Courses: Argumentation, Public Speaking, Political Communication. Objectives: After completing this unit activity, students should be able to (1) demonstrate comprehension of Burke's (1941) concept of terministic screens; (2) apply the concept of terministic screens to write a brief political autobiography of themselves that analyzes the history…

At a minimum, tomorrow's forensic educators need formal training that orients the professional to the responsibilities central to forensic education. While a number of opportunities, as well as applications of those opportunities, are available to forensics students, the rooting of forensics in the speech communication discipline is paramount.…

This article describes an exercise that involves providing students with a basic understanding and demonstration of audience adaptation and then asking them to practice and evaluate the skill. In this exercise the instructor begins by providing students with background on analyzing and adapting to audiences. Then the instructor collects several…

Describes an undergraduate course designed to teach students how to think rhetorically. Notes that the course is organized around three questions students/critics are likely to ask, and presents a four-step approach to teach both the questions and the critical methods used to answer them. (MM)

The concept of team teaching salesmanship demonstrates theoretical and practical relationships between speech communication and salesmanship. The challenge of maintaining intellectual integrity in the high risk, results-oriented environment of sales is met through attention to four major topic areas: the purpose of the communication, the salesman…

Outlines four lessons as supplemental lectures in beginning argumentation classes. Encourages students to develop an appreciation of the interaction between culture and communication generally and a sense of argumentation's suitability in our own culture. (JMF)

"Achieving Dialog," a model course in one-to-one communication for close relationships, is described and presented as a possible new course for the speech communication curriculum of colleges and universities. Research findings from a comprehensive evaluation of the course are summarized, and the societal need for such a course is…

The two articles in this publication focus on ways of teaching argumentation and debate in the college setting. The first article examines the place of the argumentation and debate course in the speech communication curriculum and suggests cognitive and behavioral objectives and assignments for use in such a course. The second article discusses…

Three components seem central to the definition of a documentary film: (1) the filmmaker should seek to provide as valid a record as possible of the facts, (2) the filmmaker must not neglect artistry in the portrayal of reality, and (3) a persuasive purpose is inherent to the form. Thus, documentary film provides for the artistic portrayal of…

Despite a professional commitment to "teach ethics," speech communication literature and textbooks contain almost no advice or help on how to accomplish this task. An integrated teaching approach, however, can involve students more directly in the ethical issues that may arise in a persuasion course. The first element in increasing student…

Outlines a copywriting course generated by a former professional that duplicates the interactions and pressures of actual on-the-job experience. (CRH)

Noting that technical writing is becoming an increasingly important element in the college curriculum, this journal issue presents eight articles that provide information for use by technical writing instructors. The first article surveys resources and strategies currently available, while the second article reflects upon some of the adjustments…

The use of debate as a technique for teaching integrated skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) is discussed and recommended. The paper argues that debate meets real-world communication needs and reflects a particular practical style of language use (persuasion), meeting expectations of the native speaker. Use of the approach in an…

This curriculum guide presents the core standards and objectives for level 7-12 language arts instruction in Utah. The curriculum guide begins with a statement of the elementary and secondary school program of studies and high school graduation requirements. After a brief statement on the importance of language arts and core curriculum standards…

A college-level Southern studies course, team-taught by a history professor and a speech communication professor and designed to integrate the study of history with the study of public address, is described in this paper. After pointing out the interrelation of public address and its historical and political context, the paper lists the topics of…