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Agricultural Communications

Purpose

The purpose of the agricultural communications career development event is to showcase agricultural communications careers to as many FFA members as possible. Public communications about agricultural products, practices and policies are essential to the future of agriculture. Students have a bright future in the job market when equipped with strong communication skills, teamwork skills, and the ability to analyze a variety of media to help the public understand issues related to the industry of agriculture. 

 

Objectives

  1. Identify agricultural communications best practices, standards and ethics. 
  2. Apply selected Associated Press style guidelines. 
  3. Analyze and evaluate visual and written media. 
  4. Demonstrate ability to write clearly and concisely. 

 

Guidelines for the Preliminary Competition

Preliminary Event Rules

  1.  All participants MUST be in official FFA dress or they will be disqualified.  
  2. Participants will NOT be able to use any reference materials during this contest.
    The only acceptable resource is a No. 2 pencil with which the participant will
    record his/her answers on the Scansheet for JudgingCard.com.
  3. Up to four FFA members may participate in the preliminary portion of the
    competition. The three highest individual scores on a team will constitute a team
    score (low individual score on a team will be dropped).

Preliminary Event Team Make-up 

  1. Each chapter may enter up to one team consisting of no more than four FFA
    members in the preliminary competition to earn a place in the finals of the Oklahoma
    FFA Career Development Event in Agricultural Communications.

Preliminary Event Equipment

  1. Participants will use a Scansheet for use with JudgingCard.com to record their responses.
  2. Each participant must have his/her own No. 2 pencil

Preliminary Event Schedule

Preliminary event shall take place on Saturday, April 26, beginning at 8 a.m, location TBD. Each contestant shall complete the event in the time allotted:

  1. AP Style Exam (30 minutes) 
  2. Communications Component 1: Photography (15 minutes) 
  3. Communications Component 2: Graphics Class of Business Cards (15 minutes)

AP Style Exam (100 Points)

  1. Each participant will complete a 50-question, multiple-choice exam that includes questions regarding AP Style, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
  2. Students specifically should review the 2024-2025 AP Style Manual items listed on the 2024 AP Stylebook Study Sheet provided in extra materials.

Communications Component I: Photography (50 Points)

  1. Each participant will rank four photos based on the use of appropriate photography techniques and principles (use of light, focus, composition, angle, news value, etc.).

Communications Component II: Advertisements (50 Points)

  1. Each participant will rank four business cards for the same individual. Ranking should be based on the use of design principles: focus point, flow, consistency, balance, and appropriateness.

Preliminary Event Scoring

AP Style Exam Score - 100
Photography Class Score - 50
Graphics Class Score - 50

 

Total Points
Individual - 200
Team - 600

 

Preliminary Event Tiebreakers

Team tie breakers will be settled in the following order: 

  1. AP Style Exam Score 
  2. Graphics Class Score 
  3. Photography Class Score

Ties for individual awards shall be broken by substituting the word “individual” wherever the word “team” appears above.   

Guidelines for the Finals 

Finals Rules

  1. All participants MUST be in official FFA dress or they will be disqualified.  
  2. Participants will NOT be able to use any reference materials during this contest.
    The only acceptable resource is a pencil, which must be provided by the
    participant. 
  3. All scores from the preliminary competition will be included in final scores.
    However, only the top three will constitute a final team score. 
  4. Overall team and individual awards will be given. The top team will be eligible to
    represent Oklahoma in the 2025 National FFA Agricultural Communications
    CDE.

Finals Team Make-Up

  1. The top eight teams of up to four members will be eligible to participate in the
    finals of the Oklahoma FFA Career Development Event in Agricultural
    Communications. 
  2. In addition, any participant who is ranked in the top 10 individuals in the
    preliminaries may compete in the finals even if his/her team does not qualify for
    the finals.

Equipment

  1. Students must provide their own No. 2 pencils.   
  2. OSU AGCM will provide all additional materials. 

Event Schedule

Each contestant will complete the event in the time allotted:

  1. Communications Component 1: Photography (30 minutes) 
  2. Communications Component 2: Graphics of Business Cards (30 minutes) 
  3. News Release Writing Critique (30 minutes) 

 

Communications Component I: Photography (Rank: 50 Points; Reasons 50 Points)

  1. Each participant will rank four photos based on the use of appropriate photography techniques and principles (use of light, focus, composition, angle, news value, etc.).
  2. After ranking the class of photos, each participant will type reasons for the ranking using Microsoft Word.
  3. Participants will be scored on the content of their reasons and on their ability to communicate their thoughts in writing.
  4. The reasons may be no more than one typed page (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman text, 1-inch margins). 

Communications Component II: Graphics Class of Business Cards (Rank: 50 Points; Reasons 50 Points)

  1. Each participant will rank four business cards for the same individual.
  2. Ranking should be based on the use of design principles: focus point, flow, consistency, balance, and appropriateness.
  3. After ranking the class each participant will type reasons for the ranking using Microsoft Word. Participants will be scored on the content of their reasons and on their ability to communicate their thoughts in writing.
  4. The reasons may be no more than one typed page (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman text, 1-inch margins).

News Release Writing Critique (50 Points)

  1. Each participant will read and evaluate a news release and will write a critique of the release based on news writing principles.
  2. Participants should NOT rewrite the news release; rather, they will evaluate the release.
  3. Participants will be scored on the content of their critiques and on their ability to communicate their thoughts in writing.
  4. The critique can be no more than one typed page (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman text, 1-inch margins). 

Scoring

AP Style Exam from Preliminaries - 100
Photography Class from Preliminaries - 50
Graphics Class from Preliminaries - 50 
Photography Placing Class - 50
Photography Reasons - 50
Graphics Placing Class - 50
Graphics Reasons - 50
News Release Critique - 50

 

Total Points
Individual -  450
Team - 1,350

 

Tiebreakers

Team tie breakers will be settled in the following order:

  1. News Release Critique Score 
  2. Graphics Reasons Score 
  3. Photography Reasons Score
  4. Graphics Class Score
  5. Photography Class Score

Ties for individual awards will be broken by substituting the word “individual” wherever the word “team” appears above.

 

Awards

The top five teams and top 10 individuals will be determined and recognized. Awards will be given to the top three teams and individuals during the Oklahoma FFA Convention. 

 

References

2024-2025 Associated Press Stylebook

 

Supplemental Materials and Forms

AP Style Example Questions

Stylebook Handout and Sample Classes (updated Jan. 2024)Scantron

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