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Apply these concepts (attached) to human communications scenarios in the film. 
Term Paper Assignment
You are free to write about a film of your choice provided that the film focuses on normal human communication between human beings. Contact me if you aren’t sure if your film is appropriate See the “Term Paper Tips” on p. 9 for more on this..
General Instructions:
In this 8 page paper, you will apply your knowledge of basic communication terms to an analysis of a film.  In general, you will: 
Select a primary communication context (e.g., interpersonal communication.) that is reflected in a particular film of your choosing.  Also, you will use several, specific terms (e.g., self-disclosure, relational dialectics, stages of relational development, etc.) that are related to your communication context.
Conduct scholarly research in order to fully understand your chosen context.  In other words, you will find three journal articles and use your textbook to help you understand and apply course terms in your paper.  This becomes the evidence for your paper.
Lastly, you will define and explain the terms, and analyze how they are presented in the film.  In addition, you will cite your journal articles and your textbook within your paper as evidence and support of your ideas.
You will submit your paper through the link to Turnitin.com that is posted for you in the assignment in Canvas.
Your main goal in this paper is to apply communication terms to 
a film in order to demonstrate your understanding of these terms.
Section-by-Section Instructions (follow these instructions closely!):
Introduction 
1. First paragraph
Begin with a few general statements about ideas relevant to your paper, such as a few statements about communication, relationships, conflict, public speaking, organizations, etc.  Whatever your paper’s topic, lead into it for the reader.
Indicate the film that you will analyze.
Next, clearly explain your goals for this paper.  In other words, what is this paper’s thesis?  What is the purpose of this paper?  What will it accomplish? What will your paper explain and illustrate about the communication seen in this film?
End your introduction with a preview of the main points of your paper.  Your main points will be the terms that you will apply and analyze in the film.
2. Second paragraph – briefly summarize the film (about 4-5 sentences)
Body (For each paragraph in the Body, do these in this order):
1. Define and explain one or several terms that you have researched fully. Use your textbook for all definitions of key terms that you provide.  As you define your terms, be sure to cite evidence (quote) from your textbook and your journal articles. 
Describe how the term is demonstrated in your film.  For example, here is where you explain how the characters in your film demonstrate “depth of self-disclosure,” “conflict,” “groupthink,” or some other term.  Be sure to provide examples from the film, and be sure to explain yourself fully.  This becomes your analysis of their communication.
Use a transition to move the reader to your next paragraph. Your transitions should help connect your main ideas together. 
Repeat these steps until you have enough content to meet the assignment guidelines for  the page requirement.
HINT: Try organizing your paper chronologically to match the order of the film.
Conclusion 
Provide a summary of the main points of your paper.
Close your paper with a few comments on the importance of competent communication.
Required to use the style of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition.
Citing Within Text (Paraphrasing)
When you borrow the ideas of other scholars and authors, you need to reference their work.  References are identified in the body of the paper parenthetically (in parentheses) by the author’s last name and date of publication.  APA does not use footnotes.  For example:
Recent publications illustrate the skill-based approach to teaching the interpersonal communication course (Wiemann & Wiemann, 1990).
OR
According to Wiemann and Wiemann (1990), recent publications illustrate the skill-based approach to teaching the interpersonal communication course.
Quoting Within Text
When you quote directly from other authors, the format changes slightly.  For example:
According to Proctor and Adler (1991), “Integrating film into the interpersonal communication course does not require radical changes in course goals or teaching” (p. 394).
As scholars have noted, “Researchers have yet to understand the mechanisms that produce the satisfaction-communication relationship” (Kelly & Burgoon, 1991, p. 41).
Note that “citing within text” does NOT require a page number, “quoting within text” DOES.
When the quote is longer than 40 words, it must be typed (without quotation marks) as a freestanding text that begins on a new line and is indented five spaces from the left margin:
Hirokawa, et al., (1991) determined that:
Men and women responding to the high-legitimacy scenario employed less polite tactics than those responding to the low-legitimacy scenario, but this was more true of the men than the women.  For example, men and women with request legitimacy were more likely to produce statements like, “You know you’re not going to score a lot of points around here if you take off on your vacation in the middle of this project.” (p. 433)
If you fail to reference quotes or others’ ideas, then you have committed plagiarism!
You will write an 8 page research paper analyzing a film according to course concepts.  You will 
support your analysis of the types, levels, functions and models of communication present in the
film with scholarly research and textbook concepts.
IMPORTANT TIPS
Remember that analysis rather than just reporting is the focus of this assignment. Your paper should not just be a summary of the plot of the film.
Avoid including information about your own personal experiences in this assignment (ex. “This movie is like when I broke up with my boyfriend…”) as that kind of commentary is not appropriate in a research assignment like this one. Also, avoid overuse of 1st person language (“I thought…”, “I liked…”) in this academic analysis.
Be sure to use terms correctly and identify terms clearly
Always support your ideas with specific examples.  If you make an argument, make sure that you qualify it with evidence from your references and/or textbook.
Make sure that you are analyzing the communication that happens between characters in the film, not the film itself. This is not a film studies paper that will focus on how the movie was created. You should not be discussing things like camera angles, director’s techniques, etc. 
Make sure that you have a clear thesis in your introduction that guides the discussion in the body of your analysis. You should only include terms in your analysis that are clearly tied to your thesis and the theme for your paper. Do not just talk about any terms from the book that you see in the film. Make sure that all the terms you use are all clearly connected to each other and unified under a central theme.
Avoid the “pop culture” approach.  There are many self-help books and articles written by people who once talked to somebody or watched a TV show and thus consider themselves experts in communication.  Do not use these references. General Internet websites are also not acceptable research sources for this assignment. You must use Communication journals as assigned.
Make sure the paper you are submitting follows the specific guidelines for the assignment in this particular course.  The paper you submit should clearly be a response to the assignment guidelines I have provided for you.  Your submission should not feel like a paper that was written for another assignment/course.
Thesis EXAMPLES (DO NOT USE):
Gus Van Sant’s film Good Will Hunting provides an excellent example of self-disclosure in personal relationships, demonstrated through Will’s relationship with his therapist, Sean Maguire. The film highlights how different communication concepts such as novelty/predictability, attachment styles, self-sabotage, self-disclosure, and relationship dialects play significant roles in shaping communication climates that cause relationships to either thrive or suffer.
The goal of this paper is to specifically address the listening habits of the protagonist, Mark Zuckerberg, in director David Fincher’s biographical drama film The Social Network (2010). Examples of Mark’s failure to listen and communicate effectively can be traced throughout the film as he slowly degrades his interpersonal relationships and his internal happiness. These examples include ineffective listening caused by environmental distractions, failure to recognize diverse listening styles, monopolizing, literal listening, and lack of empathy, which leads to defensive and discomfirming communication climates.