Communication Studies 101: Oral Communication
Los Angeles Mission College
Spring 2016
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Instructor:
Nune Dervishian
Course:
Office Hours:
M 6:15-6:45pm
Course Location:
Voicemail:
818-364-7600 ext.4417
Section:
Email:
Dervisn08@yahoo.com
Course Day/Time:
dervisn@lamission.edu
Important Dates:
Last day to add class in person:
Last day to drop without “W” with refund:
Last day to drop with “W” (letter grade required after this):
Comm. Studies 101
INST. 1012
3208
M 6:50-10pm
February 19, 2016
February 21, 2016
May 8, 2016
Required Text: Fujishin, R. (2014). The Natural Speaker. (8th Edition). Boston: Pearson.
Course Description: This course is intended to help students become more effective,
confident and competent communicators. It emphasizes the development of skills that will
enable students to prepare and deliver various types of speeches. In addition, it allows
students to refine critical thinking, research, organizational, and time management skills
while learning to adapt messages to any audience and occasion.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Effectively research, organize, and develop informative, persuasive, and
special occasion speeches. Students will also be competent in clearly organizing
impromptu speeches.
2. Practice the basics of rhetorical criticism skills.
3. Actively listen and become a better consumer of public information.
4. Enhance the development of their critical thinking skills.
5. Orally present effective speeches, each with a logical progression of
ideas clearly researched and documented.
Student Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the semester, students will know and/or be able to:



Construct a speech mapping outline which includes an introduction, body, and
conclusion with a Works Cited page attached.
Demonstrate the ability to write and adapt the content of a speech to the target
audience by conducting an audience analysis.
Demonstrate the ability to deliver a well-structured speech to a target audience that
includes the use of presentational aids.
Assessment for these Student Learning Outcomes will include a collection of outlines, inclass activities, in-class evaluations of speeches presented, in-class discussion and/or
assignments
Classroom Policies:
Attendance: Attendance is a very important part of this class and is required for active
thoughtful class participation. You are expected to attend all class meetings and you are
expected to attend them on time. Each class session will allow students to discuss and
elaborate on material covered in the book in addition to new content. Furthermore, there will
be assignments worth anywhere from 5-10 points during certain class session. The
following are general guidelines regarding attendance and will only change in cases of
documented emergencies.
1. Students will receive 5 participation points for every class they attend. These points
will account for group-activities, individual assignments and other assignments
completed in class.
2. Tardy attendance and leaving the class early will be taken into consideration during
final assessment and each will result in a 2 point deduction from your overall grade.
3. Attendance on presentation days is MANDATORY, whether you are presenting or
not. If you miss class during a day you may be called on to present, there will be a
whole letter grade deduction from your speech grade.
4. Missing class after you have completed your presentation while others still need to
present will result in a half grade deduction from your speech grade.
5. According to the 2015-2016 college catalog, “whenever absences in hours exceed
the number of hours the class meets per week, the student may be excluded
(dropped) from the class by the instructor. “ In other words, students can technically
be dropped from the class after only 1 absence since this is a 3 hour class.
Participation: Participation is a major part of this class and students are encouraged to
engage in meaningful classroom discussion. Students should demonstrate preparation for
class discussions and commitment to full participation in all engagements. Constructive
feedback to other speakers is a responsibility of all class members and entails being honest
and helpful in evaluations, using descriptive rather than prescriptive language, and
providing negative comments with constructive recommendations. The quality and quantity
of your participation may also be used to determine course grades in borderline cases.
Assignment Policy: Assignment due dates will not be negotiated. All assignments are due
at the beginning of the class period on the date indicated. Late assignments WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED. If you will not be in class, it is your responsibility to notify me and to get the
assignments turned in on time. In-class assignments CANNOT be made up in the case of
an absence. All homework assignments must be typed and stapled. Reading assignments
must be read by the dates indicated on the syllabus. Pop Quizzes will be given if class
seems unfamiliar with the material. Exceptions can only be made in the case of
documented emergencies.
The Social Contract: Enrolling in this class enters students and instructor in a social
contract and it is the responsibility both to abide by the following:
1. Demonstrate respect for the diverse experiences, cultures and preferences of each
individual. This will help create an environment that is friendly, supportive, safe and
non-threatening.
2. Prepare for class discussions and commitment to the full participation in all
engagements as well as providing sensitive, critical response to the work of others.
3. Due to the nature of this course, a range of sensitive topics and perspectives may be
presented. No limits are placed upon subject matter or extent of questioning
however students are expected to demonstrate taste, tact, and caution with topic
and language choices.
4. DO NOT use electronic devices during this class. Absolutely NO Texting!
5. DO NOT enter or exit the classroom while there is a speech in progress.
Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty encompasses both cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating includes obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic
credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Plagiarism
involves submitting the works of others as your own and includes improper source citation,
no source citation, using materials prepared by another student, and using fictitious
sources. You must clearly distinguish your ideas and words from the work of others.
Remember, when in doubt, cite your source or ask the instructor for assistance. Any student
caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a failing grade in the course. In addition, a report
will be filed with the Dean of Students for further possible action (including expulsion from
the school). Please refer to the Los Angeles Mission College Schedule of Classes for
specific policies regarding academic honesty.
Students with Special Needs: If you have any health impairments that require medication,
or any other disability that might require special accommodations, please call our campus
Special Services department at 818-364-7734 as soon as possible or notify the instructor.
Methods of Instruction: Various methods of instruction will be utilized throughout the
course in order to create a more effective learning environment. These will include lectures,
open discussions, class opinion polls, role-playing, in-class activities, films, slides and
student peer evaluations. A primary objective of this course is to establish an encouraging
atmosphere in which each student feels that he or she may express his or her own point of
view without feeling threatened, and that questions may be asked without embarrassment.
Assignments:
Speeches: During the semester, students will prepare and present a variety of speeches.
Generally, most of the speeches will require both library research and preparation. You will
be given a detailed prompt for each speech assignment.
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


Introductory Speech: For this assignment, you are to deliver a speech introducing
yourself. Some of the things you will cover include educational background, career
goals and personal background. (2-3 minutes)
Special Interest Speech: In the cultural narrative speech, you are to choose a
culture or sub-culture that you identify with or belong to, bring an object/artifact that
represents this culture, and discuss how this culture has influenced you. (3 minutes).
Informative Speech: In the informative speech, you will choose a topic of importance
to inform your audience about. (5 minutes).
Persuasive Speech: In the persuasive speech, you will be choosing a topic that you
feel is problematic or needs to receive more public attention. You will then explore
what the current problems are and consequently propose a solution/policy that may
alleviate these problems. (6 minutes).

Special Occasion Speech: In the speech, students will come up with a mock special
occasion and give a speech for this event. Some examples of special occasion
speeches are acceptance speeches, toasts, goodbye speeches, award recipient
speech, motivational speech. (2 minutes).
Outlines: With each speech, you will be required to turn in a typed outline. Further
information on specific guidelines for each outline will be provided to students.
Exams: There will be two (2) exams covering the lectures, class discussion and textbook
readings. The first exam will consist of multiple choice, true/false and matching questions.
The second exam will consist of a series of short answer questions.
Evaluations: Upon completion of certain speeches, students will be required to complete
an evaluation of their own speech and an evaluation of another student’s speech.
Evaluations will consist of 5-10 questions and will require short paragraph answers.
Course Requirements
Assignments
Introductory Speech
Introductory Outline
Special Interest Speech
Special Interest Outline
Informative Speech
Informative Outline
Persuasive Speech
Persuasive Outline
Exam 1
Exam 2
Self and Peer Evaluations
Other Assignments
Attendance
*Use this to keep track of your grade
*Subject to change
Points
Received
Points
Possible
10
5
20
20
40
30
60
40
50
50
50
50
75
Total: 500
Tentative Due Date
Grading Procedure:
Grade
Percentage
Points
A
90-100%
450-500
B
80-89%
400-449
C
70-79%
350-399
D
60-69%
300-349
F
0-59%
299 and below
*Your grade is determined on the number of points you accumulate
SPRING 2016 SCHEDULE
Week
Date
In-Class Activity/Discussion
Assignments
1
2/8
Course Overview/Syllabus
Introductions
2
2/15
NO SCHOOL-COLLEGE CLOSED
3
2/22
4
2/29
5
3/7
Chapter 1: Communicating with Others
Chapter 2: Giving Yourself Permission & Ethics
Discuss Special Interest Speech Guidelines
Chapter 3: Organizing Your Speech
Chapter 4: Selecting Your Topic & Audience
Audience Analysis Activity
Special Interest Rough Draft Outlines Due
Special Interest Speech-All Outlines Due
6
3/14
7
3/21
8
3/28
9
4/4
Chapter 5: Gathering your Material
Chapter 6: Listening to Others & Language
Self/Peer Evaluations Due-Test Review
Test 1-Chapters 1-5
Chapter 8: Informing Your Audience
Review Informative Speech/Topics Due
Chapter 7: Delivering your Speech
Review Test /Nonverbal Activity
Informative Speech Rough Draft Outlines
SPRING BREAK-COLLEGE CLOSED
10
4/11
Informative Speech
Informative Self/Peer Evals.
11
4/18
Informative Speech-All Outlines Due
Chapter 9
12
4/25
13
5/2
Chapter 9: Persuading Your Audience
Assign ethos, pathos, logos assign./Evals Due
Discuss Persuasive Speech/Topics Selection
Persuading Your Audience/Who’s Responsible
Persuasive Rough Drafts
14
5/9
15
16
17
18
5/16
5/23
5/30
6/6
Persuasive Rough Drafts Due
Persuasive Salesmanship Presentation
Impromptu Speeches
Persuasive Speech
Persuasive Speech
MEMORIAL DAY-COLLEGE CLOSED
MEETING TIME-8pm-10pm
Test 2-Chapters 6-9
Special Occasion Speech/Peer Evals. Due
*Note-Schedule is subject to change
Buy Book/Print Syllabus
Introductory Speech
Chapters 1 & 2
Chapters 3 &4
Special Interest Speech &
Outline
Chapters 5 & 6
Self & Peer Evaluations
Study for Test
Chapter 8
Informative Topics
Chapter 7
Informative Rough Drafts
Informative Speech &
Outline
Informative Speech & Out.
Persuasive Speech
Persuasive Speech
Study for Test
DONE!