ALJ331 - Developing a Journalism Portfolio 2
Unit details
| Year | 2026 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit Chair: | Trimester 2: Alison McAdam |
| Prerequisite: | Students must have completed either ALJ111 or ALJ112 |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | ALJ302, ALJ303 |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment: | 1 x 3-hour on-campus seminar per week |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment: | Approximately 3-hours of online learning tasks and discussions per week |
| Typical study commitment: | Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. |
Content
Discover what it’s like to work as a local journalist reporting for a community and covering civic affairs. In this unit, you will be writing, producing, researching, interviewing and editing a number of your own stories based on a local area. You will learn about court and crime reporting, council reporting, solutions and constructive journalism, disaster reporting, legal and ethical considerations and photojournalism. You will meet deadlines and discuss your work with fellow students in a newsroom-like environment. This unit teaches you about industry structures and advanced storytelling techniques. You will leave this unit with a portfolio of work you can use to begin your career.
Learning outcomes
| ULO | These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Identify and research an audience for a digital news product | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication |
| ULO2 | Produce news stories to a professional standard in a variety of written, audio and visual formats | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication |
| ULO3 | Engage with community issues and social media tools for sourcing, reporting and promoting news stories | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication |
| ULO4 | Act responsibly, ethically and within legal frameworks when creating online content | GLO4: Critical thinking GLO5: Problem solving |
| ULO5 | Reflect critically on professional practice to identify how that practice will contribute towards career goals | GLO4: Critical thinking GLO6: Self-management |
Assessment
| Assessment Description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1: News Story | 1000 words or equivalent | 30% | Week 4 |
| Assessment 2: News Story | 2000 words or equivalent | 40% | Week 7 |
| Assessment 3: News Story | 1000 words or equivalent | 30% | Week 11 |
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Learning resource
The texts and reading list for ALJ331 can be found via the University Library.
Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Unit Fee Information
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.