Communication Term Paper

CN 101 Term Paper

Assignment Sheet

In your term paper, you will answer the following questions: What is communication? What are the purposes of communication in the 21st century? Your paper should be 6 pages long and thoroughly define and explain communication and its purposes. You should provide numerous examples, meaning 2 extended examples and/or more shorter examples and effectively apply specific course concepts and communication theories discussed in this class to support your argument. Half of your examples must be about real moments of public communication. The other half may be about hypothetical scenarios and/or personal experiences. Your paper should be free of grammar/spelling errors, use clear and powerful language, exhibit strong organization, and ethically incorporate research sources. The paper should be in APA style (7th ed.) and you should include a title page, in-text citations, and a reference page. You must cite a minimum of 8 high-quality sources in this paper. One of these sources must be your textbook and 5 of these sources must be academic journal articles. You will submit your paper as a Word document (.docx) or as a PDF (.pdf) in the appropriate Dropbox on D2L before the deadline. To learn how you will be assessed, review the grading rubric on D2L.

CN 101 Term Paper

Assignment Checklist

o Read this Assignment Sheet and Checklist. o Brainstorm and write down your initial thoughts about how you might respond to these

questions. o Review your textbook (especially Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 5, and the Appendix). o Outline your argument.

o After reviewing the textbook, write down your definition of communication (as informed by the textbook).

o Write down what you argue are the purposes of communication (as informed by the textbook).

o Identify the examples you will use to support your argument/illustrate your points. o Organize your paper’s main points. The topic sentence for each of your main

points should fill in the blanks of this sentence: “Communication is _______A______ because ____B______.”

§ For “A,” insert part of your definition. § For “B,” insert one of the purposes. § Basically, in your main points, you are answering what communication is

and why. o Research to find academic research (8 sources) to support your argument.

§ One source must be your textbook. § Five sources must be academic journal articles. § The remaining two sources must be high-quality and credible.

o Set up a meeting with me during our term paper progress meeting week (week 5) to discuss your outline.

o Write the first draft of your paper. o Review the above assignment description to ensure you meet all criteria. o Review the grading rubric (D2L) to make sure your quality is sufficient. o Adjust your paper as needed after reviewing the assignment description and grading

rubric. o Polish your manuscript. Spell-check. Grammar check. Ensure you cited all of your

sources properly both in-text and on your reference page. Make sure you rigorously answered both questions in full. Read through the entire paper silently and out loud to identify errors.

o Save your paper as a Word document or a PDF document. o Turn in your paper on D2L before the deadline.