COMM 234 FINAL PROJECT GUIDELINES

FALL 2021

Group submission: Presentation (50% of grade)

Following the selection and approval of the culture/ sub-culture/ cultural phenomenon
that your group will work on, develop 3-4 key issues that you will focus on for this project.
These could be current social or cultural conflicts, cultural traditions, and/or cultural
industries. Each member will focus on one part of the presentation. However, the
presentation should appear seamless and coherent rather than a compilation of 3-4
disjointed and imbalanced parts!

NOTE -- Any aspect of history or other factual data should be kept to a minimum – anything
that can be found easily (via a quick google search) is not ideal for inclusion in this
presentation.

PRESENTATION:

Create a descriptive audio-visual/ powerpoint presentation which must include text,

visuals, and some audio-visual material.
Detailed explanation of the slides should accompany each slide, and can be submitted as a
separate word document. This word document should be no more than 5 pages double-
spaced. This is a group submission.

LENGTH and ORGANIZATION of presentation:

The presentation should be timed to about 15 minutes. The slides should comprise of
mostly audio- visual material, with minimal text, unless presenting research data.

 Opening slides should clearly state your rationale and main arguments/ central framework.
 Each slide should have bullet points or very short paragraphs (with lengthy paragraphs
used very sparingly only for quotes).
 In addition, the PPT should include pictures and/or videos (prefer embedded), links to
other resources. Either in the notes section or as text in the slides, the connection between
the visuals and the text/ arguments should be explained, with justification.
 The notes section (not visible on slide) for each slide should substantiate your bullet points.
 The analysis/discussion section can be supplemented with details provided in in the notes
section – use the slides for highlights and illustrations/ examples.
 The last slide should have a short selection of the bibliography, and the entire bibliography
should be submitted as a separate word document.
 IMPORTANT NOTE – all ideas, arguments and evidence presented in the entirety of the
presentation must be endorsed and agreed upon by all members of the group.
RESEARCH:

The project should incorporate a selection of peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and
magazine and newspaper articles in addition to internet-based sources. A minimum of 8
sources and a maximum of 12 sources required, of which at least 3 should be academic
(peer reviewed) sources. You can also draw from your course materials, but these should
not be counted as part of the minimum research requirements.

Individual submission: Short paper (50% of grade)

The paper should be an individual submission.

The paper is your opportunity to demonstrate a sophisticated and nuanced understanding

of the complex concepts selected. Contemporary as well as historical context should be
provided – all of which aid in understanding the complexity associated with the concept.

Additional research in references required. However, you can also reference the materials
used by your group.

The paper should demonstrate a clear and appropriate use of intercultural communication
theories and concepts. Papers that make no reference to any theories or concepts will be
graded down.

The project should contain relevant, appropriate and clear examples – from media texts,
news sources, academic research – in order to explain various aspects of the theory and the
phenomenon that you are researching.

Your grade for the paper is premised on the thorough development of your arguments,
uniqueness of examples and narratives, critical engagement with the issues, and on the
standard requirements of a well-constructed paper. Critical insights add to the depth/value
of the “essay”.

The paper must include in-text source citations and a references page, and follow all
aspects of the APA/MLA style manual.

Formatting instructions: Double or 1.5-spaced, with 12-point font size, and 1-inch margins.
Word limit: 1500-2000, plus references (5-7 pages).