Course Outline

Course Code Course Title ECTS Credits

COMM-322 Public Relations Methods 6
Prerequisites Department Semester
COMM-321 Communications Spring
Type of Course Field Language of Instruction
Required Public Relations and Advertising English
Level of Course Lecturer(s) Year of Study
st
1 Cycle Prof. Tao Papaioannou 2nd, 3rd
Mode of Delivery Work Placement Corequisites
Face-to-face None None

Course Venue Course Day and Time Telephone

M 208 Monday 15-18 +357 22842240
Office Email Student Consultation
Humanities Building papaioannou.t@unic.ac.cy Hours
B213 Monday 14-15
Wednesday 9-13

Course Objectives:

The main objectives of the course are to:

 develop, improve, and refine public relations writing skills
 develop media communication techniques
 provide students with practical skills and knowledge needed to plan, propose,
and evaluate public relations events and programs

Learning Outcomes:

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 Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:

 research and produce public relations materials including direct mail, business
reports, news releases, feature stories, backgrounders, fact sheets,
newsletters, leaflets and brochures
 apply the guidelines for developing and maintaining effective relationships with
the media
 apply the guidelines for working with photographers
 select good publicity photos and write captions
 design newsletters, brochures and leaflets in basic formats
 write public speeches and prepare visual aids for presentations
 differentiate between marketing advertising and public relations advertising
 plan and organize public relations events including staff and committee
meetings, club meetings and workshops, banquets, conventions, trade shows
and other promotional programs
 analyze issues and integrate information into a formal public relations program
plan
 evaluate programs using measurements including message exposure,
audience awareness, audience attitudes and audience action
 complete a portfolio of collateral materials including direct mail, news
releases, backgrounders, fact sheets, feature stories, invitations, newsletters,
brochures and public relations program proposals

Course Content:

 Introduction to the course & Defining communication

 Writing for PR
 Letters, proposals & reports
 Working with the media
 News release
 Feature story
 Photos & illustrations
 Leaflets & brochures
 Newsletters & Magazines
 Public relations advertising
 Speeches & Audiovisual materials
 Meetings & events
 Program planning
 Program evaluation

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Learning Activities and Teaching Methods:

Lectures with audio/visual aids, case studies, group discussions and exercises,
assignments and reading material

Assessment Methods:

Assessment Type Weight (Percentage)

Class Participation 25%

Final Exam 25%

Project 50%

Attendance:

Attendance is mandatory for all students.

Course Requirements:
• No late coursework will be accepted unless there is a serious reason.
Documented evidence is required to support such cases.

• Cheating and plagiarism under any circumstances is a serious offence which

leads to severe punishment. In such cases, disciplinary action will be taken and
you may receive a zero grade on your work/test/exam and/or fail the course.

• Though the lectures do cover the whole spectrum of the material on which the
students will be examined on, the degree of detail to which they will be presented
in the lecture notes is not always enough for the coursework and examination
purposes. Students are required to read related textbooks and/or other sources
and to study the material during their own time.

• Exam
All students are required to take a final exam on a specified date.

• Project
Students will need to complete and present, according to the instructions, a
group project designed for this course. Specific requirements on the project will

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 be given in class in due time. Please note that the project should be submitted
on time and no late submission will be accepted.

Grading Scale:

Numerical Grades 0- Grade Points 0-

Letter Grade Meaning
100 4
A Excellent 93-100 4.0
A- 90-92 3.7
B+ Very Good 87-89 3.3
B 83-86 3.0
B- 80-82 2.7
C+ Good 77-79 2.3
C 73-76 2.0
C- 70-72 1.7
D+ Poor but Acceptable 67-69 1.3
D 63-66 1.0
D- 60-62 0.7
F Failure 0-59 0.0

Required Textbooks / Readings:

Title Author(s) Publisher Year ISBN

Public relations Wilcox, D. Pearson 2015 978-0134010496

writing and
media
techniques

Recommended Textbooks / Readings:

Title Author(s) Publisher Year ISBN

Public Johnston, J. Routledge 2021 978-0367718732

relations:
Issues and
strategies

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Weekly Schedule:

Week Topic Assigned Readings

1 Introduction to the course Notes
5/2
Defining communication &
the functions of PR
2 Writing for PR Chapter 1 & 2
12/2 Writing exercise

3 Working with the media Chapter 4, 6,10 & 11

19/2

4 Crisis management/case study Notes

26/2
5 The news release Chapter 3, 5 & 7
4/3 The feature story

6 Letters, proposals & reports Chapter 14 & 8

11/3 Photos & illustrations

7 Assign group project

8/4 Group project consultation

8 Newsletter, leaflets & brochures Chapter 13

15/4
9 Public relations advertising Chapter 16
22/4 Meetings & events
Chapter 17 & 18
Program planning
Program evaluation Chapter 19

10 Study week
13/5 Project due on 18/5
20/5- Final Exam
7/6/2024

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