For this assignment you will create a model of a communication process. You will turn in both a graphic and a written component. This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.

Your model may be influenced by one or more of the models we consider in class, or it may involve an entirely new conceptualization of communication. You should focus on aspects of the communication process that you feel were not adequately dealt with in the models examined in class. This could mean focusing on a type of communication situation or context, or focusing on the communication process in general.

A good model is an abstraction (it's not the real thing) that simplifies and/or highlights certain aspects of a phenomenon. Your model should be reasonable, in the sense that it is believable, and supported with evidence from real world experience. It should also be general or generalizable--that is, it should apply to a type of situation, rather than a single, specific situation. For example, a model of "My Personal Communication With Extra-terrestrials When They Came to Ask My Advice About Humans on July 4th, 1998", would be both unbelievable and too specific. But a model of "Communication Between Individuals Who Don’t Speak the Same Language or Share the Same Culture" might be applicable to the first situation, but also to many other situations, and thus understandable to those who have never been abducted in a UFO. Likewise, a model of the communication process in the Communication 101 class on September 9, 1998 would be too specific, but modeling "the Communication Process in Classrooms" would not.

The graphic component will represent the process in visual form. A simple diagram is the norm. More creative artwork is welcome, but you don’t need to be an art major to get a good grade on this part. However, clarity and neatness do count here--for example, if you do a diagram with boxes, arrows, etc., use a ruler. Likewise, your diagram should be carefully labeled. And if you spill coffee on it, you should recopy it.

The written component will be an in-depth explanation and evaluation of your model. In the evaluation portion, you should critically discuss your model’s relationship to one or more of the models discussed in class and presented in the text. To do this, think in terms of answering such questions as: "Did one or more of the models looked at in class influence me?"; "What are the strengths and/or weaknesses of my model compared to others we’ve discussed?", etc. The written component should have an introduction, main body and conclusion. It should be a maximum of two pages long, typed double-spaced. Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar are important. I recommend that you utilize the resources and assistance available to you in the writing center in East Building for this and all written assignments.

This project will be graded based on assessment of careful and original thinking (50%); the quality of your writing (30%); and the creativity (10%) and quality of your graphic presentation (10%).