Miscomunication Essay

Your essay should be a 4-5-pages, typed (double-spaced, 12-point type, 1 inch margins) discussion of one of the many examples of obstacles or barriers to communication discussed throughout your text and in the lectures.  First, select an example of a miscommunication event.  This can be something you have observed in your own life, in the life of friends or family, or something in the news, or even a plot twist in a television program that you perceive to illustrate miscommunication at some level. 
Examples:
✓ Strongly held attitudes that prevent people from really hearing each other.
✓ A date that goes wrong because of gender differences in communication styles.
✓ A groupthink example or process.
✓ An interaction with someone of a different culture that doesn’t go well.
✓ Misreading nonverbal communication cues.
✓ A “white lie” that has gone horribly wrong
Your essay should take the following form, more or less in this order, although each section does not need to be of equal length.

A discussion of the relevant communication obstacle or barrier drawn from your text or the lectures.
A description of the event, with a discussion of why you feel its negative or ineffective outcome was the result of the communication problem discussed in #1.
An application of the relevant theory or concept from your text or lectures to explain the outcome of the event.
A consideration of how the interaction could have been changed to increase the chances of a positive or effective result. 
A cover page with title and a separate reference page (neither included in the page count).

The essay will be graded based upon the degree to which you have included the points listed above, its organization, the relevance and appropriateness of the example you have chosen, the thoroughness and clarity of your arguments, and the quality of your writing.
These essays should refer to at least 3-4 authoritative and legitimate sources aside from your textbook or lecture notes.  Remember, just because it’s on the Internet does not mean it is of any use or even true.  You may use your textbook, but this does not count as part of the 3-4 sources. Any other sources you cite should use APA (American Psychological Association) style. Do not use Wikipedia or the Blackboard notes as sources, and remember the URL for a website is NOT a suitable in-text citation. Rather, use the author or organization and date, just like any other source, with the URL in the reference list.
APA Manual:  This course and others in the Department of Communication require American Psychological Association style for written work.  You can find this manual at the Bookstore, but you can also find it at the Library Reference Desk, and find the basics on line by Googling Owl Purdue APA.  This will take you to a useful site.
A hint: It is best to be quite straightforward and to the point about the topic of your paper.  Within the first paragraph, you should include something like the following:
In this essay I will show how a date I had with a young man/woman of a different culture became a catastrophe because of the way we misread and misunderstood each other’s nonverbal communication.