Week 1 Assignment Instructions

During this class, you will interact in discussion forums, take quizzes, and complete writing assignments to address each of the following learning objectives:

• Explain the principles of and barriers to effective interpersonal communications.
• Analyze the role of communication in developing and maintaining one’s self-concept, self-image, and self-esteem.
• Differentiate appropriate levels of self-disclosure and emotional intelligence in various relationships.
• Describe strategies for using communication techniques to resolve interpersonal conflicts.
• Analyze the impact of gender and culture on interpersonal communications.

You should consider each assignment related to these themes as an opportunity to practice what you will say in your Final Paper. Your instructor will be giving you feedback to move you toward mastering these learning objectives. Please consider each component of this class as a building block toward your Final Paper.

For this assignment you will be required to:

• Explain, drawing on Chapter 1 in Bevan and Sole (see section 1.4 specifically), two basic principles of competent/effective interpersonal communication. These include taking responsibility for your behavior, sharing meaning, acknowledging your view is only one, respecting others and yourself, and practicing being a competent communicator.
• Describe an instance of miscommunication that illustrates one or more of these principles. If absolutely necessary, you can use a hypothetical exchange. Be sure to give precise details so it is clear what went wrong.
• Identify one or more barrier that caused this miscommunication. To give you some examples, it can be things like culture, ideas of the self, or various types of noise that disrupted the receipt of the message.
• Explain how the barrier(s) interrupted the process of successful communication and how these barriers can be overcome based on what you’ve learned in this course.

When you’ve completed the first draft of your paper, use the grading rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to assess how you did. If you see weaknesses in any section, spend some additional time with that section.

The Basic Principles of Effective/Competent Communication paper

• Must be two double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style. For assistance, visit the Ashford Writing Center’s Introduction to APA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a title page with the following (for further assistance with the formatting and the title page, please refer to the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.):
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper. For assistance on writing introductions, conclusions, and thesis statements, please refer to the following web pages, housed within the Ashford Writing Center & Library resources tab:
  • Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
  • Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Must use the textbook as a source. The Integrating Research (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. tutorial will offer further assistance on including supporting information and reasoning.
• Must document any information from a source in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. guide created by the Ashford Writing Center.

Here is the book/resource for my class: Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication