THE COMMUNICATION STUDIES INTERNAL ASSESMENT (IA)

The SBA/IA consists of four sections:

· The general introduction (12 marks)

· The expository section (16 marks)

· The reflective section (14 marks)

· The analytical section (18 marks)

( Total - 60 marks)

The general introduction:

In this section the student must:

A. State/identify theme that she has chosen as an area that she is interested in studying
however this is subject to the approval of the teacher.

B. The student is then expected to write the General introduction which includes -
an introductory paragraph that sets this theme within a specific context. This paragraph
can give information about the background of theme or it can define the concept embodied in
said theme or any other suitable/approved way of writing an introduction

C. The second idea is to provide a rationale/reason/purpose for your choice of theme / area of
study. This rationale/reason should/can be related to your career goals, personal
interest/experience. This includes – motivations / inspiration, relation to personal or academic
interests)

D. The third idea focuses on how the theme will be reflected in the three different sections of
portfolio. This should show what will be done in the three sections based on the theme

The word limit for this section is ……… 200 WORDS

THE SPEECH will be 7-10 MINUTES LONG. This is NOT included in the portfolio but is
presented orally.

o Three sources of information are to be assessed, one of which must be a primary

source (sources must be diversified –limited to one of each type).Sources must
indicate different views.

o Candidate should show a substantial knowledge of and discuss issues raised and the
challenges experienced in exploring the selected topic

o Candidate should evaluate the effect of source, context and medium/channel on the
reliability and validity of the information gathered.

THE SPEECH

1. The speech should start off with a greeting eg. Good morning Mrs.. This should be
followed by information from your expository rationale especially the first paragraph.

2. Next – be sure to say specifically what your topic is …. Say it out loud and then go on to
say WHY you have chosen to explore this topic. ( for doing this you are sure of two (2) marks
out of the 20!!!

3. Say that to properly explore this topic you have chosen to use three (3) sources. Then go
on to list them one by one eg. To examine this topic I have chosen to work with three
sources ,one primary source ,a university student who has been a victim of sexual abuse and who
has kindly consented to provide answers through an interview, a newspaper article from “The
Daily Gleaner” and a book on………. By ……..

4 Describe each source one by one eg.

5 for the article - This may include title, date and place of publication / date conducted, the
name of channel through which document was published/aired e.g. Radio Jamaica or The Daily
Gleaner, name of author, context in which document was published/done ( what has prompted
the writing the article)
6 For the questionnaire, describe it by referring to the type such as face to face/telephone, the
number of questions, also say how many are open ended and how many are closed ended. You
can also describe how the questions are grouped eg. questions 1-4 are requesting biographic
details or they are used to gather information about the sources background etc. do this for
all/most of the questions.
7 The description of the interview follows the same concept as that for the questionnaire. Also
for the interview and questionnaire please discuSs the circumstances/context that existed when
they were being conducted.
8 Discuss the issues and challenges that you experienced/faced while trying to find the sources
and to write the interview questions ( for doing this you get at least another five (5) marks)

9 Summarize the information that is in the article or whatever source that you have used.

10 Summarize the information that you got from the interview

11 Summarize the information you get from the questionnaire/ book

12 Discuss how valid/invalid ( truth) or reliable the source is. First analyze the author’s
suitability. What makes this person capable of giving true information on this topic. Then focus
on the media house that published the material. Then look at what is said … does the person
make claims that cannot be substantiated? The information that the source gives can be the
truth/valid or not. Be sure to say why/why not.

13 How reliable is your source and why? Justify your claims.

14 For questionnaires and interviews look at the instrument itself and say what if anything is
wrong with it and how that may influence the information that you collected. Focus on your lack
of skills in writing these instruments etc.

15 Also do not forget to say how the challenges that you faced affected the information you
collected and how the process of collecting may have impacted on the validity or the reliability
of the information. (for #12,13,14 + 15 you can get a maximum of 4 marks)

16 Conclusion: Overall summary of assignment. Remember that the focus was to make a
judgment on the validity and reliability of sources. Make recommendations / generalizations
about the issue if this is appropriate.

Some autonomy is allowed in the organization of your document but should not digress too
much from the suggested outline.

THE REFLECTIVE SECTION

This section requires a submission of one (1) original piece (student’s own product) that must
reflect the theme of portfolio. NO MORE THAN 800 WORDS.
Candidate should also write a preface to the piece. This should be NO MORE THAN 200
WORDS.

This piece may be a short story, dramatic piece or any other genre that lends itself to
incorporating all four OR at least three aspects needed for the analytical section. PLEASE
AVOID clichéd predictable compositions/pieces.

Observe technicality of form that you have chosen (short stories must make use of the narrative
elements and dramatic pieces must observe the dramatic conventions)

Please note that this piece is to be specifically written to be used as the piece for the language
analysis in section three and that there are special guidelines that must be followed. The piece
must show registers, dialectal variations, attitudes to language and communicative
behaviours. Your teacher will assist you in this.

The preface

The piece must be accompanied by a preface. This preface should:

Identify piece

Explain the formal considerations that have guided the creation of the piece (the careful
thoughts and planning in packaging the piece to reach the audience for whom it is intended.

Comment on the actual process of composing the piece. Say how the piece was actually
made. Refer to writing, re-writing, editing and changes made. What is your inspiration? What are
some of the special challenges you encountered while composing the piece

· Refer to any special feature/literary device in the piece that is worth mentioning
(especially if they affect the creation in any major way)

· Identify the audience: specify the audience for whom the piece is intended and say
why choice of medium is appropriate. Say why it is suited to the age, gender and
background (educational, cultural, socio- economical, socio –linguistic etc.)

· What is the purpose of the communication/ The purpose for writing the piece.

· The situation / context in which this will be presented. Identify what features of the
piece is appropriate for context and the channels that will be used to get the message
across. Will audio visual aids be used?
Indicate the technical features of the composition and justify your choice of language variations,
language strategies, graphics font size etc.

THE LANGUAGE ANALYSIS (350 WDS.)

A critical analysis of the reflective piece of communication commenting specifically on any

TWO of the following - a) language registers b) dialectal variations c) attitudes to
language d) communicative behaviours.

This piece must be thematically relevant and must contain the various linguistic requirements.

Analysis must be done in continuous prose.

Must have introduction (must say what the piece is about and communicate a sense of what the
analysis intends to accomplish

The student must observe all the technicalities of writing continuous prose while analyzing the
different features.

1) Language registers;

Comment on all types found (including the narrator’s and characters). Give examples to support
claims and possible reasons (based on context of the piece) for the linguistic feature

2) Dialectal variation

Again focus on characters’ and or narrators’ choice and give examples and possible reasons

3) Attitudes to language

What is the basis for each attitude portrayed?

4) Communicative behaviours

Usually non -verbal including the use of the voice, objects, time actions and dress among others.

What do these “say” in each situation – provide examples and explanation.

Conclusion
This provides an evaluation of how effective the different linguistic features were presented and
dealt with by the writer.

You may include a bibliography and an appendix however these are optional as the student does
not gain marks for including them NOR does she lose marks for not including them.

THE MARK SCHEME

The general introduction

Theme and purpose of portfolio 2 marks

How the theme is treated in the exposition and reflective sections 4 marks

How the theme/topic relates to candidate’s academic interests 2 marks

How the theme/topic is related to candidate’s work related interests 2 marks

How the theme/topic relates to the candidate’s personal interest 2 marks

(Total – 12 marks)

The exposition

Discussion of issues and challenges 5 marks

Evaluation of the effect of source, context and medium/channel on the 4 marks

reliability and validity of information gathered

Organization 3 marks
 Delivery (audibility, fluency, eye contact body movement and 4 marks
paralinguistic features and other communicative behavoiurs

(Total – 16 marks)

The reflective

The preface 4 marks

The actual sample 10 marks

(Total – 14 marks)

The analysis

Content 8 marks

Expression 5 marks

Organization 5 marks

(Total - 18 marks)