Whenever you read or write, speak or listen, you are communicating. Every communication situation has five parts:
- Sender: The person or people who have something to say
- Message: What the sender wants to say (topic) and why (purpose)
- Medium: The way the sender communicates (for example, text message, video, story)
- Receiver: The person or people who receive the message
- Context: Where and when the message fits (what comes before and after)
For example, imagine that you want to ask a friend about science homework:
- Sender: You, a seventh grader in seventh-hour Earth & Space Science
- Message: Science homework (topic); to do the right assignment tonight (purpose)
- Medium: Text message
- Receiver: Your friend, Claire, who sits next to you in Earth & Space Science
- Context: You missed the end of class because of an orthodontist appointment
You can use this technique to analyze any communication situation, from a text message to a billboard to a movie or play.
