More Writing Center handouts Tips on printing out this handout . This handout describes some steps for planning and writing papers in communications studies courses. Courses in Communication Studies combine material from the humanities, fine arts and social sciences in order to explain how and why people interact in the ways that they do. Within Communications Studies, there are four different approaches to understanding these interactions, and you may have to focus your papers accordingly.
Organizational communication focuses on large group dynamics.
Rhetoric Rhetoric examines persuasion and argumentation in political settings and within social movements. Performance Studies Performance studies analyze the relationships among literature, theater and everyday life. The content and purpose of your assignments will vary according to what kind of course you are in, so pay close attention to the course description, syllabus, and assignment sheet when you begin to write. If you d like to learn more about deciphering writing assignments or developing your academic writing , see our Writing Center handouts on these topics. For now, let s see how a general topic, same-sex friendships, might be treated in each of the different areas.