This paper is a personal analysis of your own family. You will write a paper based on the first 9 chapters of the book. This paper will contain personal content and “I” statements, and will be written in first person. You will choose one concept from each book, one of the major intercultural communication concepts, and apply it to your family. You will have nine concepts and each concept application will be at least a page each. The final submitted project will be at least 9 pages in length.
You will have the option to share this paper with the class. However, you also reserve the right to keep it private and only share it with me.
The basic paper organization follows this pattern:
Introduction to your family – explain the basic details of your family and your family’s culture as defined by the book
Chapter concept – choose a concept from the chapter and write at least paragraph explaining it
Family application – write at least 2-3 paragraphs applying this concept to your family and explaining how they practice this concept. You can also explain whether some family members act in a way counter to the concept.
Repeat this pattern for Chapters 1 – 9
Conclusion – Wrap up your analysis of your family
Paper Breakdown
Chapter Concepts (30%): You will choose one concept per chapter. You will need to devote at least one paragraph to explaining what this concept is and how it works in general. One concept could be “Norms” from chapter 4. You will need to explain what a norm is in at least one paragraph.
Family Application (50%): You will take that chosen concept and apply it to your family. You will need to explain how this concept defines your family culture, or how your family practices this particular concept. For example, you could choose “Norms” from chapter 4 and explain your own family’s norms. You would explain what your family considers normal and describe those normal behaviors. You should include specific experiences and examples of events. Obviously, you won’t want to share everything about your family, so choose concepts that allow you to share comfortably.
Writing (20%): This includes proper grammar, spelling, organization, and paragraphs. If this paper is difficult to read, if you use text blocks instead of paragraph breaks, you will lose a lot of points on this section.
