Study Guide for COM 1010 Exam I
(Note: Chapter 4 will not be on this exam)
Chapter 1:
Terms to Know (be able to recognize a definition or example of these terms):
communication
model
“communication is transactional”
Channel
Feedback
Perception
Mutual influence
Decoding
encoding
demagoguery
Possible short answer questions:
Reflect on your goals in life. How can learning to speak effectively in public be beneficial to you?
Using the text and/or our discussion in class on communication ethics, be able to identify at
least 3 or 4 ethical guidelines for public speakers?
Imagine that you have a friend who is very anxious about speaking in public. Using the suggestions in
class and/or the text, what are at least 4 pieces of advice you would give them for easing their
apprehension?
Imagine that Trevecca has asked you to speak to a group of high school students, encouraging them to
attend Trevecca in the future. Given this audience and topic, to what 3 or 4 “ultimate” or global
(widely-accepted) values might you appeal ?
Chapter 6
Terms to know:
Three general purposes (see pp. 136-140): to inform, to persuade, to entertain (I know this isn’t in
Chapter 6, but you need to know it anyway!)
Three basic parts of a speech
Preview
Transitions (sometimes called signposts)
Unnecessary apologies (a bad quality of some speech introductions)
Overamplification (a bad quality of some speech conclusions)
Prolonged close (a bad quality of some speech conclusions)
Be able to analyze examples of main points on the following criteria: an appropriate number of main
points, unity with central idea, relatively equal merit/importance, include only one idea per
main point, and simplicity.
Be able to recognize examples of the following organizational patterns: chronological order, spatial
order, topical order, difficulty order, need-plan (aka problem-solution) order.
Be able to critique a sample speech introduction for an informative speech. To what extent does it
accomplish the functions of a good speech introduction (i.e., secures attention, establishes
goodwill & credibility [connects to audience], introduces the speech topic to audience, previews
main points.
Be able to critique a sample speech conclusion for an informative speech. To what extent does it
accomplish the functions of a good speech conclusion (i.e., reviews the central idea/main points
and closes with impact (impresses).
Chapter 7:
Terms to Know:
Complete-sentence outline
Key-word outline (also called speaking outline) – be able to distinguish the differences between the
complete-sentence outline and the key-word outline.
Review the guidelines for outlining on pp. 214-217 (symbolization, subordination, simplicity,
discreteness, coordination, progression—these are probably review for most of you, but if you have any
questions about them, let me know before the test. I can go over the concepts with you either over the
phone or by e-mail). I may give you some excerpts of sample outlines for you to evaluate.
Let me know if you have any questions about any of this study guide!