textbook.

Ross's Durable Dozen: Twelve classic principles for professional writers in mass media.

PowerPoint presentations

Writing reviews and critiques.

Writing humor.

Reporting speeches and lectures.

Writing personal essays.

Writing criticism.

Interviewing skills.

Writing strong leads.

Left-brain writing.

Framing and focus.

Strong endings.

Featured readings

Writing based on an interview: Ross's top 10 tips.

English: the packrat's dream. Ross's five top controversies of English grammar.

10 Common Typographic pitfalls
Includes keystroke combinations for quote, dash, and other substitutions.

"A Few Rules."

How they used to look: famous mass media, 1674-1974.

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