COM 10200 Assignment Sheet for Application Logs 1, 2, and Extra Credit (not Log 3)

Value:  50 points possible  (Logs submitted for extra credit can earn a maximum of 10 points)

General Overview of the Assignment:  Your task in this assignment is to apply one of the theories covered in the unit to a situation, episode, or circumstance from your real life experience. For the first application log, you should choose ONE of the theories covered in Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. For the second application log, you should choose ONE of the theories covered in Chapters 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, or 17. Your application should not exceed TWO pages, double-spaced, 10-pt font. Your name, Assignment #, and recitation section # should appear in the upper left of the first page. Multiple pages should be stapled together in the upper left-hand corner. Hand-written applications will not receive credit. Logs submitted for extra credit must be based on one of the theories covered in Chapters 20, 22, 25, 28, 29, 30, or 31. Your application should be organized according to three major elements (Selected Theory,

Communication Situation, & Application of the Theory) and should be clearly labeled as such (see the example application on Blackboard). The application logs are due respectively on the recitation session specified on the course syllabus and must be submitted as hard-copy during the recitation meeting corresponding to the due date. The only exceptions to the policy are ones that you have negotiated with your recitation instructor PRIOR to the recitation meeting in which the assignment is due. If that recitation session concludes and you have not submitted the application log or made some special arrangement with your instructor, you will receive a “0” for the assignment. There are no make-ups or late submissions.

PRIOR to submitting your hard-copy of an assignment in your recitation section, you must submit it through SAFE ASSIGN.  If your recitation instructor confirms that your assignment has NOT been submitted through SAFE ASSIGN prior to the class meeting in which it is due, you will automatically lose 5 points off of the 50 possible for the assignment.  At that point, you will lose 5 additional points each hour that the SafeAssign is late.  Failure to submit through SAFE ASSIGN will result in a “0” for the assignment. Note that failure to submit a hard-copy of the assignment in class on the due date results in an automatic “0” on the assignment—regardless of whether you have submitted the assignment through SAFE ASSIGN or submit it through SAFE ASSIGN after the assignment is due in recitation.

Selected Theory (10 points):  Clearly state the theory that you will use for the application from one of the chapters specified for the assignment. IN YOUR OWN WORDS, states your understanding of what the theory is about and the sorts of situations that they theory addresses. NOTE: You must select the MAIN theory referenced by the chapter title for the theory that you have selected. Sometimes, other theories are mentioned in a chapter—but for this assignment, you must deal with the main theory that the chapter is about.

Communication Situation (10 points):  In one paragraph, describe the particular situation that you plan to use for the application of the theory.  This may involve a description of your own personal experience or it may involve a description of people you know and how they interacted or reacted to some circumstance. Your description ought to include a clear reference to some communication behavior—or reaction to communication. In describing other people, please use first name pseudonyms only in order to protect privacy. You must provide enough detail in your description so that it is clear exactly how the theory you select applies appropriately to the situation.

Application of the Theory (20 points):  In a few paragraphs, you should apply your selected theory to the situation that you’ve described.  What insight(s) do you believe the theory provides that help you to understand the communication behavior that you’ve described in your situation? What prediction does the theory make or what advice might it offer for the future or for other similar situations? To what extent does the theory lend insight to your situation? Does the theory come up short in any respect? It should be evident in your application that you understand the theory and are able to apply it to the particulars of the situation you choose.

Technical Merit (10 points): The final 10 points of your submission will be graded on “technical merit.” Is your paper clearly organized with the proper identification at the upper left and the three sections specified above and clearly labeled as such? Does it conform to all of the formatting instructions and length limit specified? To what extent does the paper conform to the standards of writing appropriate for university students? In other words, your paper will be evaluated for grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity, sentence structure, proper expression, etc. Your recitation instructor has discretion in awarding or subtracting points for each of the four categories. If you are not certain about some aspect of this assignment, ask your instructor prior to the assignment deadline.  Use APA formatting.  For more information, check out: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

In general, since this is an assignment in which you are applying a theory to a personal situation and using your own words to summarize the theory, it should be quite possible (even expected) to do the assignment with NO citations. However, if you have the need to borrow something from another source, it is CRITICAL to cite that source properly.  Failure to do so could leave you vulnerable to a charge of academic misconduct (i.e., plagiarism).  If your recitation instructor decides that your submission is a clear example of academic misconduct, you will receive an automatic “0” on the assignment and we will follow the established Purdue guidelines for dealing with such cases.  If you have any questions about how to properly cite material, ask your recitation instructor.

Two examples appear below.

Examples of Acceptable Forms of Citation for this Assignment

1. From some other book, multiple authors:

• In-text citation would look like:

Research by Calfee and Valencia (1994) supports…   OR (Calfee & Valencia, 1994)

• Reference citation would look like:

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

2. From an article in a journal, multiple authors:

• In-text citation would look like:

Wegener and Petty (1994) supports…   OR (Wegener & Petty, 1994)

• Reference citation would look like:

Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.

FINAL NOTE:  Your recitation instructor may modify or clarify the particular points of this assignment and explain how your submission will be graded according to a rubric. Be sure to prepare your assignment according to the specific instructions that your recitation instructor provides.