Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics: Writing

During your junior and senior high school, for many times, you were asked to write reaction papers---about a book or article you read; a film or a short video clip you watched; or even a song, a lecture, or a podcast you listened to. Many times also you were confused whether the paper you are writin...

During your junior and senior high school, for many times, you were asked to write reaction papers---about a book or article you read; a film or a short video clip you watched; or even a song, a lecture, or a podcast you listened to. Many times also you were confused whether the paper you are writing is a reaction paper or a reflective one. This chapter comprehensively discusses what a reaction paper is, and will try to enlighten you further on its difference from a reflection paper. Also, there will be additional tips and guidelines in writing a reaction paper.  1. Identify communication principles, processes and ethics. 2. Convey ideas through writing reaction/reflection paper observing the mechanics and guidelines in writing one A. **Initiation Activity** Give a one-sentence reaction on the following images. Encode your answer. Save it in doc or pdf format with the filename 'chapter1A\_surname.' Upload it on our Google classroom drive.   B. **Presentation and Discussion** **Lesson 1: The Communication Process: The Nature of Communication** Communication is derived from the Latin word "common" which means, "belonging to many" and "communico" means to confer with others. It is the mutual exchange of information, ideas, and understanding by any effective means. In other words, communication is a process by which people send messages or exchange ideas or thoughts with one another in a verbal or non-verbal manner. Communication is the interaction of words from a society and thus gives pleasure and an increased understanding of life. Elements of Communication 1\. SENDER (encoder). The sender also known as the encoder decides on the message to be sent and the best/most effective way that it can be sent. It is the sender's job to CONCEPTUALIZE (form a concept of idea). 2\. MEDIUM (message). The medium is the immediate form which a message takes. For example, a message may be communicated in the form of a letter, an email or face to face in the form of a speech. Medium is also known as the MESSAGE. 3\. CHANNEL. The channel is responsible for the delivery of the chosen message form. For example: post office, internet, television and radio. 4\. RECEIVER (decoder/listener). The receiver or the decoder is responsible for extracting/ decoding meaning from the message. The receiver is also responsible for providing feedback to the sender. It is his/her job to INTERPRET. 5\. FEEDBACK (response). This is important as it determines whether or not the decoder grasped the intended meaning and whether the communication was successful 6\. CONTEXT. The context of any communication act is the environment surrounding it. It is also known as the setting of the communication. 7\. NOISE (also called interference). This is the factor that inhibits the conveyance of a message. Noise is anything that interferes with communication. - Physical noise is interference that is external to both speaker and listener; it hampers the physical transmission of the signal or message. Examples of physical noise: Loud party at the neighbors while you're trying to record; Irritating hum of your computer, air conditioner, or electric fan. - Physiological noise is created by barriers within the sender or receiver. Examples of physiological noise on the encoder's side are: articulation problems, mumbling, talking too fast, talking too slow, forgetting to pause, and forgetting to breathe. An example of physiological noise on the listener's side: hearing problems. Maybe the listener can't hear high tones as clearly as they used to. For some, low tones are the problem. Their difficulty in literally hearing words and sounds becomes physiological noise. Psychological noise is mental interference in the speaker or listener. Wandering thoughts, preconceived ideas, and sarcasm can be a kind of psychological noise. Semantic noise is interference created when the speaker and listener have different meaning systems. The communication process is dynamic, continuous, irreversible, and contextual. It is not possible to participate in any element of the process without acknowledging the existence and functioning of the other elements. **Lesson 2: Principles and Characteristics of Communication** 1\. Communication is Schemata-driven. It begins with yourself, you begin with what you have already stocked in your brain or with what you have already known or understood about the subject matter of the communicative act. Transmitted messages become understandable or meaningful because of your background knowledge about the messages. 2\. Communication is an interpretive act. The only person who knows the exact or full meaning of the message transmitted is the sender or speaker. Being the creator or source of the ideas, he has the absolute knowledge about his message. It was called interpretive act because the role of the receiver or the listener is just to interpret, infer, or guess the meaning of things appealing to his sense of hearing. 3\. Communication does not guarantee a direct or automatic link between two minds. This form of knowledge becomes meaningful only to others when you initiate communication with them. 4\. Communication is active, powerful, or forceful. Communication is said to be active because messages have varied effects on all participants in any communicative event. It engages speakers and listeners inaction of giving and receiving information. Communication is powerful and forceful for it elicits different meanings or reactions; these messages are prone to changes. Subjected to the changeable and continued existence of the world, communication is dynamic (a process or system characterized by constant change) as life that goes on and on like a river. Nothing remains permanent or fixed in the world of communication. 5\. Communication is symbolic. Symbols, signs, or marks like letters, words, sentences, graphs, pictures, and other concrete objects represent or stand for ideas that you intend to convey verbally. For non-verbal communication, you resort bodily actions (gestures, eye movements, posture, facial expressions) voice quality, space and time elements to stand for the ideas you want to express. 6\. Communication always results in something. It refers to two or more persons participate in any communicative act. The first expresses or sends a message; the second responds or reacts to the message. 7\. Communication is irreversible. You are free to talk to about anything under the sun, but once you utter something, the things you have said remain as it is susceptible to different interpretations or meanings. 8\. Communication is contextual. An exchange of views, ideas, or feelings doesn\'t only involve the sender and receiver, but also other aspects of the communication setting like type, place, topic, occasion, purpose, and manner of communication. 9\. Communication is developmental or progressive. To communicate ideas to go through the different stages of language learning that begins from birth to elementary, high school and college levels. It is not a one-time learning towards communicative competence. 10\. Communication is a progress. Several stages of communication take place when people exchange or share ideas with one another. Each stage involves elements with different functions. 11\. Communication is ethical. Any communication event is expected to apply rules, moral values, and beliefs agreed upon by societal members. Guided by these standards determined by the cultural group you belong to, your community communication becomes ethical, good or desirable. 12\. Communication is influenced by media and technology. Now, you are in the era of knowledge explosion or modern technology. This period is characterized by an instant global exchange of knowledge, services and technology. Using modern electronic communication devices, an exchange of ideas occurs just in seconds or minutes regardless of the distance between or among the participants. With the speedy turn out of varied modern media and devices of communication like the e-mail, cellphone, webcam, internet and other computer-run gadgets find interaction with anyone in any corner of the world easily and quickly. **Lesson 3: Communication Cues: Verbal and Non-verbal language** Verbal Language Verbal language consists of symbols such as letters, words, and other marks that you need to subject to language or grammar rules for a coherent or organized means of understanding or expressing ideas. This verbal or spoken language becomes a written language once you put on paper or any surface the marks or prints symbolizing or representing the ideas you intend to convey or have spoken to others. Verbal symbols refer to the use of speaker language (Antonio, et.al., p. 30) Non-verbal Language As with other aspects of communication, norms for non- verbal communication vary from country to country and also among cultures within a particular country. Some non-verbal communication behaviors appear to be somewhat innate because they are universally recognized. Such universal signals are the "eyebrow flash" of recognition when we see someone we know and the "open hand" and the "palm up" gestures that signals a person would like something or needs help (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Smiling is also a universal non-verbal behavior, but the triggers that lead a person to smile vary from culture to culture. The expansion of media, particularly from the United States and other Western countries around the world, is leading to more nonverbal similarities among cultures, but the biggest cultural difference in nonverbal communication occur within the categories of eye contact, touch, and personal space (Pease & Pease, 2004). Nonverbal communication like other forms of communication is influenced by context and varies among individuals within a particular cultural group as well. The idea you want to convey through this non-verbal communication are symbolized or represented, not by words but by the following nonverbal non-verbal language symbols: 1\. Body Movements. Also known as body kinetics. Big and small movements of your body like gestures, facial expressions, posture, and eye behavior expresses meanings. Kinesics derived from the Greek term "kinesis" meaning "motion" which refers to the study of body movements. 2\. Paralanguage. Refers to the ways of saying something. These are extra sounds that go with your spoken words and a study of these special sounds accompanying your words is called Paralinguistic. Examples of paralanguage are the following: a\) Speaking voice produced by your voice ❏ Highness and lowness (Pitch) ❏ Loudness or softness (Volume) ❏ Speediness and slowness (Duration/Rate) ❏ Rising and falling (Intonation) ❏ Pleasing or unpleasing sound - shrillness, huskiness, breathiness, mellowness, etc. (Quality) b\) Vocalization or voice's special usage like crying, giggling, moaning, growling, yawning, sighing and groaning. c\) Vocal pauses or boosters like ash\...ugh\...umm\...oh\...shh\...oops\...many others. 3\. Time. There are two kinds of people based on time; punctual and late Your willingness, hesitance, or hatred to wait for a long time speaks of your trait of patience or impatience. Likewise, this reflects your manner of valuing your relationship with the object of your waiting. Your trait of optimism is also proven by your fondness of talking about your goals, dreams, or plans for the future. Chronemics is the term that refers to your act of studying the impact or effect of time on your behavior. 4\. Proxemics. It concerns the way a person uses the space around him as well as the distance where he stands. a\. Intimate distance. In this situation, people are in direct contact with each other or are in no more than 18 inches apart as in mother and child. b\. Personal distance. People may stay anywhere from 18 inches to 4 feet from each other as in casual and personal conversations. This distance is close enough to see each other's reactions but fair enough not to encroach on the person's intimate distance. c\. Social distance. When talking to persons unknown to the speaker, he must keep a distance of 4 to 12 feet. Mostly done in impersonal business and social gatherings or interviews which is expected to be more formal. d\. Public distance. It is the distance of more than 12 feet typically used in public speaking. There is a need for the speaker to speak loudly and to use exaggerated gestures for the audience to understand what he is trying to convey. Furthermore, there is a necessity for the availability of gadgets to aid in the sound projection. Haptics is the term used to refer to your acts of studying the effects of your touch on people 5\. Physical Appearance and Object Language Meanings in this kind of non-verbal language, are symbolized or represented by dressing styles, body types, body appearances like size or shape, architectural designs or structures, art objects, graphic materials, lightning effects, aromatic or smelly objects, and other environmental factors that influence or affect any communicative event. **Lesson 4: Writing Reaction Paper** A reaction paper is mainly based on response towards certain deeds in a story. Before getting to the reaction paper, one has to analyze the subject under investigation and acquire all the useful information before providing a critique on the matter. The key thing in writing a reaction paper is giving an opinion on a subject and supporting your statement relevantly to the satisfaction of whoever would be reading your work. Let the reader be convinced that you are right and go by your opinion on the matter. A reaction paper usually has two audiences, the first audience is the readers of your work and the second one is the referees who choose the appropriate articles to post. In most cases, reaction papers might be used in the future for references by other authors, and therefore you should come up with clear content. ***How to start a reaction paper*** Some of the questions to ask yourself before you start a reaction paper include "what is my feeling about the intention of the writer of the book I am reviewing?" You have to understand the main objective of the author and know the feeling about it. The start of any essay determines the score of the piece when grading it. If you go through various samples of reaction papers you will find out that the following guide is useful for starting your work: - The context -- while starting your writing you should first introduce the reader to the topic through a small background story on this theme. The reader should be able to understand it so that when you begin giving your opinions, they are not left hanging. - The need -- your readers should see the need for your opinion on the book or movie you are writing about, so you have a task of creating suspense to attract them to your work. You can do this by stating the significance of your opinion and how it impacts the lives of others. - Thesis statement -- you have to include a thesis statement at the beginning of your writing. The thesis constitutes a summary of the piece you are reacting to, the major points of it and the contradiction in opinions for different people. - Details of the book -- while writing about a book or a movie you have to introduce it to the reader by giving the name of the author and what the book is about. If it is a movie, you have to give the name of the movie and the characters to familiarize your reader with the piece. You also have to state the main objective of the movie or book that you are writing about in the introduction. *Format of reaction paper* -------------------------- A reaction paper adopts different formats depending on the instructions given. A reaction paper is divided into several parts. To organize your work, you have to understand every part of the essay and what it entails. In a reaction paper, just like in any other essay format, there is the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Besides the three main parts, a reaction paper constitutes the citation list. 1. The introduction -- the introduction is the face of your paper and therefore as a writer you have to make sure that it looks attractive and increases the urgency of the reader to proceed to your body paragraphs. In the introduction, you have to give a small description of the author and the main problems and ideas on the story. It should not be too long, as it will be boring to the reader; a good introduction should have three to four sentences. Immediately after the introduction, you should write a thesis statement which should be clear and brief. 2. The body is the main section, where all the ideas for your essay are explained. In your body paragraphs, you should start each one with a topic sentence. The topic sentence should reflect the idea to be described in the section. You should include appropriate sources to back up your opinions. In the body, you can add theoretical evidence to support your statement. 3. The conclusion -- in writing your conclusion you should link your thesis statement with a summary of the ideas in the body paragraphs. A good way of encrypting your conclusion is by touching on the major points in summary then wrapping up everything by clarifying your opinion. 4. List of citations -- while writing a reaction paper you have to include the citation for the sources you have used within your paper. The sources used should be credible and scholarly so that they can persuade the reader. **PART 1: A SUMMARY OF THE WORK** To develop the first part of a report, do the following: - - - - - - - **PART 2: YOUR REACTION TO THE WORK** To develop the second part of a report, do the following: - - - - - - - **POINTS OF CONSIDERATION WHEN WRITING THE REPORT** Here are some important elements to consider as you prepare a report: - - - - - - - - For a sample reaction paper, go to this link: **D. Related reading** Click the link for an additional reading about writing reaction paper. After reading, compose a one-line statement stating your new/additional learning about writing reaction paper. Post in on the Facebook thread on our Facebook group.