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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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Group Assignment – (Basically, it’s a skit)
Presentation Date: [Date]
Purpose: To provide a forum through which the various perspectives or points of view on a
controversial topic can be explored.
Topic: Select a topic that is appropriate for the audience, your classmates. Be sure that your topic is
controversial and has MULTIPLE perspectives to an issue. This is not a pro/con debate so your topic
needs to provide you with more than two sides. (BOOOORRRING!)
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For example: If you choose to do a presentation on Napster, you could present the views of
many people on the issue: users of Napster, the developer of Napster, government officials,
representative from the music industry.
This is not a symposium in which each speaker follows each other in speaking. (BOOOORRRING!)
The speech is an interaction between all of the speakers as in a conversation. The group will present
these multiple perspectives in their speech, but will not come to a group conclusion.
Format: Be creative in selecting a format. You may choose to represent real people or make up
hypothetical characters. Your format may be a trial, a campaign debate, a Congressional hearing, etc.
Please avoid doing a talk show format. Your format should be appropriate for your topic. Be creative
in selecting a format!
A FEW examples of perspectives, personas (role to personify perspective), and formats:
Perspective
Moral
Religious
Ethical
Conservative
Liberal
Political
Economical
Social
Legal
Scientific
Persona
Clergy
Priest
Atheist
Senator
Lobbyist
Politician
Economic/financial advisor
Mother, friend
Lawyer
Scientist
Format
School board meeting
Friends sitting around in their living room talking
Picket line
Congressional hearing
Jury trial
Doctor’s office, campaign trail, etc.
News broadcast
Living room, around the dinner table, etc.
Annual conference
In the lab
* Additional example from past groups include presentations on the controversy of sex education
(format dorm room), same-sex marriage (format filming a documentary), pornography
(format  news broadcast outside a video store), and the nuclear energy (format elevator
breakdown inside a nuclear power plant).
Moderator: The role of the moderator should be to keep the speakers within allotted time limits, to
introduce the speech and the speakers, to provide transitions and summaries, and to field audience
questions. This role is very important and should be taken seriously throughout the planning and
presentation stages. The moderator is a neutral position and they will be in contact with me
throughout the next couple weeks.
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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Time Limits: Presentations should be 20-23 minutes. A 5-10 minute question and answer period
will follow the presentation. Two points will be taken off for every minute under or over the
allotted time limit. Therefore, it is important to PRACTICE. The moderator should monitor the
time during the presentation to be sure the group maintains time limits.
Outline and References:
 Each group must turn in an outline which should include
o Introduction (attention getter, relevancy statement, credibility statement,
thesis/preview),
o Body (the perspective of each panelist comprises one main point with relevant
support/evidence)
o Conclusion (summary of key points and memorable close).
 You must include at least 8-10 sources on your reference sheet. Please have an assortment
of sources. For example, three from the Internet, four books, two magazines, and one
journal. You may NOT use more than 3 Internet sources.
 All 10 sources must be correctly and fully cited (author, date, title) per APA format within
your presentation (Both in the outline and in the actual presentation.)
 To outline the body you can use perspectives as main points and the personas as sub-points.
There should be evidence of interaction between the personas in the outline. There can be
persuasive arguments within the group speech, but the group itself should NOT come to a
conclusion.
Evaluation:
 Total of 100 points.
-65 points will be the group grade
-35 points will be an individual grade (NOTE: 20 points of that individual grade will be
based on the Anonymous Group Evaluation points given to each student by his or her
fellow groups members.)
1. On the day of your presentation, before you present – Group Evaluations
Turn in the Anonymous Group Evaluation sheets (Available shortly on Moodle) in a sealed
envelope with your name on the front of the envelope (failure to do so results in minus 10 points
from your individual score). Please take these evaluations VERY seriously and evaluate your
group members appropriately. I not only want you to score your group members, but also provide
an explanation of why you chose the score you did for each member. Remember that you cannot
score any two (or more) members of your group the same. There is a way that everyone in your
group can end up with an average score of 18, if you all want to take the time to figure it out. Do
not score yourself; you will have to evaluate yourself through self-evaluation later.
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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A Few More Tips for Preparing Your Group Presentation
* Remember, this is a GROUP project. There must be evidence of group planning and practice. Do
NOT plan to complete this assignment by assigning each person to a job to do and then piecing all the
parts together the day of the presentation. During the presentation, there should be INTERACTION
between group members. You should NOT present five or six separate speeches, but rather, a group
presentation of multiple perspectives. Plan together, work together and practice together.
* This project requires A LOT of work so start working as soon as you meet your group members.
*What to do if group members are not completing their portion of the work?
 If you experience frustrations of working with members who do not complete their portion
of the work, remember you will be completing anonymous evaluations of each at the end of
the assignment.
 First, if you have a group member who does not do his or her fair share of the work, please
attempt to talk to the member of the group first.
 However, if you still experience major problems with a group member, please come and
talk to me. We will then set up a group meeting all together and I will help facilitate a
discussion of the problem.
 If the problem still persists the group will have to decide whether they want to eliminate or
“fire” the problem group member as the next course of action to take. If the group agrees
unanimously to eliminate or “fire” a member from the group and I agree with their decision
based upon facts presented from the group, the problem group member may be removed
from the group. If you are dropped or “fired” from a group, you will receive a zero for the
assignment, but you will be required to do an alternative assignment. This alternative
assignment consists of a 25 page paper on a controversial, multi-perspective topic using a
minimum of 20 sources. This paper will also have to be converted into a speech, which
will be given in a speech lab in front of an audience in order to pass the class.
* When you meet as a group, use your time wisely. Have an agenda, be sure to bring materials you
need to complete your task and decide what you will complete before your next meeting.
* I will try to give you some class time to work in your groups as long as you use the time wisely.
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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Group Speech Checklist
Ask yourself these questions as you complete the group project:
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Outline and References
o Have we included enough detail in the outline that someone who was not familiar with
our speech would be able to follow what we are trying to accomplish just by looking at
our outline?
o Do we have eight to ten sources cited within the outline?
o Does each person have at least one source to cite?
o Do we have no more than three sources from the Internet?
Introduction
o Do we have an effective attention getter?
o Is it evident how this topic is relevant to this (classroom) audience?
o How have we established our credibility?
o Is our preview clear? Are the main points evident in the preview?
Collective Content
o Have we effectively covered all sides of the issue?
o Is it clear what the argument for each person/role is?
o Does the way we move from point to point make sense? Is it logical?
o Are the sources we are using credible? Are they well-integrated or do they seem out of
place in the delivery?
Collective Delivery
o Do we have interaction between group members throughout our presentation? Does our
conversation seem natural?
o Does each speaker seem organized on his/her own viewpoint and aware of others’
viewpoints?
o Does this speech look like we just threw it together?
o Are the transitions clear and do they help the presentation flow well?
o Is our visual aid integrated smoothly? How does our visual aid enhance our
presentation?
Conclusion
o Is the conclusion abrupt or does the conversation lead to a natural end?
o Are the main points summarized?
o Does the end of our speech have a memorable close and does it relate to the
introduction (attention getter)?
Q&A
o Do we know the issue well enough to answer questions about the subject? Is our
research sufficient?
o Is everyone in the group qualified/researched to answer questions?
Make sure you practice so that you are consistently within the 20-23 minute time frame. If you
do not meet this time frame in practice, you likely will not meet it in class.
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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Be sure to bring with you on speech day:
 Folder
o Speech Outline and Reference page (typed and stapled) with
group name and all group members’ names in alphabetical order.
o One instructor evaluation form with group name and all group
members’ names in alphabetical order
o Envelope from each group member with the Anonymous Group
Evaluations. Put your name on the outside of your envelope.
Have fun and good luck with these presentations!! I look forward to them all!
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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Group Presentation Guided Worksheet
1. Be sure to exchange phone numbers/email addresses so you can meet.
2. Group Name: ___________________________________
3. Group Topic: ____________________________________
4. Gathering Information/Sources
Computer Search (possible key terms)
Library Search
Possible Interviews
Other Strategies
5. Discuss possible perspectives/roles
NAME OF CHARACTER/ROLE
1.
WHO IS PORTRAYING THE ROLE?
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
6. Discuss possible formats
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COMM 110: Contemporary Controversies
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7. Arrange and schedule next meeting time and place
8. Give each member a task to be completed by the next meeting
NAME:
TASK:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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