Reasoning and Analysis Paper Assignment
COMM11 Reasoning and Analysis Paper Assignment Fall, 2018 What is this paper about? For this paper, you will write a paper in which you use assigned materials (a film, two articles, personal experience) to help you discuss intercultural communication. We should mostly hear YOUR voice with the assigned outside sources used to support your thesis/position. Specific Steps: Choose A Prompt Question such as one of these: How does one’s gender [or other co-cultural in-group] makes a difference in how one is perceived in the world, specifically how one communicates with others and is communicated with by others? Explain your position and provide evidence to support it. What is a key challenge that intercultural communicators face, what causes this challenge, and what are some specific ways they can respond to that challenge more effectively? Write the rough draft of your paper (this simply lays out your thoughts on the topic). Create a thesis statement that sums up your position about your chosen prompt. Add in supporting material (at least one in-text citation per source: film, 2 articles) to make your discussion stronger and prove your thesis. Find a personal experience example that supports your thesis/position. You will use this example to also support your thesis. Write the second draft of your 3-5-page double-spaced MLA-formatted paper. Make sure to include your thesis statement and supporting material from the assigned sources (film, article, textbook). Edit your paper. Reread your paper – also read it OUT LOUD. Follow MLA guidelines (OWL at Purdue). Include a Works Cited. Your paper will be marked using the Departmental Scoring Rubric Upload your paper on Blackboard on or before the day/time it is due. Watch one of the following films: Gran Torino Fruitvale Station Milk Good Will Hunting Get Out Black Panther Do the Right Thing Coming to America Hotel Rwanda There are various co-cultural groups represented in these films (socioeconomic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, disability, region, nationality, and politics). Use examples from your chosen film and supporting examples from two articles from the following list: Articles: Select TWO of the following articles to support your thesis. ″Ask Ali: Freedom Can Be Influenced by Cultural Values and How to Run a Business through Social Media | The National.″ The National. The National, 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. Birman, Dina and Meredith Poff. “Intergenerational Differences in Acculturation.” Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. October 2011. Web. 29 February 2016. Frantzman, Seth. ″Not a Clash of Civilizations; but World Culture vs. Islamist Culture.″ The Jerusalem Post. The Jerusalem Post, 02 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. Headlee, Celeste. “I’m Black. I’m White. I’m Both. I’m Neither. Georgia Public Radio. GPB Media, 20 May 2015. Web. 14 April 2016. Kenny, Mary. ″Host Culture Values Must Also Be Protected in This New ′Clash of Civilisations′″ Independent.ie. Irish Independent, 09 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. Ngo, Bic. “Beyond ‘Culture Clash’ Understandings of Immigrant Experiences.” Theory into Practice, 47: 4-11, 2008. Nsengimana, Theogene. ″Rwanda: Parents Urged to Inculcate Cultural Values in Children.″ AllAfrica.com. The New Times, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. McKeiver, Kathy. ″Identifying Barriers to Effective Intercultural Communication.″ NACADA: Academic Advising Today, Kansas State University, Dec. 2013, www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Identifying-Barriers-to-Effective-Intercultural-Communication.aspx. Accessed 06 Feb. 2016. Rasmussen, Louise. ″Cross-Cultural Competence: Engage People from Any Culture.″ Global Cognition, 18 November 2015, www.globalcognition.org/cross-cultural-competence/. Accessed 06 Feb. 2016. Toegel, Ginka and Barsoux, Jean-Louis. “3 Situations Where Cross-Cultural Communication Breaks Down.” Harvard Business Review, 8 June 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/06/3-situations-where-cross-cultural-communication-breaks-down. Accessed 05 April 2017. Remember to utilize what you learned from the textbook and in class, as well. Additionally, what communication competence strategies could the characters have used to help them better communicate with the other characters? The paper must be submitted to Blackboard–Turnitin.com. You must also hand in a hard copy. Your paper will be marked using the Departmental Scoring Rubric which will be made available to you. Some questions to ask yourself as you prepare to write your paper: What’s the communication problem? How do cultural differences/culture factor in to this problem? What are possible solutions? A good paper will accomplish the following (although not necessarily in the order listed): – Provide a thesis
statement Construct a clear, logical, and organized argument by which you’ll prove your thesis (Identify the two or three ways you will prove [explain] your thesis [opinion, idea]) Use examples from the articles to support your thesis (opinion, idea) [unique_solution]Use examples from the film to support your thesis (opinion, idea) – Use ONE detailed and substantial personal experience OR popular culture (movies, TV, music, books, the latest fad, etc.) example to support your thesis (opinion, idea) – Follow MLA guidelines for format and citation. Use appropriate language (grammar, spelling, punctuation). Include a Works Cited page. Some Tips and Reminders regarding formatting your paper: Double-spaced 750-1000 words (the Works Cited does not count towards the 750 words) Your name, the course number and section, the name of the assignment and the due date of the assignment should be at the top of the first page on the left hand side. Number your pages at the top right. Include your last name before the page number. Font must be 12 point Margins must be 1” all around (right, left, top, and bottom) Proofread your paper for citation, spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors You must include a Works Cited page Give your paper a title – center it at the top of the page Contents/What your paper should contain “Say what you’re going to say. Say it. Say what you said” In order for your paper to be understood, you need to be clear and organized in it. A well-thought out paper begins with an introductory paragraph that lets your reader know what you are going to talk about. It includes a thesis statement which simply tells the reader what you are going to talk about in the paper. For example, “Online identity management is the death of interpersonal relationships.” It is also helpful, in the introduction, to give a preview of the paper. In other words, to tell your readers the two or three points you have broken your topic down into. For example, “I will demonstrate how online identity management is killing interpersonal relationships by defining what online identity management is, explaining how it is characterized by deception, and showing how online relationships lack the richness of face-to-face relationships.” Following the introductory paragraph, the next several paragraphs of your paper will be proving your thesis statement by discussing each of the points you’ve identified. A good rule of thumb is one paragraph per argument or discussion point you are making. So, for the hypothetical thesis statement and preview I listed in the previous paragraph, I would have at least three paragraphs – one for each point. In each paragraph, I would include examples from the articles, from the film, and from the example I thought of (from my personal experience or pop culture) to demonstrate why that point supports my thesis (opinion, idea). Your final paragraph is your closing statement. In it, you should summarize what you talked about in the paper. For example, “By defining what online identity management is, explaining how it is characterized by deception, and showing how online relationships lack the richness of face-to-face relationships, I have demonstrated how online identity management is the death of interpersonal relationships.” Creating an outline before you start writing your paper can help you focus both your research and your writing. You need to know your thesis and what points you are going to prove BEFORE you start writing the paper. The title of your paper (which goes above the introductory paragraph and below where you’ve written your name, the course number, the assignment, and date) should sum up what your paper is about. It can be catchy or straight to the point, whichever you prefer. References and Citation When you use another person’s words, ideas, or work in your paper, you must cite them. If you directly quote their work, you use quotation marks to signify this and give the page number, as well. In the following example, the MLA format is used: According to Dalton, “Thesis statements are the best way to make your point when writing a persuasive essay paper” (26). If you are simply paraphrasing or borrowing from one (or more) person’s work, you do not need quotation marks. For example: Many researchers argue that thesis statements are the foundation of a well-written paper (Miller 32, Johnson 51, and Smith 456). If you are referring to information that is commonly known such as that George Washington is the first president of the U.S., you do not have to cite a reference for that piece of information. At the end of your paper, you will have a “Works Cited” page in which you list all of the references you cited in your paper. For the articles, you will find the citation information included on page 1 of this document.