Western Nevada College Carbaugh and Rudnick Essay – Description
Before attempting this assignment, be sure you have completed Reading Report 3 (Jandt), Reading Report 6 (Croucher and Cronn-Mills), and Reading Report 7 (Carbaugh and Rudnick). The paper will make more sense if you’ve done this.
The Task
Your task for Essay #1 is to write a brief essay (4-5 well-developed paragraphs; at least 700 words) comparing communication practices in two different cultures. First, select either a specific type of talk (flirting, gossip, introductions, trash talk, and so forth) or a specific type of situation (eating out at a restaurant, a funeral, the classroom, holiday dinners, etc.) within a community to which you belong. Use Hymes’ SPEAKING framework to describe what is culturally understand and important about this type of talk or situation. Second, select what appears to be a similar type of talk or situation from a different cultural community and analyze it using the SPEAKING framework. To do this, you will need to do light internet research (ie, identify 2-3 websites about the other culture). What types of similarities or differences can you find between the two cultures?
Example Topics
The following are examples of topics that students have successfully done in the past for this assignment:
Conflict at Work in the United States vs. Conflict in Israel
Family Easter traditions in the United States vs. Family Traditions in Mexico
Black Athletes’ vs. White Athletes’ experiences with competitive swimming
Organizing the Essay
Paragraph 1 should begin by describing the type of talk or situation you will be analyzing and should preview the rest of the essay.
Paragraphs 2 should describe the talk/situation in your own culture and should use the SPEAKING framework. You will probably find it helpful to move from general to specific here (that is, talk about the event in general terms and then apply the specific elements of the speaking framework). You can apply the SPEAKING framework in list format if you wish, but it shouldn’t take the place of the paragraph. (In other words, you still need to have a paragraph with a few sentences that introduces the main idea before you jump into the SPEAKING framework).
Paragraph 3 should describe the same type of talk/situation as observed in another culture. You will need to do some light internet research here to support your assertions. (2-3 articles or websites should be sufficient). Begin by describing the other culture in general terms before you jump into applying the SPEAKING framework.
Paragraph 4 should summarize the similarities and differences between the two cultures. What does this tell us about communication in the two cultures? Are there any findings that stand out to you as especially important? Try to make 1-2 specific recommendations that would help an outsider trying to understand the two groups you are comparing.
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