COM 114

Fundamentals of Speech Communication

Summer 2018

"Having knowledge but lacking the power to clearly express it is no better than never
having any ideas at all." -Pericles

Text and Materials:

1. Morgan, Hall, & Anderson (2018). Presentations that Matter.

2. Internet Access
3. Access to a webcam and microphone for recording presentations.

Course Objectives:
The goal of this course is to improve your ability to orally present information to an
audience. This course will require you to prepare and deliver a number of presentations.
Most of your grade will be based on these speeches. Additionally, you will take a series
of online quizzes and participate in various learning activities. This syllabus will explain
the nature, importance, and purpose of these assignments, the course policies and
procedures, and the expectations of students in the course.

1. You should be able to effectively perform the role of the public speaker. Toward
this end, you will learn principles of communication theory and how to apply
those principles to the management of speaking situations both individually and in
group presentations.
2. As a result of classroom learning and speaking experience, you will be expected
to demonstrate knowledge and skill in the following areas:

 Audience analysis
 Topic analysis
 Organizational skills
 Support and evidence
 Persuasive and informative strategies
 Verbal and non-verbal delivery skills
 Group communication Skills

3. When creating and delivering a presentation, you should be able to:

 select an appropriate topic

 outline a presentation
 provide appropriate transitions and summaries
 develop effective introductions and conclusions
 use an appropriate organizational pattern
 use supporting material properly and effectively
 create effective presentational aids

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  use presentational aids effectively
 display appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviors
 create effective asynchronous and synchronous presentations
 tell a story extemporaneously
 provide a simple explanation

The assignments in this class are designed to achieve these goals. Textbook readings,
videos, activities, and presentations will not only provide you with information about
major concepts, but will also allow you the opportunity to experience the concepts.
Therefore, your attendance and participation in class are of utmost importance.

Course Standards and Philosophy

Students will be held to a high standard of performance in all sections. To receive

an "A" in this course, your presentations must be significantly better than that
which passes for acceptable work. More precisely, an "A" speech is one that
shows originality, careful research, tight reasoning, well thought out persuasive
appeals, and skillful delivery. Additionally, "A" speeches will deal with non-trivial
subject matter, and will constitute a genuine contribution to the knowledge and
beliefs of the audience. Do not assume that you can do simply what is assigned to
receive a high grade in this course. Doing "what is assigned" gets you only a
"C"." An "A" requires considerably more work.

Communication Lab

To aid you, a Communication Lab is available to assist you in every aspect of

your COM114 work, from choosing topics, to finding credible sources, to writing
outlines and frameworks, to delivering your speech. Those of you who live on or
near campus will be able to take advantage of this resource by making an
appointment for a group visit. You also have the option to schedule a virtual
session where you can schedule a remote meeting to work with the Help Center
attendant. Information on the Communication Lab, including a frequently asked
questions handout, a schedule of hours, and information on how to make an
appointment, can be found on your COM114 class Blackboard page.

Course Policies

Late Work: There is NO late work accepted in COM 114.

Absence for death of family member: The Purdue University policy requires
you to contact the Office of the Dean of Students to request that a notice of your
leave be sent to instructors.. Upon receipt of proper documentation, the ODOS
will request the instructor excuse the student and provide an opportunity to earn
equivalent credit. Your COM114 instructor WILL NOT excuse a grief absence if
you do not first request a notice from the ODOS AND provide ODOS with
documentation. Purdue’s new Grief Absence Policy for Students is available

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online at
[Link]

Computer Literacy: Enrollment in this class assumes a moderate level of

computer literacy. It is unlike many other online courses in that you must
record video of your presentations and convert the video to a web-ready
format in order to make your presentations available. Therefore, your
computer skills must be suitable for this task. I can provide very limited
assistance if you run into difficulties, but this is a speaking class, not a
technology class. Therefore, if you are not comfortable with your skills, this
may not be the class for you.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course.

Purdue has strong policies against academic dishonesty. Anyone engaging in
academic dishonesty will be reprimanded and subject to disciplinary action which
can result in a minimum of a ZERO on an assignment but may include failure of
the course or expulsion from the university. Academic dishonesty includes, but is
not limited to the following:

 Plagiarism
1. Copying someone else's work and claiming it as your own.
2. Paraphrasing someone else's work and claiming it as your own.
3. Collaborating with another person and claiming the work solely as
your own.
4. Using one’s own work from another course or from a previous
semester. For example, you may not reuse papers from another
course and turn them into a speech or use speeches you have
written in COM 114 from previous semesters. The work must be
original to this course and this semester.

All cases of academic dishonesty, as described above, could be reported to the

Office of the Dean of Students.

Accessibility: For more information about the accessibility of course related tools
visit [Link] for
Blackboard and [Link] for
VoiceThread.

Disabilities: It is the policy and practice of the University to create inclusive

learning environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this
course that result in barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of
achievement such as: time limited exams, or use of non-captioned videos; please
simultaneously notify the instructor and the Disability Resource Center as soon as
possible. The DRC can be contacted by phone: 765-494-1247 or by email at:
drc@[Link].

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 Grading: You must wait 24 hours after receiving a grade to discuss it with your
instructor. In addition, you have two weeks after a presentation grade returned to
voice concerns with your instructor about the grade. Instructors will not entertain
questions about grades on assignments past this date.

You will receive the final grade for the number of points you earned. The final
grading scale will be strictly enforced.

Course Requirements

1. Presentations: You will present five individual presentations. These will

include a narrative, an explanation, a speech of introduction, a narrated
PowerPoint presentation, and one persuasive presentation. You are expected
to upload your speech on the assigned day. There are no exceptions!!!
Computer or equipment failure/access is not an excuse. If you fail to
upload your speech on the assigned day you will receive a ZERO on that
speech unless other arrangements have PREVIOUSLY been made with me. I
strongly suggest for this reason you do not wait until the final minutes to
upload your assignment. Give yourself plenty of time in case you encounter
an issue. If you encounter an unforeseen medical emergency (i.e.
hospitalization, etc.) notify me immediately to find out what proof you will
need to provide to me.

For your persuasive presentation, you will be required to film yourself

delivering your presentation to an audience of at least 5 people. These can be
friends, family, co-workers, etc. It is your responsibility to find your audience
and include a shot of your audience in your assignment.

Each assignment will be explained in detail on Blackboard.

2. Frameworks/Outlines: All presentations must be accompanied by a

framework or outline. These frameworks are designed to help you plan and
organize your presentations. All frameworks/outlines must be submitted
through Blackboard to receive credit. Electronic malfunction is not an
excuse for failing to submit your framework/outline on time. You must turn
in a completed framework/outline in order to receive credit for your
presentation.

3. Activity Grades: Participation in COM 114 is made up of small activities.

These may include website exercises, small research projects, analyzing a
video or outline, exercises, impromptu speeches, etc. Often times, it can be
the activity points that will make a difference between an "A" and a "B" for a

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 student. THESE POINTS CANNOT BE MADE UP AND WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED LATE. Again, I encourage you not to wait until the last minute to
upload these. Computer malfunction is not an accepted excuse for late work.

4. Quizzes: A reading quiz will be given over each chapter. In order to access
the online quizzes you will need to purchase a NEW copy of the textbook that
is shrink-wrapped and has an access code. You must get this at a campus
bookstore or by visiting the publishers website [Link].

5. Peer-Evaluations: Each student will provide feedback on peers’

presentations. You will provide this feedback by commenting on your peer’s
presentations that have been upload to our Blackboard section.

Grading Breakdown

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading
percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or
other circumstances beyond the instructor’s control. Information about changes in this course can
be found on our Blackboard page.

Assignment Points Your grade

Narrative Presentation 30

Speech of Introduction 40

Explanation Presentation 70

Asynchronous Presentation 80

Persuasive Presentation 100

Frameworks & Outlines 50

Course Activities 150

Quizzes 130

Peer Critique Comments 50

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Total 650

Final Grading Scale: This scale is based on a point system and not a percentage; therefore,
grades will not be rounded up. If a student earns 584 points they receive a “B” in the course not
an “A”. All grades are final unless a miscalculation has occurred. There is no extra credit offered
in COM 114.

Grade Points

A 650-585

B 584-520

C 519-455

D 454-390

F 389 and below