PSYC B2: Interpersonal & Group Process Skills
Professor Lora Larkin
Paper Assignment Instructions:
Paper assignments (a total of 3) are required to demonstrate your understanding
of a specific skill with which you are currently having difficulty and your plan for
improving on that skill, including no more than one skill for discussion from each unit
(Unit 1= Ch1-3, Unit 2=Ch4-6, Unit 3=Ch7-9).
REMINDER: LATE PAPERS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED FOR ½ CREDIT IF
RETURNED THE FOLLOWING CLASS SESSION
Paper Assignment Rubric:
Assignments are graded on a 20 point scale, regardless of the length of your
paper. Your overall semester grade is based on weighted points; therefore,
percentages, rather than points, will determine your overall semester grade (for
example: 20pts=100%, 16.5pts=82.5%, etc.). Each assignment will be scored
(maximum of 5 points for each category/section) based on inclusion of the following:
Format/Presentation (see attached sample paper)
 Is your work clean, neat, legible, and organized into paragraphs making it
easy for the reader to follow your organization?
 Does your typed paper include double spacing, 1” margins, and 12-pt font
size?
 Did you spell correctly and avoid no more than 2 grammatical mistakes?
 Did you follow APA guidelines for in-text referencing?
 Did you follow APA guidelines for your reference page, including at least one
source?
Clarification of Specific Communication Skill Problem (Paragraph 1)
 Did you identify/ label the specific skill with which you are having difficulty?
 Did you include relevant terms and content from your text?
 Did you define the term?
 Did you explain the chapter concept?
 Did you reference the source of your information (in-text & bibliography)?
Personal Application: History of the Problem and Recent Example (Paragraph 2)
 Did you demonstrate awareness of the source of the problem?
 Did you identify how long you’ve handled communication in this ineffective
manner?
 Did you provide a recent example of your ineffective communication whereby
you did not use the chosen communication skill?
 Did your example clarify the current problem?
 Did you provide an alternative manner in which the situation should have
been handled using the chosen communication skill?
Self-critique/Planning (Paragraph 3)
 Did you identify your specific goal in this area of communication that you
would like to improve on?
 Did you identify the recommended procedures for using the skill?
 Did you identify plans for practice or ways of improving on that skill?
 Did you identify a person and/or method for obtaining feedback?
 Did you discuss how you will determine when your goal has been reached?
Name
Class
Date
Chapter #
This is an example of the formatting I would like you to use for typing up your
assignment papers. Notice that your name and course information is only singlespaced, but the remainder of the document is double-spaced. Notice also that the
margins are set at 1” around the entire document (top, bottom, left, and right), and the
font is set at 12-points. Additionally, as with any paper, not only must you show clear
evidence of organization and planning (think of an outline), but also demonstrate that
you have thoroughly proofread your paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical
mistakes. Be sure to also review APA style referencing (link provided on the BC library
homepage) for your in-text citations and reference page.
Each of your papers should include an introduction, body, and conclusion
paragraph just as you would write a paper for an English class. The only difference is
that our topic areas will focus on communication skills or a discussion of concepts in
communication, utilizing the discussion areas listed in your instructions. As with any
paper, you must write in paragraph format, including indentation (tab) at the beginning
of each paragraph.
Furthermore, to assist you with relating the assignments to chapter concepts, you
are required to reference your text and/or other sources within the body of your paper
and again in a bibliography. For example, Figure 1.4 of your text gives an example of
the steps and a description of how to write a communication improvement plan which is
the Self-Critique/Planning section of your paper assignment rubric that you are required
to address (Verderber & Verderber, 2013). As a general rule, any time you make a
claim that is not your own personal opinion you must provide a reference to the source.
Please let me know in class if you have any questions or need further assistance with
your paper assignments. Hopefully this example clarified the required expectations for
the formatting and presentation of your papers.
Reference(s)
Verderber, K.S. & Verderber, R.F. (2013). Inter-Act: Interpersonal Communication –
Concepts, Skills, and Contexts (13th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University
Press.