Final Communication Paper
Directions:

1. Papers should be written using full, complete sentences and in paragraph form.

2. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and 4-6 pages in length.

3. Be sure to use very specific examples to explain and illustrate the claims you make. Do not simply offer vague generalizations.

4. Papers will be graded according to the thoroughness of your answer, the strength of your specific examples, and the accuracy of your understanding of the communication concepts you discuss.

Prompt:

This semester we learned that communication consists of creating and responding to messages. In order to communicate effectively with others, we need to develop skills that enable us to impart, convey, and exchange information in a variety of ways. In this class, we explored 5 different pathways of communication: Professional Communication in Small Groups, Public Discourse, Communication in Human Relationships, Visual and Mediated Communication, and Communication in Art and Culture.

Based on your knowledge and experience in these areas, in what specific ways will each of these pathways help you become a better or more effective communicator in the future? In other words, how might you apply the skills that you learned in each of these pathways in the future? When and how (under what conditions or circumstances) might you find need to draw upon these skills in your personal or professional life (either as the sender of the message or the receiver/interpreter of the message)? Be sure to include specific examples for each pathway.

For example:

A pre-vet student one semester discussed how she could use concepts from each of these pathways in her future career as a veterinarian. She talked about how she could use her understanding of group roles and work-related communication styles from the Professional Communication in Small Groups pathway to help her develop better working relationships with her vet techs and kennel workers. She discussed how she could make use of manipulative persuasion from the Public Discourse pathway by putting up posters depicting the horrible things that can happen if owners do not vaccinate their pets against disease or give them heartworm preventatives. She explained how she could use her expert power, which she learned in Communication in Human Relationships, to encourage her clients to agree to the various treatments she would suggest for their cats or dogs. From the Visual and Mediated

pathway, she hypothesized that she could get together with a group of other veterinarians to create a multi-media art performance that would educate the public on how procedures like ear-cropping, tail-docking, and declawing are actually forms of mutilation. Finally, from the Art and Culture pathway, she suggested that she could interview residents of long-term care facilities who had been visited by therapy animals and find out how these visits affected them. She would then be able to turn their stories into an ethnographic performance.

This is just a brief example of one way you can approach this paper. You can also apply the concepts to your personal life instead of your professional life.

Please be aware that I have given you only a brief outline of her paper. She went into more detail for each example. I have just given you the gist of what she talked about.