Personal Experience Paper - COM 316 - Intercultural Communication Brief Explanation of Paper Types:          Refugee mentor report In-depth interview with sojourner/ first-generation immigrant Extended personal experience in the recent past General requirements/suggestions for all paper types: Papers must be typed/printed. Single spacing is preferred with a font size of 10 or 12. The focus of the paper is on evaluation of an experience through the use of concepts presented in class or from readings. The use of intercultural "jargon" is encouraged; you may assume that the reader of the paper is familiar with the terms and concepts studied. Length is indeterminate since it depends on the nature and depth of the experience. If you need more specifics than that, it would be hard to do a decent analysis in less than three pages and reader fatigue will set in after six. (single-space) After you have "gathered your thoughts and illustrations," do the analysis. Make the outline of the paper follow the analytical decisions/evaluations rather than follow a chronology of the events or incidents. Remember: the examples and illustrations are support for the point you are making and not a substitute for it. Some of your experiences/observations will not make it into the paper. Make conscious choices or you may end up with a journal or diary rather than a paper and focus will be lost. Don’t be afraid to speculate! Much of this analysis as a first attempt and I understand that. Try to separate personality from culture. Some things that happen are not cultural reflections but issues of individual traits or habits. Attempt to learn about expression through means other than conversation. Include exposure to music, art, and stories of your contact. Try to understand the history of their native countries as they have experienced it. Try to get beyond the immediate causes of their departure to learn about how they are connected by their history to others of the country/culture. Mentor papers Be sure to provide a "family tree" of the people involved in your experience. Perhaps a cast of characters would also be helpful. Watch for relationship issues to analyze; among family members, extended family, friends. Include an analysis of the culture and not just the people you met. Interviews Phrase your questions to draw out things that you can analyze. This might be done by asking questions about concepts studied in class but phrased to be understandable by someone not familiar with them. Don’t forget to follow-up if an area seems promising. Some topics may present themselves that you never thought of. Be aware of potentially sensitive areas and be prepared to back off or to substitute another question. If you are getting nowhere on an issue, that might indicate a polite way of trying to change the topic! Extended Personal Experience Don’t be as worried about exactness of description as you are of general understanding. I am aware that memories fade and change. Try to ask someone else who knew of your experience to help you with recall or to give you ideas. Avoid the temptation to tell the history of the situation rather than analyzing it. If there is much descriptive detail and little explanation, you have made this mistake.