Curricular Portfolio (or Alternate Essay Assignment) ~ 20 of co.docx

Curricular Portfolio (or Alternate Essay Assignment) ~ 20% of
course grade
The Curricular Portfolio assignment is to be completed within
the first two weeks of the course. As Communication Studies
majors, you are asked to assemble a portfolio of your significant
coursework in the discipline and to analyze this work in COMM
495. Students who have not saved their coursework will be
asked to complete the Alternate Portfolio Essay Assignment.
Portfolio Assignment: Assemble a minimum of four works
(projects, papers, presentations) that you have completed in at
least four different Communication Studies courses (in COMM,
JOUR, SPCH or WRTG). Choose works that are meaningful
personally and/or professionally. Selected works should
also demonstrate significant learning. Comment on each as you
introduce the paper, describing what key point you learned or
mastered as a result of each. In addition, this assignment
includes an Analytical Essay (described below) and Reference
page as part of this portfolio. Content description and format
are described in the guidance provided Course Content>Course
Resources>Portfolio on the left side of the opening screen. Tips
for the required resume are provided in the First Week
Discussion.
The Portfolio content must include (in this order):
· Title Page (erroneously also called “Introduction” in the
requirement description in the Course Resources Portfolio
Instructions section). This component contains your name,
date, and the Portfolio title.
· Table of Contents.
· An Introduction, explaining to the reader (who is a potential
employer) what the compilation is and why s/he is reading it).
· Core Contents (at least four sections, one for each assignment
to be described in your analytical essay). If the four sample
works are not incorporated, note the file names in this section

and provide the required assessment of the key point learned or
mastered for each here.
· Analytical Essay: an in-depth explanation of your growth of
understanding and application of the principles you have
learned or mastered in the pursuit of this degree.
· An APA Style List of References addressing any material cited
in the Analytical Essay and Core Contents sections of this
Portfolio.
· Résumé
Consult the Portfolio Toolkit in the Course Resources for
further guidance on the Analytical Essay portion of this
assignment.
Consult the Résumé Toolkit in the Course Resources for further
guidance on that portion of this assignment.
Use a professional-looking cover page or title page that reflects
what you have learned in your writing courses for your major:
Resist putting a picture from the Internet on your cover page.
Use only your own original work and not borrowed materials in
your document design.
Analytical Essay for Portfolio: Write an essay of a minimum of
1,500 words that analyzes and reflects on the learning that is
evident in the selected works in your portfolio. Introduce each
piece in the portfolio and reflected briefly on how it represents
significant learning or insight for you. In the analytical essay,
expand upon how your selected sample works contributed to
your insights about communication, both personally and
professionally. You might also choose to explore how your
work in communication studies has helped you to better
understand your work environment, your family environment,
society in general, or world events. If you like, you might
inform your essay with a particular theory or framework from
your studies, but that is not required.
Alternate Essay Assignment: If you do not have enough of your
coursework to collect in a portfolio, write a 3,000-word

Analytical Essay about four or more significant assignments
AND/OR significant courses that you completed in your studies
here at UMD. Describe each one and analyze why it is
significant to your growth as an individual and a professional. .
If you must choose this option, omit the Core Contents section
of your report, but still prepare a Title Page, Table of Contents,
Introduction, the expanded Analytical Essay, an APA Style List
of References addressing any material cited in the Analytical
Essay section of this Portfolio, and your Résumé.
NOTE that the Portfolio section of the Course Resources
includes a Checklist. Please review it and adhere to the
expected contents. Each section of your Portfolio must begin
with a heading in boldface before the section's opening
paragraph. Those headings must be the same as listed in the
Table of Contents and address the sections listed above.
Use the Evaluation Rubric below for guidance on how your
work will be assessed.
Evaluation Rubric for Curricular Portfolio Analytical Essay
with Résumé
Content
How well does the essay meet the requirements of the
assignment?
· Analyzes and reflects on learning that is evident in a minimum
of 4 selected works and/or courses.
· Describes both personal and professional insights about
communication
· Analyzes value of insights for personal or professional context
· Analysis is meaningful and in-depth
Comments
· explains ideas clearly and in detail
· clearly presents data, where relevant
· informs content with at least 4 experiences from 4 different
courses
· integrates ideas and information from coursework to support

central theme
Résumé
· Consistent typefaces
· Complete contact information
· Consistent formatting
· Includes relevant information about soon-to-be completed
UMD degree
· Organization of information is clear
· No typos or misspelled words
· Follows format and content guidelines provided
· Omits any section not listed in Check List
Form
How well does essay follow academic/professional writing
standards
· minimum of 1,500 words (if portfolio of work is included; if
not, essay should be 3,000 words)
· single spaced; double between paragraphs
· headers with name and page numbers
· document saved with last name and name of the assignment
(e.g., Smith_Portfolio)
· college-level language use
· APA style for citations (if used)
· No grammar or spelling errors
· File name adheres to Last Name Initial Portfolio requirement.
Upload your completed portfolio using to submission button
below or go directly in the Assignments area of the classroom
through the link in the blue navbar.
Completed portfolios are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
Sunday (Jan. 24).
Attached below are my four samples of coursework:
1. INDIVIDUAL LINGUISTIC IDENTITY PAPER: COMM 380
Top of Form

Introduction
Language is used to express ideas, pass information from one
person to another and express one’s feelings. It happens to be
just like a basic necessity, and that is why all people including
the little children use language. It is the basis of
communication. Without language and communication people
would not be able to communicate effectively neither would
they be able to express their needs and style. Language is
learned while one is growing on the end most probably kids
learn the language that is used by their parents or those that
bring them up. Language is used at workplace, schools, home
and even social gatherings. Without the language, it would be
so difficult to figure out how things would be.
Body
Throughout my entire life, language has been everything to me.
I have been using language for so many purposes. One of the
considerations that I have been doing using my language is
interaction. Language has enabled me interact with my friends
and fellows. For example, in school, I have been using language
to do group discussions in class. Developing school study
groups has also been successful due to language. Language has
enabled me pass my exams because of consultations I have been
doing to enhance my knowledge. Apart from consultations, I
have been using language to study. The books studied in school
are written using English language, and if it were not for my
knowledge of the language, I would not be able to understand
what is written neither would I be able to interpret. Therefore,
language has contributed a lot to my academic excellence
(Anderson, 2009).
I use different dialects when communicating with different
people and this depends on the relationship that exists between
me and them. It as well gets affected by the gap or the distance
that separates me and them. When talking to family, I tend to
use simple language and can utter anything apart from when
talking to my parents. My communication with my siblings is
filled with humour, jokes and sometimes it becomes satirical or

ironical. The purpose behind this is because I am very free with
them, and a very short distance exists between me and them.
When talking to my friends, anyone who is a stranger can tell
from the look of thing. Humour guides communication with my
friends although with those friends that I have academic
relationships, with them, I tend to be more serious since the
relationship that exists between us is professional. With my
professors, lecturers and school heads, the communication is
professional. Official language is likely to be used together with
professionalism that gets ensured. In my communication with
my professional colleagues and workmates, there exist purely
professional relationship between me and them and hence, there
are no jokes as opposed to the way I talk with my friends and
family (Joyce, 2012).
The value of my identity language is above average in
performance if I can say. The reason I may consider myself
having a high value of personal linguistic is because I have been
able to excel academically, and that has been accelerated by my
knowledge of the language. One point in life, I have ever been
appointed as the school president. That also happened because I
had the ability to communicate fluently. Most of my friends
have relatively lower values of linguistic identity because in
most cases, I have been leading them even in the class academic
groups.
Conclusion
In conclusion, language facilitates interaction amongst people.
It as well makes people achieve their professional goals as well
as academic goals. In addition, language makes people
understand their culture and understand those people that
surround them. It is important to know one's linguistic identity
value for the purposes of improving them in case they fall
below average.References
Anderson, M. (2009). Language. New York: MacGraw Hill.
Joyce, J. (2012). Linguistics and its Importance. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

2. Literature Review: SPCH 324
Abstract
Previous studies have documented that, most women
respond less favorably to competition than men. Conditional on
performance, men are usually more eager to compete, and they
tend to respond more positively to an increase in competition.
This literature review examines the robustness of these
differences as well the factors that may have given rise to them.
Both field and laboratory studies confirm that gender
differences in competitiveness tend to result from differences in
attitude and overconfidence towards competition. In risk
aversion, gender differences, however, seem to be playing a
smaller robust role. This paper concludes by asking what should
be done to encourage qualified females and males to compete
(Allan, 1992).
Introduction
Despite significant advances in female education, we
continuously see gender differences in labor market outcomes
(Dolan, 2014). A standard explanation for these persistent
differences includes discrimination, and that men and women
differ in their preferences and ability over jobs. Economists
have increasingly interested in investigating whether gender
differences in competitiveness may help explain why labor
market differences exist. If women are reluctant to compete,
then they become less likely to enter male dominated and
competitive fields.
This paper is a review of the rapidly increasing literature
based on gender differences in their competition. A sequence of
studies documents that, women are often more reluctant to
compete than men condition on performance. The study
provides an environment in which some factors like preference
or discrimination for, family don't compromise any gender
differences in competitiveness. Other merits of this study are

that, it is possible control factors that may influence
competitiveness systematically. The literature in this study has
become a prime example of a very fruitful interplay between
experiments and standard economic methods.
The review starts by presenting research on preferences for
performing in competitive or non-competitive incentive
schemes. Looking at Dolan (2014) which records considerable
gender differences in tournament entry showing that, these were
primarily driven by gender differences in attitude and
confidence toward a competition. This study organizes the
subsequent investigations of causal inference around the central
explanations for the observed gender gap.
Gender gap
A gender difference in performance is greater in a
competitive environment than in a way that is not competitive.
Specifically, men respond positively to an increase in
competition than women do. Throughout this literature, a
concern is raised that women with high-ability opt out of
competitions. From an economic perspective, this loss of high-
ability workers is costly and thus paramount to ask what can be
done to address the tournament entry.
One strand of this literature takes gender gap in
competitiveness as given to asking whether changes in
institutions may encourage high-ability women to join
environments that they are likely to succeed. Another strand
questions whether competitiveness is learned or innate and
investigates the measures that can be taken to change gender
gap in willingness to compete. In a light of the review, this
paper conclude by presenting research that questions whether it
is advantageous for individual and society to encourage more
gender competitive behavior.
Women shy away from competition

This paper examine whether men and women differ to join
games when controlling factors that might account for such
differences. Attitudes toward sports are a very significant factor
towards the outcome of a game, although men feel comfortable
performing in a competitive setting while women may feel
anxious about such prospects.
Moreover, in beliefs about relative performance, men tend to be
more confident that they are among the highest-performing
participants and thus likely to compete. Finally, in feedback
aversion and risk the tournament is not only competitive but is
also, uncertain and provides more information about
performance than the piece-rate scheme. For instance, if women
are more averse to such factors, they may be less inclined to
choose a competitive compensation (Dolan, 2014).
Gender Differences and competition in Beliefs
There exists a vast and extensive literature in psychology
that finds women less confident than men about their relative
ability. Economists have recently begun to replicate and
investigate this finding. A series of approaches has studied the
role of confidence in the gender gap role for entry into the
tournament. A better way is to measure the beliefs directly as
well as use them as controls to decide on whether it is wise to
enter a tournament. An alternative way is to manipulate ideas by
changing the task. Relative performance expectations typically
change when performing in a stereotypical female rather than a
male job. Another way of assessing the roles of beliefs is to
provide participants who have information on relative
performances before they make a decision whether on whether
to directly manipulate ideas.
In contrast to previous studies, it has been found that
controlling for beliefs and performance accounts for gender
differences in entering a tournament. The previous literature
elicits beliefs on piece-rate performance, although such beliefs
affect the choice that comes with a piece-rate scheme and a
tournament. They do not eliminate gender gap. Grosse & Reiner

(2010) use a measure of overconfidence that does not correlate
with the competition entry decisions and find a significant
gender gap in tournament entry when controlling for beliefs.
The overall evidence suggests that elicited beliefs explain but
do not eliminate the gender gap in, winner of a competition
entry. The second way of assessing the role of ideas is to
manipulate them by changing the task. Choosing a math task to
understand why women are reluctant to enter competitive and
male-dominated fields.
Earlier studies discovered that gender differences in
beliefs are present when it comes to a masculine domain. One
treatment provides participants with information on the
performance of the winner of a tournament of their group of
four. They found that this information eliminates the initially
observed gender gap in a competition entry. These studies
combined demonstrate that feedback reduces the gender gap in
tournament entry.
In summary, this literature has shown that, conditional on
performance, men and women differ in terms of their beliefs
about their relative performance. These differences in beliefs
help them explain the gender gap in tournament entry. However,
when controlling for beliefs, gender differences in a
competition remain when examining stereotypically men tasks.
By providing information on a relative performance or changing
the job to one that females are believed to have an advantage
reduces and simultaneously eliminate the gender gap in a
tournament entry. Additional research is very necessary for
assessing the extent to which precise beliefs measures can
account for the gender differences in a competitive entry
Afshar, & Eade, (2004).
Gender Differences and competition attitudes of risk
When the payment is made riskier in a tournament, the

expectation is that risk aversion will d influence directly affect
the personal decision to enter a tournament. There is a vast
literature in economics and psychology debating when, whether
and by how much females are more risk averse than males.
Women demonstrate greater risk aversion. Although women are
more prone to risk in some situations, many studies have found
no gender differences. A number of previous research has
examined the extent to which risk attitudes can account for the
gender difference in competitiveness.
One way to controlling for risk is to have participants
make choices that mimic the risk of the tournament entry
choice. Kleppinger (1995). Take this approach when eliciting
compensation decisions for any past performance. The risk of
this decision is no different from that of entering a tournament
and then competing. Using this decision in two ways to evaluate
the role of risk. First, when selecting a compensation scheme
for a past piece-rate performance, it has been found that, gender
gap do not exist in tournament entry when controlling for
performance and beliefs.
The theories suggest that, risk aversion is unlikely to
playing a role when selecting compensation for a performance
in a future. Second, if a past piece-rate performance selected as
a bonus choice for control, it was found that, there exists a
substantial gender difference in tournament entry. Thus, risk
aversion cannot adequately account for that gender difference.
Similar results have been shown by and Kleppinger (1995).
Basov & Basov, (1992) replicates the second result without
analyzing the first one? He measured risk attitudes by having
their participants choose an incentive scheme for randomly
drawn numbers. Kleppinger (1995), found major gender
differences when he was making a decision on submitting past
piece-rate to the piece-rate or a payment scheme when
controlling performances only.

In a competition, women perform less
Previous studies repeated measurements, using
environments in which performance measured on short tasks.
Performance on such tasks remains unresponsive when it comes
to the incentive scheme. After this paper studied the relative
performance of men to that of women it discovered that
depending on incentives scheme at hand, an observation lead to
erroneous inferences when deciding whether to encourage
competition or not. If a competitive pressure of a longer-term
task can affect performance, then we need to be cautious when
recommending that women who are highly non-competitive in
their performance tend to enter competitions.
The first paper is vein Basov, & Basov, (1992). They
conducted an experiment at the Teknion in Israel in which men
and women solved questions on the Internet for twenty minutes
under different compensation schemes. Four men and three
women participated in each session of the experiment. Although
gender failed to explicitly mention, participants could see each
other and then determine the gender composition of the group.
Each treatment had 31 men and 31women, and no one
participated twice; that is, each participant performed under one
incentive scheme. Gender, place and culture: A journal of
feminist geography, (1994).
At the end of this experiment, all participants were
informed what they had earned. Under a piece-rate payment that
had a compensation of about $0.7 per every completed maze,
the average performance of all men was 14.0 points, whereas it
was 12.0 for women. The difference of 2.0 points is not very
significant. Comparing the gap with that in a competitive pay
treatment the later has the highest-performing participant, paid
six times the usual payment rate, that is, approximately $4 per
point. The remaining members of the group received nothing as
a pay. In the case of ties, winners shared their payment equally.

The average competitive performance of men of 15points was
higher than in the piece rate, whereas production by women of
12 points was not significantly different from a piece rate. The
gender gap in the performance of 4.2 points under a competitive
pay is significantly higher than the difference of 2.0 under the
piece rate.
Increased gender gap in performance was attributed to
gender differences in competitiveness as well as in risk
attitudes. The tournament payment is both uncertain and
competitive. In the previous section above, we show that gender
differences in risk aversion have no robust effect on entering a
competition, and in general fail to eliminate the gender gap.
However, deciding whether to perform highly in a competition,
gender differences in risk aversion may have a significant
effect. In a random pay event, one participant is selected and
paid $3 per maze while other remaining members did not
receive pay for their performance. The uncertainty of this
payment scheme is no different from that in a tournament.
In a random pay treat, the aggregate performance of men to
women is the same to those in the piece rate. Moreover, when
comparing tournament performance, the end results are the
similar whether the piece-rate performance or random pay used.
It, therefore, seems that men and women differ in terms of
response to competitive payment schemes. The results explained
by earlier authors in three ways.
Firstly, women may not perform well in competitions since
they cannot solve more questions without incurring high costs.
Secondly, females may compete, but not against men. The fact
could be because women feel that they can only perform
somewhat less in this task than men and hence they may choose
not to exert efforts to increase their performances. Finally, it
may not be the performance of female that needs explaining, but
the performance of males (Basow & Basow, 1992).

Sports
There are major reasons why significant gender differences
in sports competitions do not exist. Firstly, sports competitions
are typically within gender. Evidence from previous studies
suggests that the gender gap in competitiveness is smaller or not
at all in single-sex competitions. Second, the performances in a
sports competition are rather precisely measured, and therefore
it may be argued that elite athletes have a good sense of how
their performance ranks in relation to that of others. Hence,
gender differences in overconfidence get smaller in such
environments, which result in a smaller gender gap in
competitiveness.
(Allan, 1992) used data from Grand Slam volleyball
tournaments to investigate the response to competition. Allan
examined the data and found out that, an increase in stakes
decreases the quality of the game for both women and men.
Although the reduction is greater for women indecisive set,
gender gap in performance is not significant at all. Each point
ranked following its probability to winning the game. Thus the
effect of competition on the general performance usually differs
by gender, with females likely to make unforced mistakes at
crucial points in the match (Allan, 1992).
Current status of gender and competition
To stamp International Women's Day the OECD discharged
a significant new investigation on sexual orientation and
instruction.
What are a percentage of alternate courses in which sex is
imperative in training? A just discharged Trends Shaping
Education Spotlight begins with the self-evident: The lion's
share of instructors is female over the OECD. This is most
stamped in preprimary and essential instruction, where give or
take 8 out of 10 instructors are ladies. In auxiliary education,
68% of lower optional educators in TALIS nations are female,

and in countries such as Slovak Republic and Estonia and the,
more than 90% of instructors are all ladies.
Is this critical? Among columnists and approach producers,
there is an affinity to join the lower execution of young men
(especially in perusing) to the way that most instructors are
female. On the other hand, while the contention is instinctive,
examination proof does not propose that bringing men into the
showing calling would enhance young men's accomplishment, as
measured by test results.
Going for a superior offset of men and ladies among
educators can by the by have beneficial outcomes. Male
teachers can serve as good examples, especially for those
understudies who don't have numerous positive male impacts in
their lives. A few nations are effectively looking to expand the
quantities of male instructors.
So what could be possible? The Scottish government has
endeavored endeavors to lessen sex based word related isolation
with its "Be what you need" crusade.
These sorts of little steps could be imperative. Sexual
orientation fairness does not imply that men and ladies ought to
turn into the same, but instead that an individual's chances
ought not to rely on upon whether they are conceived female or
male. Instruction can, and ought to, assume a part in forming
the state of mind and changing practices to enhance sexual
orientation value. A world with more female PC researchers and
in addition more male instructors and health awareness
specialists? Sounds great to me.
The studies presented above are excellent examples of how
researchers, based on evidence, have identified environments
that are nonetheless possible to tell gender differences in
competitiveness today. In several instances, evidence confirms

the findings of the study. In situations with gender differences
in confidence, many studies have confirmed that, the
performance gap between women and men is rises with
competitive pressure. The performance of men is also growing
in response to competition while that of women does not.
Although the research on competing willingness in the
field is limited, initial studies remain consistent with women
choosing not to join competitions for which they feel qualified.
Hence many results have explained what appears to be a
reasonable ad hoc assumption of the underlying beliefs of a
participant. In future, it will be a matter of future studies in
combined field observations with assurance measures on
relative performances (Worell, 2001).
Conclusion and discussion
Over the past decade, most economists have increasingly
expressed interest in determining whether a potential
explanation for persistent gender differences in the labor market
may result from women and men differing in their attitude
towards competition. What has been of particular interest is
whether such differences can help explain why men hold jobs in
which competition is required either to satisfy daily demands or
to secure the job. In a stereotypical-males task, there exists a
consensus that women and men with the similar ability differ to
participate in a competition.
Whereas men preferred compensation under a tournament
scheme, women prefer a non-competitive piece-rate system.
Perhaps this is the most robust explanation for this difference in
which men tend to be confident in their abilities than women
differing in their attitudes toward competition.
Whereas men are more eager to compete, women seem to
shy from competitions. The differential response to competitive
pressure seems influenced to join sports, as well as performance

in the game. The study evidence shows that there are
environments with growing competitive pressure that causes
gender gap in performance to increase, with men's performance
increasing relative to that of women Gender, change & society.
(1995).
Although studies have begun documenting gender
differences in competitiveness, more work is required to assess
the weight of such effects. From a societal perception, it is
disconcerting that high-ability women chose not to participate
in competitions that they feel they can easily win. The
aggregate cost associated with having the best talent among
applicants may be substantial. Research has, therefore, begun
questioning whether and how high-ability women can be
encouraged to join competitions. Firstly they opt thoroughly to
change the organizations that select winners of the tournament.
Although only a limited number of institutions investigated so
far, it is apparent that systems that focus on an individual's
confidence and attitude toward competition are likely to be
particularly successful. An example of such examined body is
an affirmative action quota.
Another option is to influence preferences and confidence
for competition directly. Evidence suggests that preferences in
games are not innate, and even may even be influenced through
means in which females grow. It then becomes possible to
nurture women to make them competitive. An option that is less
explored but related is instead used to confront gender
differences confidently. Although eagerness and overconfidence
to compete may help one secure promotion, such factors may
present a demerit in other settings. They may be carrying
detrimental effect in cooperative settings in which one have to
sacrifice resources to achieve the success of a team rather than
oneself. Eagerness to win games may also negatively influence
the ability of an individual to reach beneficial agreements with
others.

Indeed, the literature suggests that male-to-male
negotiations may result in inferior outcomes to those seen in
male-to-female negotiations.
Related evidence field is found by Allan (1992) who
investigated how male professional taxi drivers in Lima, Peru,
respond to female and male clients who use the same aggressive
negotiation script. Despite the use of bargaining scenarios,
women frequently achieve superior outcomes than men do.
Women obtain a better final and initial prices and frequently
rejected than men.
Overall, in the recent decade, a new avenue of work in
studying the differences in gender in terms of competitiveness.
Although the phenomenon was robustly established, more work
is needed to assess the importance attached to gender
differences in competitiveness in career and educational
outcomes. A new and vibrant literature has already made
substantial strides while asking when competitiveness is
harmful and if it is useful, then how valuable is it? How can it
be changed? However, many open questions remain Taylor,
(January 01, 2005).
References
Basow, S. A., & Basow, S. A. (1992). Gender: Stereotypes and
roles. Pacific Grove, Caliph: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co
Dolan, K. A. (2014). When does gender matter? Women
candidates and gender stereotypes in American elections.
Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: Sex
similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender.
San Diego, Calif: Academic Press
Kleppinger, A. (1995). Gender differences in sport orientation
and goal orientation.
Allan, D. E. (1992). Gender differences in sport centrality.
Gender & psychoanalysis. (1996). Madison, CT: International

Universities Press.
DeBoer, K. J. (2003). Gender and competition: How men and
women approach work and play differently. Monterey, CA:
Coaches Choice.
Afshar, H., & Eade, D. (2004). Development, women, and war:
Feminist perspectives. Oxford: Oxfam.
Gender, place and culture: A journal of feminist geography.
(1994). Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Carfax International Publishers.
Gender, change & society. (1995). London: Taylor & Francis.
Taylor, J. (January 01, 2005). Who Manages Feminist-Inspired
Reform? An In-Depth Look at Title IX Coordinators in the
United States. Gender & Society, 19, 3, 358-375.
3. Martin Luther King Jr. speech Analysis: COMM 200
Kenneth Burke a language expert develops a method of
examining motivation through a five – part dramatic pentad as
written in his book “A Grammar of Motives” (Burke, 1969).
Burke (1969) records that the choice of words is based on their
dramatic potential and that each individual prioritizes a specific
part of the pentad. The five elements of dramatic pentad are
scene, act, purpose, agent, and agency. In the task I seek to
analyze Martin Luther King Jr’s speech “I have a dream” with a
focus on how he used the five elements of the dramatic pentad.
Martin Luther King Jr is the agent. He is the man who delivers
the speech and being an individual of strong personality there
was no one in a better position as at that time to deliver the
speech more than he was. He was a great orator and his ability
to capture the audience with his repetition approach to his
speech was so seamless. He delivered the point of his hope for a
better America by starting each sentence with the phrase “I have
a dream” and” we cannot be satisfied” to state the injustices that
were taking place. He had before this speech delivered others
that made him a famous and an outstanding personality. He was
also a scholar, he held a doctorate and his level of information,
and knowledge that blended well with his deliver skills was
unmatched. According to Kenneth Burke people who focus on
the agent part of dramatic pentad believe that you need a strong

individual to make things happen and in this case none suited
the role than Martin Luther King Jr.
Agency involves the technique used by the agent to achieve
their purpose (Burke, 1969). This pentad is associated to
pragmatic persons. Martin Luther King Jr. Based on his wanted
to deal with the matter at hand sensibly and realistically. His
approach was more practical than theoretical. He did not
promise the people that the war against discrimination will take
a day. He says he dreamt that his children would not be judged
by their color but the content of their character, that each
American would have equal opportunity. This shows that his
focus was in the future. He further referred to an earlier
emancipation proclamation that shows that the course had long
began and it will take time to reach the ultimate goal but that
should not deter the progress it should encourage them that even
if they don’t harvest the success of their efforts their children
and the nation will. Martin Luther King Jr. uses hope as a tool
to drive his purpose, he makes the people believe that there is
only better ahead of them. And he reminds them that Country’s
forefathers who had foreseen the better America 100 years ago
put the words down in the constitution this invoked the believe
of a better America thus faith as a tool.
This speech was delivered at the capital. The capital is viewed
as a central place, where people from different parts of the
country would meet. The capital is a fair ground to all and a
message from the capital has a more serious meaning yet it
keeps it in the mind of the people that this is a war that is being
fought across the country not by a skewed section. Martin
Luther King Jr further chooses a time when the Negros had
grown tired of the discrimination, a revolution and fight for
freedom was imminent and his timing could not be better.
According to Burke, changing of the scene changes everything
else. Had Martin Luther King Jr delivered the speech away from
the capital its effect would have had the monstrous impact it
had. People from all over the country may not have come.
Therefore, the choice of place and the timing of the speech both

largely contributed to its success
Burke states “any verb no matter how specific or general that
has connotation of consciousness or purpose fall under this
category” the act category (Burke, 1969). He says that their
reason for gathering at the capital was to check, that they
believed the bank was not bankrupt. Their purpose there was to
fight for their freedom and he encourages them continue with
the purpose. He further told the listeners that when they travel
back home they should not relent. The act also aligns with the
scene since the act of masses gathering at the capital sent a
massive massage to the people even before Martin Luther King
Jr. spoke.
The purpose of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech was clear. He
was fighting for a course and there was no hidden agenda in his
speech. He encouraged people that the war is not against the
white people. He acknowledges their presence at the meeting
and reminds the people that they have to fight together not
against each other to get the freedom they so endeavored to
have. He further said that they should not fight to have their
own rules and nation but he wanted freedom within their own
nation, he wanted equality in the nation in which he sought no
office or leadership position. Therefore, his purpose of seeking
equality and freedom was vividly stated in his constitution.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. speech I think above all
stands out as pragmatic which is in line with the worldview
concept of pragmatism. He was practical about the purpose, he
was sensible yet grounded and the fact that the USA today has a
black president shows that Luther saw a future that was real but
he was clear about his timing. The speech was delivered when
the current president was three years old. The USA today has
freedom and respect for every citizen who are judged not by the
color of their skin but the content of their character.
References
Burke, K. (1969). A grammar of motives. University of
California Press.

4. Research Paper: WRTG 391
In the world today, the most stereotyped and criticized groups
in America are the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
communities which are trying to take a stand proudly against
the drama that comes with several issues which surround their
lifestyle. A homosexual is a person who has any physical or
emotional attraction to a person of the same sex, or who can be
stereotyped, placed into other groups such as gay, bisexual,
lesbian, transgender, curious and other labels which the
heterosexual community has placed on them. Many people may
question why does homosexuality exist? Some may even think if
it is a choice than why some people would choose to go against
it. Some people may utilize the argumentation theory when it
comes to marriage and feel that marriage should be between a
man and a woman and that the definition of marriage makes
same sex marriage irregular, but this paper is intended to show
that the new definition of marriage should consist of allowing
all lovers to experience it.
Homosexuality existence has not been an issue which has
become a big debate often but how homosexuality has arrived
into the world has become very questionable. Many people often
wonder how or what makes a person want to be gay. There is no
study which shows information on religious measures when it
comes to being gay, as well as the cause of homosexuality.
Religion is sometimes associated with the belief that
homosexuals may choose their own sexual orientation rather it
be gay, transgender, or bisexual. The views on this topic can be
immediately viewed by a society which may argue that there is
some sort of act of acquiring of gay, transgender, or bisexual
traits. Some may feel the causes of homosexuality can be
controllable or not controllable. Some people may believe that
the controllable act on homosexuality is a personal choice when
an individual is deciding on their sexual preference. Some
people may even feel that the environment an individual is
around will have a direct result on their sexuality. This can
possibly mean that if a human being is raised in a household

where homosexuality is viewed as being wrong or the people in
household have a negative impact on same sex couples, than
chances are the individual may not have a greater chance at
becoming gay.
Many homosexuals may not struggle with trying to explain how
or why they choose to become gay but may struggle with certain
issues such as being accepted for their lifestyle to many of their
friends, family, co-workers and even sometimes strangers.
When a homosexual chooses to come out the closet, they tend to
make a huge statement to themselves, family and their other
peers that they are proud of who they are and proud to be gay.
This sometimes becomes a moment of excitement for the gay
community and allows them to be free of keeping their sexuality
hidden. The only choice that a homosexual may make regarding
their sexual preference is the choice of when and who to come
out to.
Some people may feel for a homosexual, coming out the closet
is easy to do but it is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes there
are many factors that could keep a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or
transgendered individual from deciding to come out closet.
Some gays may not come out because they may not receive
support from their family when dealing with negative comments
towards homosexuality. Sometimes gays have to deal with
certain attitudes such as homophobia, antigay violence, and
heterosexism. When homosexuals hide their sexuality from the
world, at times it is sometimes viewed by people that they are
scared of coming out the closet or are afraid of what some
people may think of them. When gays decide to come out the
closet, they have to deal with such cases as being humiliated
and sometimes abuse by individuals who have or show signs of
homophobia towards individuals who have come out of the
closet.
The homosexual characters on television increased over the
years which have brought many questions fourth as into the
impact of portrayals of members of a traditional social group on
both society and members of that group. During the late 1990’s,

homosexual characters started being casted in leading roles on
major television series. Soon after, Homosexuals have started
being casted in both leading and supporting roles in motion
pictures and fiction. The NBC-TV sitcom Will & Grace had
made its debut in the late 1990’s and continued to air for
several network seasons. This was a first example of gay subject
matter going totally mainstream. Will & Grace, was a half-hour
comedy which lasted more than five seasons and served two
purposes. The first purpose was for the show to attempt to
explore a relationship between two best friends of different
genders. The second purpose was for the show to cast two gay
male leads with very different personalities in order to change
the views of representation of homosexual men. This show has
had several print media and other forms of reviews, criticisms
and praises for this program, but has also went on to become
one of the most successful shows since its debut for
demonstrating both critical and public praise of its portrayal of
homosexuality in the public eye of television.
The homosexual community sometimes may be looked at
differently from the religious world which tends to be
completely different when a lot of religions preach the word of
loving god. A lot of the issues about homosexuality are mainly
based on the teachings of The Bible. Some of the scripts and
verses which mention homosexuality in the bible tend to be the
ones that have received the most support from anti-gay activists
which comes from the New King James version of the Holy
Bible. A lot of people who are a part of the gay community tend
to have their own vision of the religious world. The verse of the
holy bible which most homosexuals tend to agree with states,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only forgotten
Son, that whosever believed in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (John 3.16). In this statement, there is not a
word or phrase which would stop any person who participates in
homosexual activity from having everlasting life, which would
allow them at the time of death from entering the gates of
heaven.

Although there has been a tremendous increase in progress
and support for civil right for homosexuals, the issue of gay
marriage has been one which has been talked about for several
years. There are many people who disagree with gay marriage.
A lot of Americans think homosexuality is wrong but tend to get
along with gay and lesbians well. Some people may think same
sex marriage may have a tremendous impact on their marriage
and believe homosexuality and same sex marriage is against
their religion. Some may feel that if a person had a close
relationship with someone who is involved in a homosexual
lifestyle, the lifestyle may end up influencing other people to
have different beliefs when it comes to religion. There are many
people who are more than likely to be more approving of gay
marriage than to be against gay marriage, even though there are
religious teachings against homosexuality. There are a lot of
people who love the fact that gays are now allowed to get
married. They would prefer to see them happy than unhappy.
Some people may believe that people should be allowed to be
themselves without having to deal with so much negativity for
being themselves. Since same sex couples are now allowed to
get married, same sex couples should be allowed to have the
same benefits as heterosexual couples. Some may think that
same sex couples will not be able to benefit from the financial
benefits as straight couples do. Several people may feel that by
providing same sex couples the right to marry, If one half of the
same sex couple is unable to work due to an illness, the other
partner may not be able to take advantage of their partner’s
health benefits due to the family medical leave act. (Cook-
Daniels, L. (2004, July/August). Although many people may
feel marriage should be strictly between a man and a woman.
Many people may have arguments that come about with this
topic of gay marriage. Some may feel that gay marriage should
be legal and same sex couples should be entitled to equal rights.
There are many people who are in support of gay marriage and
many who are against gay marriage. Some are against gay
marriage due to their religious beliefs against gay marriage.

Many people believe in their religious freedoms which they tend
to think the arguments of gay marriage should be considered as
a religious right. DeLaet, D. L., & Caufield, R. P. (2008, July).
A study has been conducted which shows the different life spans
amongst gay men and women who live their life as a
homosexual. Many reports have showed that gay men have been
infected with HIV or are living with AIDS. (Frisch, M., &
Brønnum-Hansen, H. (2009, January). This study tends to show
that a lot of this epidemic happened after a same sex couple has
decided to get married. (Frisch, M., & Brønnum-Hansen, H.
(2009, January). Studies have shown that some men were 35
years old or younger, as well as over 35 years old when they
had their first same sex marriage. (Frisch, M., & Brønnum-
Hansen, H. (2009, January). Studies have also shown that
women getting married to the same sex was less, when they
were 35 years or younger or over 35 years old when they had
their first same sex marriage. (Frisch, M., & Brønnum-Hansen,
H. (2009, January). Some may question whether or not the
debate over gay marriage is really over. Gay marriage became
legal in the state of Connecticut in November 2008. (Galli, M.
(2009, July). Marriage certificates were also granted doing this
year in certain states. (Galli, M. (2009, July). The state of
Vermont legalize gay marriage in April 2009 and in May of the
same year, the state of New Hampshire and Maine decided to
legalize same sex marriage as well. (Galli, M. (2009, July). A
lot of the other states did not decide to legalize same sex
marriage until later, some states today, still have not legalize
same sex marriage. Some people may be concerned with
legalizing same sex marriage and how same sex parenting can
possibly have an effect on children. A study has been conducted
to show how same sex parenting could possibly affect children.
A study has also been conducted on some children who are
being raised by same sex parents, which they have found out
that the children are still being raised as normal children who
are being raised by a man and a woman. This study basically
shows that same sex parenting does not have any mental effect

on how their children will be raised. The rights for gay
marriage have been recently supported by the United States
President Barack Obama. In 2007, President Obama was not a
big supporter of gay marriage. The President decided to support
gay marriage at a private fundraising, in which he had some
people who was concerned and supported gay marriage. The
president stated that he wants equality and wants full rights and
benefits for same sex couples, but he felt that religious beliefs
would cause some serious issues. (Sullivan, A. (2012, May 21).
President Obama than changed his mind earlier this year in 2012
and decided to become a full supporter of gay marriage.
Homosexuality is and always will be a lifestyle which may
cause a huge debate regarding where it comes from and what
makes people want to live in such a lifestyle. Many people from
the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgendered community may
still continue to face several issues that are brought upon them
but hopefully will put an end to many stereotypes and
discrimination. Hopefully, this will also put an end to suicides
amongst many teens, as well as allow the media to promote and
expose the world to being more accepting of same sex
relationships which develop in different cultures. The coming
out process has become very important to the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-
sexual and Transgender community because this not a way for
learning to accept their sexuality but to become more
comfortable with themselves as well as gain full support from
people who matter the most to them such as their family and
their friends. When society learns to be more accepting of this
lifestyle, hopefully the stereotypes and discrimination will
finally be deceased and allow each and every individual the
right opportunity to live their lives the way they choose too. A
lot of religious people at times often tend to judge homosexuals
as living their life full of sins and automatically assume that
they will not be able to enter heaven at the time when they leave
earth but will suffer in hell. Regardless to what some people
may think about homosexuality and religion, they should know
and believe that God and his son Jesus Christ are loving men

who loves, cares and accepts everyone for who they are, as well
as for what they are regardless to their sexual preference.
Reference:· BRAMLETT, B. H. (2012, February). The cross-
pressures of religion and contact with gays and lesbians, and
their impact on same-sex marriage opinion. . Retrieved from
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/detail?vid=7&h
id=102&sid=1b668c19· Brumbaugh, S. M., Sanchez, L. A.,
Nock, S. L., & Wright, J. D. (2008, May). HTML Full Text
Attitudes Toward Gay Marriage in States Undergoing Marriage
Law Transformation. Retrieved from
id=102&sid=26079283· Cook-Daniels, L. (2004, July/August).
Why gay marriage is an issue for abuse professionals. Retrieved
from
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· DeLaet, D. L., & Caufield, R. P. (2008, July). Gay Marriage as
a Religious Right: Reframing the Legal Debate over Gay
Marriage in the United States. Retrieved from
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/
· Frisch, M., & Brønnum-Hansen, H. (2009, January). Mortality
Among Men and Women in Same-Sex ]Marriage: A National
Cohort Study of 8333 Danes. . Retrieved from
id=102&sid=1b668c19
· Galli, M. (2009, July). IS THEY GAY MARRIAGE DEBATE
OVER? Retrieved from
id=102&sid=1b668c19-4bb7· Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., &
Ivory, J. D. (n.d.). Gendered relationships on television:
Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Retrieved
from
id=6&sid=00106038-ed36-4e14-908a-
ecccb2714f7e%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpd
mUm· Meezan, W., & Rauch, J. (2005). Gay Marriage, Same-

Sex Parenting, and America's Children. Retrieved from
id=102&sid=1b668c19-4bb7· Sullivan, A. (2012, May 21). THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHIFTED THE
MAINSTREAM IN ONE INTERVIEW. Retrieved from
id=102&sid=26079283-6c2c-4cd8-8ab7-72f8bfd5828e
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