The Link Between English and Communications

Have you ever written a Facebook post? A text message? Left a comment on YouTube, Instagram or Vine? If you have, you’ve used the link between English and Communications. Anytime we use technology to engage with others, we are applying the knowledge and skills from English class to the broad field of Communications.

                The field of Communications is new; it’s a combination of at least three disciplines: English, Psychology and Sociology, and requires a lot of current research. It’s using the art of argument to make changes in everyday society, and the best Communications students are proficient in not only reading and writing, but thinking and researching. 

In order to convince others to adopt a behavior, buy a product, vote for a candidate, or join a belief system, one must first understand the way certain audiences think and behave in order to reach and persuade members of those audience. In English class, your audience is your teacher or even your peers; in a Communications class, your audience expands to those outside your classroom doors. It could be your friends on Facebook or Twitter, your local newspaper editor or even your future employer.

                If you plan to major in business, education, the sciences or arts, honing your ability to communicate helps you better connect with others. Communications classes employ problem-based design thinking where the idea sets the medium in which it’s communicated. In other words, some audiences may be better reached with a short film, whereas others may require a written argument with photographs or images. The form your argument takes depends on who you’re trying to reach. The first step in understanding this, though, is understanding argument and audience, and that is introduced in English class.

Without English classes, you will not have the building blocks to build a brand, a company or a credible reputation. That is why Communications is grounded in English composition. Once an argument sets the foundation, a script can be drafted for a film or speech. A catchy photograph can catch the perfect angle, person or place. A well-researched blog can surf your web of social media outlets. But before all this, a plan must take root. The link between English and Communications, then, is much like a root to a tree; it is needed to keep the tree grounded and alive, but it is only one root of many to help the tree grow and flourish. 

-Kara Maddox, Assistant Professor of LSS and Communications