Solved by verified expert:For this assignment, you will reflect
on how your participation in social and cultural activities has
contributed to the formation of your identity. Its purpose is for you to
demonstrate a practical application of communication concepts to your
life. You are to explore how your educational, co-curricular, family,
and work experiences have contributed to the way you communicate, using
theories from the first week’s readings. Write an essay of at least 700
words. Use these topics to get you started: ● Your racial and/or ethnic identity African American● Your gender identity / Male● Your social class I’m in the military, married and have one daughter● Your goals to achieve success in life (however you define “success”) ● What it means to be healthy ● What it means to be positively involved in community activities ● What it means to communicate in a mature, competent fashion Sample Essay is attached.General assessment rubric:Did
the essay address how your participation in social and cultural
activities contributed to the formation of your identity? (45 points)Did the essay identify any of the communication theories discussed so far? (30 points)Was the essay at least 500-700 words in length? (15 points)Were there any errors in APA format or documentation, or spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax or style? (10 points)
sample_self_assessment_essay.docx
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Sample Self-Assessment Essay: The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate a practical
application of communication concepts to your personal life.
APA Cover Sheet = Page 1
Title Here = Page 2
I am an African-American father of two boys and a girl. The elder boy and girl have graduated from
college and are married. I grieved over their departure, but I also celebrated their assumption of adult
responsibilities. The younger boy is 11 years old and home-schooled by my wife of 30 years.
Here’s more substance. My wife and I got married in our early twenties, and I guess that the Interactive
Model of Communication has had a lot to do with holding the family together. There is no question that
communication plays a central role in family dynamics.
In 2011, I graduated from Prince George’s Community College with an Associate of Arts degree.
Returning to college after a long absence was difficult, but the prospect of studying mass communication was quite
exciting. I already had a job in the media, editing copy at The Gazette, a cluster of community-based newspapers in
Prince George’s.
Now that my two older children have left, I find myself doting after Asiel, the 11-year-old. I seem to
remember a great deal about his early life, for example, his significant symbols – from the murmuring “aah …
aah’s” of a two-month-old, to the “mama” of a six-month-old, and finally, thankfully, to “dada,” (that’s me!), in the
seventh month. Next, he talked with clarity, and before we knew it, he was off to kindergarten before switching to
home-school. The lad’s significant symbols are so complete that he is able to make good, persuasive arguments,
such as why he is old enough (which he is not) to stay alone at home and watch TV while his mom and dad leave for
the supermarket. In reality, a Consonant Relationship eventually develops. How? My wife and I get him to
understand that going with us is a good choice, because in so doing he would benefit from safety and security, while
still being able after supermarket to return to his favorite children’s channel. I confess the absolute joy I have
participating in regular interpersonal communication with the young man. West and Turner write that
“interpersonal communication is the primary means of Uncertainty Reduction.”
The child/parent communication axis as described can be found in any normal family, including the
middle-class, to which my family belongs. My wife is a day-care provider and I work in healthcare. We attend the
same church and we both love gospel music. My elder son is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, having completed his
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master’s degree in divinity at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. My daughter graduated with a major
in Chemistry. My wife will graduate this year from college.
It is this group that comes together for family meetings. For the most part ours have been impromptu and
full of give-and-take and reciprocity. For instance, a meeting would decide on holiday gifts, stay-over visitors, our
next trip to Florida, or even the grocery bill. Because of the tight-knit nature of our family, there are no qualms
about self-disclosure. Family meetings cement trust in one another and keep at bay relational uncertainty arising
from any issues before us. West and Turner (page 160) write that trust and face-to-face contact are “potent means
for reducing relational uncertainty.”
Family stability is helped by regular face-to-face discourse. At times for the husband and wife there is
friction, and at other times there is social constructionism. The latter allows my wife and I to co-create a new
reality. For example, the whole family met one evening to get answers to a simple question: How are we all going to
be able to attend the World Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Atlanta, Georgia, bearing in mind the reality of
the cost? The interpersonal interaction brought us to a consensus of shared costs as the best way to achieve this
reality.
A central tenet of our faith is the belief in one God. A concomitant tenet is the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle,
and for this reason a majority of Seventh-day Adventists are vegetarians. All of my family – the text calls us
particular others – are vegetarians.
Based on these religious views, here is my family’s Pentad:
The act is worshiping, evangelizing, and teaching others about healthy lifestyles. The scene is a time in
American history when church membership in many denominations is shrinking, and when there is an epidemic of
obesity. We are agents of change to a better way of life. The Agency is health promotion and evangelism. The
purpose – or goal – is to bring people closer to God, and to help them attain a good state of health and wellbeing.
Our attitude is one of humbleness, not to force such changes upon anyone, but to bring about change by trying our
very best to live an exemplary life. (786 words)
APA-style Reference List = On Own Page
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