B. Deal or No Deal
Imagine that you are going on a TV game show where you will have to answer questions about interpersonal communication. The 10 categories from which the questions will be taken are represented by the titles of chapters 2 through 12 in the textbook Looking Out Looking In, even though you’ve never had the chance to read the book. Your answers will be based on what you feel you already know about communication. With that scenario in mind, respond to these instructions:
1. The host of the game has asked you to pick a category for your questions. Which chapter title would be an easy one for you to talk about? Write it down and explain why you’d make that choice.
2. The host has also allowed you to designate a difficult category for the opposing player. Which chapter title would you choose for him or her? Again—write it down and explain why.
3. For the final round, the host once more lets you decide which category to use, but also allows you to bring in another person to help you answer the round of questions. Write about who you would want to have on your “team,” explain how this would influence your choice for picking the last category, and be sure to name the category you’d choose.
Step 2. Follow up with a few personal comments.
Describe your feelings about the process of doing the exercise. For instance, if the exercise changed your mind about something, you could discuss the factors that persuaded you to do that. If you found yourself thinking about things you’ve never considered before, write about how that felt. Maybe you’ll want to explain how this work helped you understand a concept in the textbook or solve a personal problem in your life.
It doesn’t have to be long, but it should say how valuable the exercise was to you and why you feel that way.
Weekly Papers (100 points)
These short papers are designed to apply the text’s ideas to “real life.” Each paper requires two steps. The first step is to examine the way you presently communicate, consider the ideas from the textbook, and write about a page and a half to respond to the textbook exercises listed below.
High scoring papers generally make good use of new vocabulary words learned from the week’s assigned reading. The second step is to describe your personal feelings about the process of doing the exercise. Articulating your feelings is a necessary step in each assignment.
Check here each week to pick one exercise only from the options listed for that week (page numbers refer to the exercise locations in the textbook). Be careful not to confuse the Week number with the Chapter number for that week’s assigned reading. They won’t always match, and points can only be earned for a paper that correctly finishes the current week’s assignment.
Week 1: Why is that in the Textbook? or Deal or No Deal (class handout)
Week 2: How Do You Use Social Media (p58) or “Ego Boosters” and “Ego Busters” (p68)
Week 3: Building a Johari Window (p88) or Perception Checking Practice (p126)-use elements on p123
Week 4: Talking to Yourself (p164) or How Irrational Are You? (p169)-don’t need class poll in Step 3
Week 5: Your Linguistic Rules (p186) or Practicing “I” Language (p197)-see examples on p195-196
Week 6: Body Language (p221) or The Rules of Touch (p234)
Week 7: Listening Breakdowns (p251) or When Advising Does & Doesn’t Work (p271)-cite p270 rules
Week 8: Your Relational Stage (p290) or Maintaining Your Relationships (p305)-cite p302-3 strategies
Week 9: Your Family’s Communication Patterns (p325) or Evaluating Communication Climates (p355)
Week 10: Final Reflection. Topic Options TBA.
Observe the following formatting details (illustrated on attached sample) to obtain full credit on papers:
1. Show your name, class and section, instructor’s name, and due date of the assignment in the upper left corner of the first page only. Additional pages should show only your name in the upper right corner.
2. Center the title above the text (for weekly papers, use the week number and title of the exercise).
3. Set normal 1” margins and use 12-point Times New Roman font. Double space the entire paper.
4. Do not use a cover page or “decorate” your writing with non-essential graphics or colored text.
5. Run a spell check and grammar check. Make needed corrections before turning in the paper.
Each paper can earn up to 10 points, and must be submitted no later than 11:55 p.m. on Friday of each week. The task of submitting the papers by the posted deadline is part of the assignment, so they will not be accepted nor receive any points after the Friday deadline has passed. Papers should be submitted in the course e-shell as documents in Word file format. Papers that are linked through a service like Google docs will not be opened nor graded.
