Introduction to Graduate Studies in Communication
Assignment Sheet

Objectives: This assignment allows students to reflect on why they are in graduate school, what they hope to achieve by being graduate students, and what to review what their intellectual influences were in order to consider what their own paradigm or perspective might be as they move through their graduate education.

Goals: By the end of this assignment, students should be able to (1) articulate a their own intellectual agenda as graduate students; (2) identify the intellectual tradition from which they emerged as they entered graduate school; (3) begin situating their own intellectual agenda with their chosen program of study.

Directions: Write a 5 page paper in which you describe what influenced your decision to come to graduate school, why you are here, who your intellectual precursors were, etc. As you reflect on what to write, be sure that you consider your favorite authors, scholars, teachers or classes. Also consider what things you want to study, why you want to study them, what you hope to learn about your area of interest. Last, consider what contribution you want to make with your own research to our knowledge and understanding of communication. NOTE: This is not an autobiography; it is an intellectual autobiography. I am not interested in formative experiences of your life as much as I am interested in the formative influences for attending graduate school and focusing on your area of interest.

Grading Criteria:

1. Thoughtfulness and insightfulness of writing.
2. Coherence of essay–ability to organize ideas and create an argument.
3. Writing mechanics.