Counts as a grade under the category for "Assignments, etc." on syllabus

Throughout the course, you are required to engage in critical thinking about what we discuss in class and what you read about
in the book.  The purpose of this assignment is to get you to think critically about your public speaking and communication experience
and practices.  

Requirements

Failure to follow these instructions will result in a letter grade penalty for each infraction.  

        1.  These papers will be submitted in hard copy form to the instructor as follows: 

                         The papers can be submitted to the instructor at any time before the due date, but no papers will be accepted after
                         roll is called at the beginning of class on:
                     
                         Wednesday, November 4
                                                                                  
                         If you have not turned the paper in on a previous day, the papers will be taken up in class on the deadline date as the roll is called. 
                         After each respective deadline (when your name is called), any late paper will be assigned a grade of "zero". 
                         In other words, no late assignments or excuses will be accepted!  Save your work in MS-Word form.  After the projects are
                         graded, some students will be asked to submit their papers electronically to the instructor. 

        2.  Double-space the assignment.  The assignment will be 2-3 pages in length.  Do not continue to a fourth page for your text,
             but a fourth page may be used for your source page (works cited must employ APA, MLA, or other acceptable style
             manual).  At least the first two pages must be full – not one-and-a-half-pages, not one-and-a-quarter-pages, etc.  Use
             one-inch margins on the left and right sides and top/bottom.  Use Courier 10 CPI or Times Roman 12 point font.  No title
             pages are allowed on this assignment.  Failure to follow the instructions will result in a letter grade penalty for each infraction.  

        3.   Put your full name, paper title, and date of submission in the upper left corner and number each page in the upper right corner. 

                For example:

                Jeff Koerber
                SPCM 1100, 2pm, T-Th
                Public Speaking Assignment
                November 4, 2009 (or whatever date prior to the deadline that you may give it to the instructor)

        4.   Poor grammar, spelling, appearance, failure to follow procedures, etc. will result in a lowered grade. 

        5.   DO NOT STAPLE or fold the pages. 

        6.   Directions for content:  We will have discussed significant material and we will have heard many, many speeches
              prior to this assignment.  Write this as a research paper.  It is not an essay or narrative.

         The major objective for this assignment is to answer the following question: 

                      What is the importance of public speaking, in particular, and communication, in general, to my field/discipline? 

              If you have a chosen major or field of study, find an "expert" in that field/discipline and interview them about the
              importance of public speaking, in particular, and communication, in general, to that field/discipline -- this must be a
              practicing professional in your discipline.  For this exercize you cannot use another student and you cannot use a relative
              (no mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, etc.) or professors or instructors or staff members at this college or university. 
              If you plan to be a professor or instructor or staff member, there are other colleges where you can locate someone for this assignment. 
              The point is that you must make an effort on this assignment that goes beyond this campus and your family and friends. 
             
              The interview will be in person and not over a phone, computer, etc. 
             
              If you have not yet chosen a major, a field of study, or a discipline, then choose someone from a discipline that interests you the most at the moment. 
              That interview will count as one main source and it must be documented correctly in a legitimate academic style, such as APA or MLA.  See, for instance,
              this link on the course web page:  http://www.wakh.net/apastyleguide.html. 
             
              At least two other main sources are required, so you will conduct library research on the importance of public 
              speaking in particular and communication in general  to your major/field/discipline.  (Note that you may use an unlimited number of sources,
              as most successful students do, but you must have a minimum of three main sources that conform to the rules stated below under number 7.)        

                      -- You may use online libraries, such as Galileo, but none of the sources can be Internet sources.  Textbooks for this class, your
                           sociology class, a dictionary, the Bible, etc. cannot be among the main three sources used and cited.  Wikipedia may not be
                           used as a source at all.  Your work will be severely penalized if Wikipedia or any other basic encyclopedia is used. 
                           There are encyclopedia that are field or discipline specific, such as the Encyclopedia of Radio and the Encyclopedia of
                           Television.  Such field or discipline specific encyclopedia are acceptable. 

                      -- The sources must be on a separate page at the end of your report, but they will not count as part of the
                          2-3 page minimum/maximum.  In other words, you can use a fourth page only for the reference page.  

                      -- The sources will be integrated into your paper as you identify examples of public speaking and communication
                          practices used in your major, field of study, or discipline.