What this handout is about

This handout describes some steps for planning and writing papers in communication studies courses.

What do people write about in Communication Studies?

Courses in Communication Studies combine material from the humanities, fine arts and social sciences in order to explain how and why people interact in the ways that they do. Within Communication Studies, there are four different approaches to understanding these interactions, and you may have to focus your papers accordingly. Your course probably falls into one of these four areas of emphasis:

• Interpersonal and organizational communication

  Interpersonal communication concerns one-on-one conversations as well as small group behaviors. Organizational communication focuses on large group dynamics.

• Rhetoric

  Rhetoric examines persuasion and argumentation in political settings and within social movements.

• Performance studies

  Performance studies analyze the relationships among literature, theater and everyday life.

• Media/film studies

  Media and film studies explore the cultural influences and practical techniques of television and film, as well as new technologies.

 

Understanding your assignment

The content and purpose of your assignments will vary according to what kind of course you are in, so pay close attention to the course description, syllabus, and assignment sheet when you begin to write. If you’d like to learn more about deciphering writing assignments or developing your academic writing, see our Writing Center handouts on these topics. For now, let’s see how a general topic, same-sex friendships, might be treated in each of the different areas. These illustrations are only examples, but you can use them as springboards to help you identify how your course might approach discussing a broad topic.

Interpersonal communication

An interpersonal communication perspective could focus on the verbal and nonverbal differences and similarities between how women communicate with other women and men communicate with other men. This would allow you to explore the ways in which gender affects our behaviors in close relationships.

Organizational communication

Organizational communication would take a less personal approach, perhaps by addressing same-sex friendships in the form of workplace mentoring programs that pair employees of the same sex. This would require you to discuss and analyze group dynamics and effectiveness in the work environment.

Rhetoric

A rhetorical analysis could involve comparing and contrasting references to friendships in the speeches of two well-known figures. For instance, you could compare Aristotle’s comments about Plato to Plato’s comments about Aristotle in order to discover more about the relationship between these two men and how each defined their friendship and/or same-sex friendship in general.