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Being constantly
bombarded by
messages is a part
of daily life and
understanding how
and why these
messages affect us
is very important.
Messages can take on
many different forms
and different levels
of meaning. Here, I
have selected four
pieces, each varying
in the style of
message delivery as
well as complexity.
Each piece was
written for unique
classes and best
exemplify my
understanding of the
material covered in
those classes.
Research Paper on
Robert Burns
The first example of
how I can
effectively
construct messages
is a research paper
that I wrote for my
History of Scotland
class. For this
project, we were
asked to select an
important figure,
moment in history,
or object which is
unique to Scottish
heritage and
culture. Robert
Burns was truly an
important individual
in Scotland and
cultures in the
United States as
well. I attempted
to write this paper
in order to appeal
to an audience with
no previous
knowledge of Robert
Burns and his impact
on society while
writing it for a
class to show that I
had an excellent and
in-depth
understanding of the
material.
This piece shows
foremost, how from
the materials which
I had located, I
found excellent
information on the
life of Robert Burns
in scholarly works
and was able to
support my research
conclusions about
Burns using this
research material.
My thesis--that
Robert Burns had a
permanent impact on
Scottish music,
poetry, and
culture--grew out of my
desire to show how
his life impacted the
rest of the world. I
wanted to question
the idea of why was
Robert Burns so
beneficial to
Scottish society,
and then I attempted
to answer this
question by
understanding how he
became engaged with
his own life and the
lives of others.
Word Elements Web
Page
The second example
of how I effectively
construct messages
is unique in that it
is in a medium
specific to my
major. Webpage
design, although
often challenging to
learn, is a force
that can convey
meaning and talent
in a variety of
ways. For this
project, I was
expected to be
knowledgeable in a
number of ideas such
as how to create web
pages in Dreamweaver,
how to make use of a
vast variety of
dictionaries, and
how to analyze the
major which I have
willingly subjected
myself to. I was
able to adapt this
project to the
website medium by
keeping it readable
and web-friendly.
This project allowed
me to integrate my
specific non-major
class work with
complex knowledge in
my field, thus
appealing to a wider
audience. Since the
majority of people
today are familiar
with the World Wide
Web, I thought that
this would be the
ideal medium for
expressing my
knowledge in my Word
Elements class.
Also, I would be
gaining experience
in my major field
and relating this
class back to my
major area of
study. The purpose
of this project was
to expand my
personal knowledge
in an area of
interest to me and
relate the
information I
collected to my
classmates. Because
I used the net as my
medium, students
were able to feel a
connection to it,
because they use it
on a daily basis.
Also, since my
classmates
communicate daily,
and my topic was on
communication, my
topic was relevant
to their lives.
Advanced Public
Speaking
The third artifact
that I used to show
how I can convey
messages is an
AMTOBUL outline of
an oral presentation
on tattoos that I
gave in my Advanced
Public Speaking
course. It is
essential to have
written skills as
well as needing to
have a familiarity
with different forms
of media; however,
oral communication
skills are essential
in workplace
environments, in
classrooms, and
between peers.
This topic, which is
very controversial
among college
students, attempted
to show my
classmates how the
decision to get a
tattoo should not be
taken lightly.
Because my many
members of my class
already had tattoos
and others may be
considering getting
a tattoo, this topic
appealed greatly to
my classmates.
Research Paper on
the Ethnography of
Communication
The final artifact
which I have decided
to use for the
Messages part of my
objectives was
perhaps one of my
favorite assignments
that I completed at
Monmouth. My final
research paper for
my Communication
Theory class
analyzed and
contained
information about
the Speech Codes
Theory or the
Ethnography of
Communication. This
assignment allowed
me to research in
depth an area of
theory with which I
was previously
unfamiliar and
allowed me to become
an expert on this
topic. I cited
several scholarly
sources on the topic
and supported my
points with
researched
material.
The audience for
this piece would
most likely be
communication majors
because there is
some information
which is complex.
If I were to change
this piece, I would
make it easier for
non majors to
understand so that
they could implement
the information in
their daily lives. |
