Narrative Analysis Work Report
This work report is for students in 1A to 4B. The audience for this report is primarily yourself and the
Speech Communication (SPCOM) faculty. It is less a work term report for an employer than an
exploration of communication in the workplace.
Narrative analysis is an interpretive approach to communication that seeks to understand the meaning
of communication practices through engagement with people and their practices. To determine how
communication should be managed ideally requires an understanding of the meaning of communication
for those engaged in it. It requires an understanding of the underlying interpersonal, cultural and
systemic tensions expressed by the communication.
Your report should be a self-reflexive analysis of three to four communication incidents or issues in the
workplace, grounded in SPCOM courses that you have taken, and that broadly focus on a
communication skill that you exercised, or saw exercised at work: persuasion, collaboration, team
building, conflict management, etc. For example, you could analyze:

An informative or persuasive speech you gave or heard at work (SPCOM 223)

A situation in which you observed effective or ineffective listening strategies (SPCOM 100)

An effective or ineffective interview that you were a part of or observed (SPCOM 225)

An effective or ineffective team experience (SPCOM 324)

An effective or ineffective leadership style you observed (SPCOM 227)

A specific conflict, either one in which you were involved or one you observed: its stages, the
communication styles used by workers, its resolution and impact (SPCOM 100/324/432)
This list is to give you a start on the kinds of communication experiences you might focus on and is not
exhaustive. As you analyze 3-4 specific issues or situations in your workplace your analysis of each
situation should consist of 3 sections:
1) Narrative: This should be a description of a specific situation or event drawing on your
experience and observations of your own and others' behaviour.
2) Reflection/Interpretation: Reflect on different perspectives in this situation. You might
want to draw on interviews with others to understand and integrate their
perspectives/narratives on these situations. Look for commonalities and differences in
perceptions.
3) Analysis: Integrate theoretical perspectives from communication theory to analyze this
situation.
Use American Psychological Association (APA) style in-text referencing, and for each incident or issue,
provide a description of the communication situation, and then in-depth analysis. Refer to the
evaluation sheet for further information on the required structure for this report. You need to apply
communication theory to analyze your experience. Your report must combine experiential observation
and theoretical references, which may be, but must move beyond, our course textbooks. This report
should be 10-12 double-spaced pages.
Evaluation of Work Term Report: Narrative Analysis
Overall
Evaluation
Outstanding
Excellent
o
Very Good
o
Satisfactory
o
Work term during which report was written (circle
one)
Unsatisfactory
(Resubmit)
o
o
Winter
January-April
Spring
May-August
o
Fall
September-December
Student’s Name
_________________________
ID Number
Employer’s Name
_________________________
Report Number _________________________________________
Title of Report
___________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluator’s Name
_________________________
Date
____________
Unnacceptable
__________________
Year/Term/Dep
t
Room Number
Extension
Structure
Front Cover
Title Page
Letter of Submittal, including
declaration
Table of Contents
Summary
a) Purpose
b) Scope
c) Summary of Analysis
Introduction
a) Job description and duties
b) Description of the organization
c) Focus of the report
Analysis of communication incidents
a) Description of 3-4 situations
b) Integration of theory
c) In-depth Analysis
Conclusions: what have you learned
about applying communication theory
to real life
References, American Psychological
Association (APA) style
Literary Quality
Grammar
Spelling
Clarity
Style
Quality and Subject Matter
Suitability of Topic
Command of Topic
Analytic Content
Thoroughness of Treatment
Evaluator’s Comments
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Very Good
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Unsatisfactory
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Resubmit
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Excellent
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Excellent
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Very Good
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Very Good
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Satisfactory
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Satisfactory
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Unsatisfactory
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Unsatisfactory
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Resubmit
Comments
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Resubmit
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Comments