ELEMENTS OF SPEECH COMMUNICATION

COMM 1010 – 2, SUMMER 2004

TUESDAY/THURSDAY, 9:15—10:45 AM
ASB 230

Instructor: Brenden Kendall

Office: Languages and Communication, Room 2930
Email: brenden.kendall@utah.edu
Office Hours: By appointment & Tuesdays, 10:45-1:00 PM

HOW TO NAVIGATE OUR COURSE WEBSITE AND THIS SYLLABUS

I manage a website on the University of Utah server. The address is: . Find the
link for our class, 1010-2, under the “Summer 2004” heading. Following this link, you will find the
course syllabus, course assignments, announcements and other items. I will update this page
frequently throughout the semester; please listen for notices in class and check the webpage often.
The class syllabus can also be reached through the “Course Syllabi link on The Department of
Communication website: http://www.hum.utah.edu/communication.

REQUIRED TEXT
Wood, Julia T. (2002). Communication Mosaics: An introduction to the field of
communication, 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

Welcome to the wide, wild, weird world of communication! No doubt, each of you holds
vastly different conceptions of what communication may be; this is fine, I promise. Through this
semester you will encounter a range of contemporary theoretical perspectives on an array of
communication processes. The field of communication studies is far too broad to for this course
alone, but you will be introduced to keystone scholarly work, handy frameworks and typologies, as
well as skills and strategies important in communication and other practices. In short, Elements of
Speech Communication is a strong introduction to communication as applied to a number of topics
and practiced in a many situations.

This course should prove useful for you, whether you are considering the communication major or
are simply looking for a course to enrich your academic training. I want this course to suit your
needs, but also challenge your preconceptions. Accordingly, I would appreciate your ongoing input
into what aspects of this course you wish to be emphasized, and those elements you might find most
useful. I will do my best to work with you and the entire class to create an active, engaging course
that poses important questions about the world and uniquely equips you to maneuver in it. You will
never see the world the same way after this class.

So, in this class you will have the opportunity to:

¾ Develop awareness of basic communication processes and skills
¾ Explore how these processes and skills work in different communication contexts
We will accomplish these goals through:
¾ Understanding—studying and investigating basic communication theory and research
 ¾ Application—relating theory and research to real-world cases and contexts that bear
upon contemporary life
¾ Practice—experiencing the enactment and outcomes of the concepts we study, in an
effort to explore alternatives for our own communication in many contexts

UNIVERSITY POLICIES
¾ The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that reasonable accommodation be provided for
students with physical, sensory, cognitive, systemic, learning, and psychiatric disabilities.
Students need to contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to discuss any such
accommodations.

¾ The drop/withdrawal policy is available on the University’s website and from Student Services.
Briefly, you may drop a course during the first seven calendar days of the semester and
withdraw (with a “W”) during the next five days without tuition charges. After that, withdrawal
is possible only “in cases of compelling non-academic emergencies” through petition to the
dean of your college.

¾ The Student Code spells out specific rights of students in the classroom. The Code also
specifies proscribed conduct, including cheating on exams, collusion, and plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes submitting someone else’s work as your own. Students found guilty of
academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will at minimum receive an “E” for the course.

Besides, academic dishonesty often takes more effort than doing an assignment yourself. My
job is to facilitate learning, not to impede academic progression. If you find yourself in a tough
situation, it’s best to speak with me as soon as possible.

COURSE POLICIES
¾ We will maintain a classroom learning environment that is respectful of and safe for a range of
people and perspectives at all times. Candor and respectfulness are paramount to the success of
our class, as we will often confront difficult and contentious situations that face most people
these days.

We are all responsible for fostering an environment open to observing, discussing, and
reflecting upon our own and others’ communicative behaviors in order to learn. I will not
tolerate behavior from any participant in class that is openly or directly violent, threatening,
sexist, racist, or otherwise disparaging. Thus, each one of us will need to be conscious of our
role in providing a place where every class member, given all our differences, will feel and
function as part of the class. If, at any time or for any reason, you have concerns about or feel
uncomfortable with the classroom environment please contact me immediately in order to
resolve/improve the situation.

¾ Submit assignments according to guidelines. I will not accept electronic assignment

submissions for this course (e.g., email, fax, text/ IM messages). As well, I will not accept
assignments submitted to the department or my mailbox, unless arranged ahead of time. All
assignments—including critical reaction essays, papers, and so on—must be submitted in class
on the day that they are due. See below for the late submission policy.
¾ Attendance is imperative for success! This course is based on a guiding understanding that your
knowledge and ability in communicating with others will naturally grow by actively engaging in
communicative activities and exercises, by offering and accepting thoughtful feedback on
communicative behaviors, and by reflecting on your own communicative styles and choices in
order to more fully understand how you tend to communicate and how you could communicate.
For the most part, these are things that will occur during class time.
Consequently, just reading the book or getting notes from another student will not be sufficient
for you to succeed in this class. Grades are structured to give you points for attending and
participating in various types of classroom activities. Accordingly, I will not “take roll,” yet
have structured the point distribution in such a way as to prioritize attendance. This part of your
course grade is completely within your control. If you must be absent, please contact me—
preferably in advance, if possible

¾ You must meet set presentation and assignment due dates. All assignments are due no later
than the dates indicated in the syllabus, or otherwise announced or agreed to in class. As well,
material will be collected at the beginning of class periods. I will not accept assignments more
than five weekdays after deadlines have passed. Late assignments will incur at least a twenty-
percent deduction for each weekday following the deadline.

Any excuse from a deadline must be brought up with me at least two weeks prior to the due date
for the assignment in question. As a general rule, I will only accept documented University-
sanctioned activities, and family or medical-related emergencies. If you anticipate any conflict
with this course, please speak with me as soon as possible. In every case, it is the student’s
responsibility arrange alternatives with me (again, at least two weeks prior) for any assignment,
presentation, or examination.

I retain the authority to decide whether any situation or circumstance warrants adjustment of
course schedules or policies.

¾ Please keep your profile information current with the university and me—especially your email
address. I will use a university program to send important course announcements to the entire
class. You will not receive these unless your email address and profile are current with the
university. You may go to the webpage www.acs.utah.edu/prod/bin/student and select “Campus
Information Systems.” On the following page enter your uNID (e.g., u0001122) and password.
Update your contact information in the “Student Profile” window.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES

¾ Course Assignments:
• Critical Reaction Essays: Throughout the course, you will write ten critical reaction papers.
CREs are worth 10 possible points apiece. Each CRE will be no less than one double-
spaced page (standard 12-point font and one-inch margins), and needs be no more than two
pages. The subjects of these papers shifts according to material and events discussed in
class. Prior to the due date for each, a prompt will be available on my website
(home.utah.edu/~u0384393/) and announced in class. I will accept early submissions for
CREs, though no earlier than one class day ahead of the set deadline.
 These essays should serve as useful tools for you to critically reflect upon the relevance of
communication processes we study to your own life, participate in a different forum, receive
feedback from me on your course performance and writing, and prepare for presentations
and exams. I will evaluate CREs based on a several criterion, including: appropriate use of
writing/grammatical conventions, writing flow and form, demonstration of knowledge of
course concepts, appropriate application/extension of course concepts, and argument
cogency, among others.

• Examinations: There are two examinations in this course. The examinations, administered
in-class on specified dates, will appear in multiple choice and short answer form. Each
exam is worth 50 possible points.

• Presentations: There are two formal presentations scheduled for this class. Your
presentations will be recorded for your benefit, using the IMS fee attached to this course.
The first presentation asks you to publicly identify and reflect upon your own
communicative behavior. These presentations should serve to highlight the ubiquity and
complexity of communication processes in our various activities and lifestyles. The first
presentation is worth 50 possible points, and should last between 2 and 3 minutes.

The second presentation will require you to work as a member of a team to creatively
present on material related to the topics covered in chapter 8, 13, or 14. All team members
will receive the same grade for their presentations, unless circumstances warrant
adjustments. Each team will provide a comprehensive outline of their presentation on the
scheduled workshop day (see schedule below), worth 5 points of the total presentation score.
These presentations will last between 30 and 40 minutes, and are worth 75 possible points.

• Peer Presentation Feedback: During days scheduled for presentations on which you do not
speak, you will provide brief, constructive feedback to other presenters. Obviously, you
must be in attendance to earn these points. For presentation one, you can earn 25 points for
one day’s feedback. For presentation two, you can earn 0 points for no feedback, 10 points
for one day’s feedback, and 25 points for two days’ feedback.

• Papers: You will complete two papers for this course. Each paper will be at least 2 and no
more than 4 double-spaced pages, using standard 12-point font and one-inch margins. As
with the CREs, I will evaluate papers based on a several criterion, including: appropriate use
of writing/grammatical conventions, writing flow and form, demonstration of knowledge of
course concepts, appropriate application/extension of course concepts, and argument
cogency, among others.

For paper one, you will reflect upon others’ and your own first presentation, explaining
more and less successful speaking strategies. Paper one is worth 50 possible points. Paper
two asks you to act as a “consultant,” investigating communication processes of an
organization with which you are familiar, and providing specific recommendations as to
how to optimize that organization’s climate and performance. You can earn up to 75 points
for paper two.
¾ Assignment Grades:
Assignment Possible Points Percentage
Critical Reaction Essays 100 (10x10 points) 20%
Peer Presentation Feedback 50 (25x2) 10%
Presentation 1 50 10%
Paper 1 50 10%
Exam 1 50 10%
Presentation 2 75 15%
Paper 2 75 15%
Exam 2 50 10%
Total 500 100%

¾ Final Course Grades: A = 100-94% A- = 93-90%

B+ = 89-87% B = 86-84% B- = 83-80%
C+ = 79-77% C = 76-74% C- = 73-70%
D+ = 69-67% D = 66-64% D- = 63-60% E = 59% ↓

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

(Subject to change, if necessary)

Date Topic / Activity Chapters Assignments Due

5/18 Introductions, course overview, etc. 1
5/20 Three Truths and a Lie, Perceiving and Understanding 2 Critical Reaction Essay (CRE) 1
5/25 Perceiving and Understanding, Communication Climates 2, 3 CRE 2, chapters 1 and 2
5/27 In-class discussion and activity
6/1 Verbal and Nonverbal Comm [Last day to add classes] 4, 5 CRE 3, chapters 4 and 5
6/3 In-class discussion and activity
6/8 Presentation #1 If you present 6/10…CRE 4
6/10 Presentation #1 If you present 6/8…CRE 4
6/15 Listening and Responding 6 CRE 5, chapter 6
6/17 Review for Examination #1, form teams for Presentation #2 Paper #1
6/22 Exam #1 (in-class)
6/24 Return Exam #1, Adapting [Last day to withdraw classes] 7 CRE 7, chapter 7
6/29 Communication and Personal Relationships 9 CRE 8, chapter 9
7/1 Communication and Personal Relationships
7/6 Communication in Groups and Teams, group work time 10 CRE 9, chapters 10 and 12
7/8 Public Communication, group work time 12
7/13 Presentation #2 Workshop Presentation Outline
7/15 Presentation #2 8, 13, 14
7/20 Presentation #2 8, 13, 14
7/22 Presentation #2 8, 13, 14
7/27 Communication in Organizations 11 CRE 10, chapters 8, 13, and 14
7/29 Review for Examination #2 11 Paper #2
8/3 Exam #2 (in-class)
8/5 Finals Period: time, date and location to be announced