Description

Organizational COMMUNICATION WINTER 17 MEDIA PAPER ASSIGNMENT

OBJECTIVES

There are a number of objectives that this assignment should help you accomplish. To

wit:

1) It should help you improve your writing skills. It will allow you to practice

the skills of selecting a topic, developing a thesis, applying the knowledge that

you have developed and communicating that knowledge in written form.

2) It should help you Develop your ability to reflect on concepts. We have

discussed in this class the fact that this most human of skills is crucial to our

formation of identity as well as to our formulation of an understanding of the

world around us.

3) It should help you develop your ability to apply concepts. Bloom’s taxonomy

of learning suggests that knowing concepts is a very low level of learning, but

that analyzing and applying concepts is the top of the cognitive ladder. This

will be an opportunity for you to climb that cerebral appliance.

4) It should help you develop your ability to express your personal perspective,

to “Say Something Smart.” This gives you another opportunity to show that

you are a thinking and thoughtful person who can turn her/his reflection on a

topic into a truly intelligent description of your analysis. 

PROCESS

1) Select Your Artifact: You may choose a Movie, 1 or more episodes of a TV

Show, or a major Event (e.g., the Inaugural). If you have any doubts about

the quality of your choice, please check with Gary.

2) View the Artifact with this analysis in mind. It is a good idea to take careful

Notes while doing so.

3) Think about what you have observed in the context of what you have learned

About Organizational Communication.

4) Decide what you want to say about the artifact.

5) Determine Your Thesis and

6) Make an outline of your major arguments (the order of these two steps is up

to you; it depends on how you work best). Keep in mind that your thesis is

your “Ultimate Claim” and the positions you develop to support it are your

“Major Claims.” Your “Supporting Claims” will be the examples from your

artifact that reveal/exemplify the points you are making.

7) Write the paper. Remember to have an engaging and clear introduction that

tells the reader what argument you are making and makes them want to read

the rest of the paper, to develop your positions clearly and well, and to craft an

effective conclusion that clinches the thesis, reviews the main ideas, and

leaves the reader with something to think about. Start early enough to allow

time for the last 2 steps.