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Throughout our course, we will look at how we engage with others through written communication and use research in a variety of different types of settings throughout our daily lives including academic, professional, and personal settings.



Primary Discussion Response



To begin the process, choose a trending topic preferably related to your field of study and find information on that topic in the following locations:

1.        Online news outlet (CNN, AP, New York Times, Local News online, etc.)

2.        Twitter

3.        Wiki

4.        Library database or Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

When considering topic choices, select topics that fall under the broad umbrella of your field of study.  Consider the following examples:

·         Health Care 

o    Current health crisis or controversial medical issue

·         Security Studies 

o    Controversial criminal case, legislation issues, etc.  

·         Business and Management

o    Trending topics in the corporate world

·         Computer Science & IT 

o    IT and Security issues

o    Rising or failing technology companies

o    Controversies related to technology

Note: You may choose a trending topic with which you are already familiar, but if you would like additional ideas for topics, skim online news outlets for stories or touch base with your instructor who can provide suggestions.



Once you have completed your research, develop your initial post, which must include the following 3 components:

1.        Introduce yourself to your classmates.  In your introduction, include a little bit about why you decided to work on your degree, what degree you are pursuing, and what your professional goals are after graduation.

2.        Identify your chosen trending topic and provide a link to one article or press release, one tweet, one wiki entry, and one scholarly source relating to that topic.

3.        Answer the following questions:

o    Who is the intended audience for each of the communications?

o    Which of the sources would you identify as credible?  Which of the sources would be appropriate for use in an academic setting?  Professional setting?  Did you feel that any of the sources were not credible for use?  Why?

o    Identify what you think was the purpose for each of these communications?  (Examples—to inform, to educate, to entertain, to persuade, etc.)  How effective do you think each communication was in accomplishing the writer’s purpose?

Peer Responses



Respond to 2 classmates. Use these questions to assist you with your responses:

1.        What engaged you about your classmate’s introduction?  Do you have any commonalities or shared interests?  

2.        Were you able to identify how the chosen trending topic related to the person’s field of study?  Can you think of other trending topics your classmate might be interested in based on his or her field of study?

3.        Share other interesting links related your topic and discuss the credibility of your chosen source, what audience the source targets, and the purpose behind the communication.

 Other Information

Instructions:

Design your paragraphs to include no more than 4-6 sentences.

The last sentence in the introduction paragraph should be your thesis statement.

Make sure to review chapter two before attempting to complete your paper.

Make sure to review chat one for tips on success with this submission.

Make sure to review the Evaluation Criteria above for tips on how this submission will be graded.