Forensic program alumni returning for reunions or speech tournaments sometimes find difficulty in keeping pace with changing forensics practices and procedures. Elements influencing the evolutionary process in forensics include: a growing number of debate philosophy formats, bringing diversity in competitive options; expansion of standard…

The Stipulations Chart is a simple summary of some 90 tenets of communication theory, arranged in a way that allows students in basic communication courses to access those tenets which are relevant to a communication at hand. The 5-page chart organizes theoretical tenets in 2 columns; according to the communication "situation" and the…

Relying on key characteristics of teaching excellence documented by research in higher education, a college professor details how personal undergraduate stage-acting experience helped to develop his teaching. The following comparisons are illuminating: (1) students distinguish professors' interest and enthusiasm toward their subjects as an…

Both enthymemes and visual pedagogy speak to the capacity--and the need--of humans to make a coherent story out of the scraps of information they possess. Three possibilities exist for building on the connection between enthymemes and pictures when teaching argumentative writing--using visual aids to help students: generate material, suggest a…

In recent years a new event called "Interpretation Analysis" has appeared at certain forensic events. The objective is for the student, through analysis and performance, to study a piece of literature and to communicate his or her understanding of that literature to a specific audience. Perhaps there is room within the established…

In the past decade, contest persuasive speaking has become a product that student competitors produce and perform. A perversion of the contest formula has removed the element of persuasion from the formula. Competition rules suggest that a student's purposes in participating in forensics events should include inspiring, reinforcing, or changing…

Given a choice of one argument, most Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) competitors would choose the nuclear war scenario, which attempts to capitalize on apocalyptism. A three-stage methodology can be applied to apocalyptic appeals. First is an application of the concept of universal audience, composed of all reasonable and competent…

People involved in debate often encounter apocalyptic appeals but seldom look at how these arguments affect debate beyond their ability to influence winning. Debaters use nuclear war apocalyptism, for example, by capitalizing on the human desire to sustain its own story, by appealing to the universal drive for control and power inside all humans,…

A study analyzed the readability of seven central Florida newspapers (one of which is a college newspaper) and "USA Today.""Rightwriter," a grammar checker and readability computer program, was used to evaluate front page articles for each of the eight newspapers. The readability formulas invoked in the readability program…

Effective instructional approaches for dealing with stage fright can be developed by examining A. H. Buss's theory of audience anxiety. Buss argues that audience anxiety correlates with feelings of self-consciousness, characteristics of the audience, and the novelty of the speaking role. From his perspective, the experience of anxiety is divided…

Explores contradictory purposes for writing instruction: the business world wants writers to obtain predetermined results, yet composition theorists see writing as a way to help students learn about themselves. Suggests teachers help students analyze their potential professions by focusing on the way writing invents those professions. (MS)

When a class of lethargic college students showed no enthusiasm for their reading assignments in English class, one instructor turned to drama. She assigned a collaborative script, and the students' enthusiasm and motivation relegated her to a "pleasant oblivion." She thought that the novelty of the play genre might enliven the class,…

Reviews briefly accounting writing skill research, discusses the subject bias prevalent in that research, and relates this weakness to a potential bias toward grammar and syntax in curriculum development. Argues that the user of accounting information is an important but neglected party in the communication process, whose input should be…

Outlines an approach to college and university marketing that focuses on identification of buyer readiness state and selection of appropriate communication goals. This approach uses a hierarchy of communication goals (awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, purchase) widely used in consumer advertising. Argues that little has been…

Discusses how to teach instructional planning in preservice teacher education and describes two methods to facilitate self-regulation: the Instructional Planning Self-Reflective Tool and the Constructivist Planning Self-Reflective Tool. Highlights include recommendations for use based on empirical research; objectives, including audience; roles of…