Communication in Health Promotion Paper

As 21st century global citizens, we live in a world that is filled with complex challenges. What can Communication teach us about addressing some of the major global challenges we face? Here’s where you come in!

In this 4-5 page paper, you will use what we have learned in class to begin to think about how Communication Research can help us understand the world around us by analyzing a piece of communication. To do this, you will choose a piece of communication to analyze that relates to the theme of Good Health and Wellbeing (physical and mental health count here).

FIRST explore the UN’s Good Health and Wellbeing page to learn a bit about some targets for Good Health and Wellbeing. NEXT, select (a) a music video, (b) a piece of parasocial communication (e.g., a tiktok video), or (c) a conversation you had with a friend, family member or colleague that relates to/addresses good health/wellbeing. THEN, you will use terms from our class to analyze your music video, parasocial artifact, or conversation to help us better understand the nuances that are contained in it (e.g., was something misunderstood? were there power imbalances at play? were there layers to the language being deployed? what kind of influence did culture have? was it a parasocial relationship, a close friend, a family member and how did that have an impact? etc.). The key here will be to select your event carefully: usually it is easier to write a paper about a topic where there is an issue to be resolved or a conflict presented. This will give you an opening for analysis and intervention! 

Main Components for your Paper

1) A 1-paragraph introduction that introduces the large themes of the paper, offers a roadmap for your paper, and presents a thesis statement (this is the “so what” factor of the paper — what we will learn from your analysis).

2) Body paragraphs that analyze your music video, parasocial artifact, or conversation by using concepts we have learned so far in this course. In your analysis, you will define and apply at least six communication concepts from your textbook.

Tip 1: check the back of the book’s chapters for a list of key terms and group similar terms together in your paper.

Tip 2: I will be releasing announcements with tips on your case study, including specific examples of thesis statements, topic sentences, and more. Check the announcements for these tips. 

3) A conclusion that reflects upon your analysis briefly and then draws conclusions about how a knowledge of communication principles can help contribute to an understanding of (or change in) our shared world, particularly as it relates to good health and wellbeing.

4) A works cited page with a citation of Floyd and any other pieces of media or resources that you consult, using APA or MLA style.

5) A list of terms used: At the end of the works cited page, you will list each term from Floyd that you used in your paper and include a page number next to the term. You do not need to provide definitions here, just the terms and page numbers in list form.

Final Submission Checklist:

You have a clearly music video, parasocial artifact, or conversation that relates to the UN Global Goal of Good Health and Wellbeing