I need help writing a paper in my COMMUNICATIONS class

COMM 2010: How to Apply Communication Concept (or Theory) to Communication Practice

Context: The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that you can take a concept or theory (ideally from your Conceptual Framework essay) and apply it to communication practice (i.e. answer a communication question, overcome a communication challenge, solve a communication problem, address a communication issue, etc.). This is an individual assignment, as no two people will be examining the same communication problem or issue using the same concept.  So, there is no "one size fits all" structure.

 

Structure: However, there is still a general structure everyone can follow.  In the first paragraph of your paper, you should describe or explain the communication challenge or problem or text you've chosen to address. This can (and should) stem from the topical area you’ve been researching since the beginning of the course.  You don't have to go into exhaustive detail, but I do have to have some idea of the issue/challenge/problem/text you're addressing so that the rest of the paper will make sense to me.  You can choose a communication issue or problem or text from the past or you can choose one from the present.  You can use an issue or problem you have personally faced or are currently facing, or it can be one that has a wider impact.  It just has to be a question or issue or problem or challenge or text in COMMUNICATION. 

 

In the second paragraph of your paper, you should identify the theory or concept you have chosen to apply to your issue/challenge/problem/text.  [Note: In your Conceptual Framework essays, some of you used concepts like Family Communication and some of you used theories like Agenda Setting Theory. Either is fine, but the point is that we should have a description of the research done on your concept or theory, which you have already done in your Conceptual Framework essay]. You must choose an issue/challenge/problem/text relevant to the concept that you have written about in your Conceptual Framework. That is, if you're talking about some form of interpersonal communication, then use an issue/challenge/problem/text grounded in interpersonal communication. I'm going to allow some latitude with that, but if you choose an interpersonal theory to address something that is clearly an issue of political communication that would be a bad fit and the paper grade will reflect the mismatch.

 

In the subsequent paragraphs of your paper, you should actually apply the theory or concept you identified in the Conceptual Framework (beginning paragraphs of your essay) to address the question/issue/challenge/problem/text you identified in the introduction paragraph.  This is the point at which your paper will start to look different from the others. 

So, this is an outline of what your paper should look like:

1. Introduction paragraph in which you describe the communication issue/challenge/problem/text you’ve chosen to address.

2. Conceptual Framework that describes the specifics of the concept or theory you’ve chosen to use to analyze an issue/challenge/problem/text. Take this time to revise or tweak any mistakes you have in your Conceptual Framework. You may also want to add specifics as needed to match your concept or theory to the issue/challenge/problem/text you’ve chosen to analyze.

3. Application of what your concept or theory revealed in the Conceptual Framework portion reveals about the issue/challenge/problem/text you’ve chosen. Obviously this section will have less (but likely still have some) source citations because this is the analysis part of your essay. *A good article to consult for this assignment is “Doing Criticism” from Week 7.

Remember to use APA formatting [1-inch margins, proper headings, citations, Reference page, title page, etc].

Page limit is 6-8, double-spaced. The title page or Reference page doesn’t count for the page limit.

Your final essay is due via email to [email protected] by 11:59PM EST July 31.