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COMU7201 COMMUNICATION THEORY
Assessment 1: Reflective analyses
The first assignment assesses your understanding of the theories that are covered in Weeks 2
to 4 on interpersonal communication and your ability to apply them to understand real life
communication.
You will choose one theory from each of Weeks 2 to 4 and apply it to understand something
that has happened in your own life.
How to do the assignment:
• Choose a scenario and write a brief description of it. Describe the key tenets of the
theory you choose and provide a reference for that theory. Then use the theory to
understand the scenario. An example reflective analysis can be found below.
• You only need to choose one theory from each of the weeks (i.e., Weeks 2 – 4). That
means you will write three reflective analyses all up, each drawing on one of the
theories covered in each of Weeks 2 – 4. So, for example, you might choose to draw
on Symbolic Interactionism for Week 2, Social penetration theory for Week 3, and
Relational Dialectics theory for Week 4. Your choice should be based in part on how
well the scenario lends itself to the specific theory.
• Each reflective analysis should be around 300 - 350 words.
• If you work on this assessment week by week then it will help you to understand the
content of the course as you go along, and it will also help you to use theory to
understand yourself and the world around you!
Do not:
• write about experiences/situations that are sensitive or illegal.
• use any of the case studies or examples that are used in the lectures or class seminars.
Formatting requirements:
• Use APA 7th referencing for the in-text references and the reference section.
• Use 12-point font
• Word limit does not include title page or reference section or titles for each analysis.
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of
generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that
the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may
constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
On the following pages you will find an example reflective analysis.
The attached marking criteria also provide further details about assessment criteria.
Example Reflective analysis: Communication Accommodation theory
(Note, this example analysis draws on a communication theory that is not covered in the
course.)
A few years ago I overheard my partner talking on the phone to someone and I started to pay
close attention because he was talking in a way that wasn’t usual. He was speaking with a
broad Australian accent and he was using what I perceived to be very ‘masculine’ terms (e.g.,
“The missus”). When he got off the phone I asked him who he had been talking to and he
explained that it was the manager of the complex where he had his workshop and he really
needed a favour from the manager. I remember thinking: “This is Communication
accommodation theory in action!”. According to Communication accommodation theory
(CAT) (e.g., Giles, 2008), when people interact, they modify their speech, their voice or their
non-verbal gestures to accommodate to others. This is clearly what my partner was doing: he
had changed his accent and his language when speaking to the manager to accommodate to
the manager’s speech style. The theory proposes that there are a number of motivations for
people to accommodate to others including seeking the listener’s approval. This is clearly
what motivated my partner; he wanted the manager to approve of him and do him a favour.
Interestingly, the theory says that people can consciously or unconsciously engage in
accommodation, and it wasn’t until I pointed out to my partner that he had been speaking
differently that he realised the change in his speech. According to the theory people can either
converge (adapt to each other’s communication behaviours) or diverge (accentuate
differences in verbal/nonverbal communication between the self and others) or
overaccommodate (where the accommodation comes across as patronising). My partner was
clearly engaging in convergence which is a strategy that makes sense given that he wanted
the manager to like him and help him out. If he had engaged in the other types of
accommodation, the manager would likely have said no to his request!
Giles, H. (2008). Communication accommodation theory. In L.A. Baxter & D.O. Brathwaite
(Eds.), Engaging theories in interpersonal communication (pp. 161-174). Los
Angeeles, CA: Sage.