For this prompt, you are being asked to think about the role of communication in the initiation, development, and maintenance of an interpersonal relationship. This paper prompt asks you to analyze a particular relationship between two people (e.g., friendship, romantic relationship, family relationship, co-worker relationship) and the ways in which interpersonal communication has impacted the trajectory of that relationship. You are to use five concepts from class to respond to the following question: What role does interpersonal communication play in the initiation, development, and maintenance of the relationship selected for analysis? The essay topic is based on the movie series “After” and Hardin and Tessa’s relationship. Papers should have a clear introduction paragraph that presents a strong thesis statement. Somewhere in the introduction paragraph, it would be beneficial to briefly state the five class concepts you have chosen to discuss in responding to the selected paper prompt.
For both paper prompts, you might want to briefly describe in the introduction paragraph the interpersonal communication relationship or scenario you have selected to analyze. Then provide a clear thesis that discusses: Prompt #1) how interpersonal communication has impacted the trajectory of the particular relationship you have chosen to examine. Papers should be at least 6 pages in length. Writing less than 6 full pages will result in a significant deduction of points. Please also make sure that you single-space your header on the first page and take no more than three lines for the header information. Papers should discuss 5 class concepts in support of the thesis, at least three of which should come from material covered in Weeks 6-13 of the semester. Class concepts include any material we have covered in class throughout the entire semester. Try your best to select five concepts from different lectures/chapters and concepts that are broad enough so that you can include a lot of detail related to each one (sub-concepts). You want to make sure that you select broad topics for your concepts so that you can include 3 or more sub-concepts in each main body paragraph. For example, you might want to apply the concept of transgressions and forgiveness. Transgressions and Forgiveness would be the main, overall concept. But then you would need to include at least 3 sub-concepts in the paragraph to be detailed in your application of the topic (e.g., examples of big and small transgressions, the Remedial Interchange, the three steps of the forgiveness process, etc.). Papers should draw evidence for arguments directly from the textbook, supplemental class readings, and class discussions. When citing direct quotations from these sources, be sure to use proper APA citation style. All papers should be proofread, typed, double spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point, and in Times New Roman font. The paper should be written using 3rd person point of view. Papers should have a clear organization, including an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs that support the thesis, and a conclusion paragraph that synthesizes (not repeats) the argument being made throughout the paper. Each topic sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph should clearly support the main paper thesis. Make sure that each paragraph transitions into the next. Be sure to use examples throughout the paper to help expand on claims that are made. Papers do NOT require a title page or reference page unless citing material other than the class textbook, notes, or supplemental readings. The writing should be clear, concise, and free of grammatical, mechanical, and spelling errors.
