our paper will use at least four sources to write this 5-7 page paper (not including title page and citation page(s)). Two of your sources must be “scholarly” also called research-based sources. “Scholarly” sources include research-based books and research journals on interpersonal communication that are rooted in research rather than in personal experience or anecdotes. Websites, Psychology Today, Blogs, Podcasts, Scientific American magazine, etc. do not count as scholarly sources. (*see note below on scholarly sources)

The third source of information you use can be any other “informative” piece of non-scholarly writing. So, here’s where Psychology Today, a reputable Blog or Podcast, magazine articles, popular books, our textbook, other relevant class textbooks, another scholarly, an academic website (websites cannot be personal postings, poems, or other “fluff,” instead they must be academic or “article-ish” in nature; ask me if you want to be sure a website is okay), or other source not listed here is where you’ll get this required source. (The easiest third source is our textbook!) The fourth required source is your movie or TV show.

All research papers require that you prepare and include a traditional bibliography page in APA or MLA style (which corresponds to the citation style you’ve chosen to write your paper in). In addition, your papers will include in-text citations giving credit for paraphrased and quoted material from your sources. This is a serious and formal research paper and thus demands proper attribution of expert thought and word. As a result, all four of your sources must be cited in the text of your paper and must appear on your bibliography. If you fail to cite sources in your paper and/or fail to turn in a bibliography with your paper, the paper will automatically fail. Without research and documentation, this is not a research paper and thus will receive a zero. Finally, your paper should include a substantive introduction and conclusion as well as high quality writing, and professional and consistent APA or MLA formatting and documentation.

The goal of this paper is to answer a communication question you have about specific interpersonal relationships and their dynamics. Here is an outline of what should be included in your paper. If using titles helps, please use them. Total Pages: 5-7 pages, plus a title page (for APA), and bibliography page.

Introducing The Question: Considering answer these questions as you write. (1/2-1 page)

What is your interpersonal communication research question?
What is your interest in the topic? Briefly, what is your experience with this issue?
Why this topic is important to be studied? (i.e., What is the universal theme? So what? Who cares?)
What’s your working thesis statement? (A working thesis statement asserts a preliminary and temporary answer to your research question.)
What do you propose you’ll do in this paper? (What’s the road map for where we’re going?)

The Answer. (4-5pages)

§ What answers does your research give you about your question? Summarize as an integrative answer or write about each piece of research separately. (i.e., integrated writing might look like this: “According to two articles, a person’s gender does impact their communication style…”. A separate style might look like this: “According to an article by Smith (2020) a person’s gender doesn’t impact their communication style at all. In contrast is an article by Jones (2015) that suggests gender is the single largest impact on a person’s communication style…”. Either way of writing about your research is fine!)

§ Be sure to define and clarify terminology or theories. Use in-text citations! (Smith 2020).

§ Give enough research to give your reader an educated answer from “the research.”

§ Transition to your experience to give your reader a “pop culture” answer from the movie you review.

§ Summarize and analyze the movie using the research—does the research help to understand the dynamics of the people in the movie? How? Is the movie realistic—that is, is it like real life?

§ What do your experiences tell you the answer is? Why? Tell stories, give examples.

§ Are your experiences consistent or different from what the research has indicated? How do you experiences measure up to what the movie suggests the answer is? What is the “average” behavior or the way most people communicate? (Compare/Contrast your experiences with the research and movie). Was your initial guess about the answer “right”?

§ Give the reader a clear sentence or so that answers the question based on everything you’ve explored. The answer can be part research-based, part movie-based, part experience-based, but it must be supported by the evidence you’ve reviewed in this section.Reflection, Reaction, Discussion –optional section that may be tied into the answer or conclusion. (1/2 page)

§ So, what do make of your final answer? Was it what you expected? Why or why not?

§ In what way is your experience or research incomplete? Could it be that growing up where you did, etc. that you might communicate differently than most people? Etc. Discuss the qualifications, contradictions, limits of your research and your experiences.

§ What conclusions can the reader draw from your entire research project?

§ What insight can you provide into “real life” based on these conclusions?

Conclusion (1/2 page)

§ Review what you’ve done in this paper/for this project. That is, restate your road map—the question, the answer, the highlights of the research and your experience, discussion, etc.

§ Then, end with the significance of the project. Why does any of this (the project, the question, the answer) matter??? What can be gained from reading this, knowing this?

-Add your bibliography (in MLA, title the page Works Cited, in APA title it References); include your movie; alphabetize your list by author last name! -Add a cover page if your documentation style says to do so. -Double check your in-text citations. -Edit your paper. –Double space! -Use the rubric below as a checklist!