STC 116: PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Discussion Leader Assignment # 2 – Creativity

Due: 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 29, Under Blackboard Assignment Tab

Different from the previous assignment, this assignment emphasizes one big topic: CREATIVITY. So try your best to make every element of your assignment creative.

Each student should write a reaction paper on the topic of creativity. Make sure you follow all the instructions I listed below:

1. Think hard and observe carefully. Find a “creative element” that interests and inspires you in your life. Such creative element can be a public relations case study or campaign that you find online/ participated in / dream to design. It can be a TV commercial, a video, a book, an article, or even a poster. It can also be a person, an object, an art piece, a piece of music, or an idea.

• In your paper, introduce and describe this creative element you find. Then answer the following questions:
• Why you think this element you find is creative. Convince me as best as you can.
• Based on the creative element you find, explain your understanding of the concept “creativity”.
• Do research to find out how other sources interpret the concept of “creativity”. As always, these sources can come from the Internet search, academic paper, trade publication, newspaper, etc. Then, summarize your findings in your paper, and compare how your interpretation of creativity is different from theirs.
• Explain the value of creativity in public relations practice from your own perspective.
• (Here is the most challenging part you need to address carefully) Link the creative element you find to public relations practice. That is, what can public relations practitioners learn from the creative element so that they can design their campaign creatively?  Try to make your argument creatively as well.
• Remember to add a “References” section at the end of your paper.

Format of the Reaction Paper

 Each student should upload the reaction paper onto the Blackboard’s Assignment Tab for this particular assignment. NO hard copy or handwritten copy will be accepted.

• Type your paper with a 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, and framed by one-inch margins.
• Keep the length of your reaction paper within three pages, including the bibliography/reference section: Specifically, two full pages for main text and one page for bibliography/reference. You can always go over the page limit but not under. No need to include title/cover pages. 
• Cite any sources used in your paper; a bibliography/reference section at the end of the paper is sufficient. Follow APA style for in-text citations and references. See “APA Style” folder on Blackboard when you need help. Note that although the APA style requires you to write your paper in a double-spaced format, you should still use the single-spaced format for this specific assignment.
• Avoid misspellings, syntax and grammar errors as well as other writing problems.
• Avoid mechanics & fact errors. Any assignment containing a major factual error will receive a grade of 50. A major factual error is defined as one that gives the wrong information to the audience, including such things as misspelling terms and expressions, incorrect identification of key sources, and so on.
• Make sure your paper is in an essay format. It must be coherent, logical, and carefully edited.
• Remove editing marks before submitting them. All assignments must be “client-ready.”

Note: Any written assignment that does not follow the format guidelines will not be accepted and will be given a grade of zero.

The 2^nd Requirement of This Assignment – Presentation:

As explained in the course syllabus, in addition to uploading the assignments to Blackboard, each student should prepare a 7-minute oral presentation. The presentation should cover all the key points from the student’s assignment, such as (1) a brief introduction of the case study and (2) how this case study is linked to the textbook concepts. I strongly encourage students to do more research and include more useful info in their presentations to assist class understanding of their topics.

Students may use PowerPoints or other visual aids to assist their presentations (via the “Share Screen” function on Zoom); these visual aids, however, are not mandatory. Students will be randomly called upon by the instructor to present their assignments during the class session.

Grading

Evaluation rubrics for this assignment have been posted on Blackboard.

Final Notes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes if necessary to the requirement and instruction for this assignment.

How to handle the paper?

For this assignment, you are tasked with writing a reaction paper on the topic of creativity in the field of public relations. To do this, you will need to find a creative element that interests and inspires you, and use this element to explore your understanding of the concept of creativity. This creative element can be a public relations campaign, a TV commercial, a book, an article, a person, an object, an art piece, a piece of music, or an idea.

In your paper, you should introduce and describe the creative element you have chosen, and explain why you think it is creative. You should also do research to find out how other sources interpret the concept of creativity, and compare your interpretation to theirs. In addition, you should explain the value of creativity in public relations practice from your own perspective, and link the creative element you have chosen to public relations practice, discussing what public relations practitioners can learn from it in order to design their campaigns creatively.

Your paper should be formatted with a 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, and framed by one-inch margins. It should be no longer than three pages, including the bibliography/reference section, and should be properly cited using APA style. You should also prepare a 7-minute oral presentation covering the key points from your paper, and upload it to Blackboard along with your written assignment.

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