Video Overview: https://csusb.zoom.us/rec/share/WHHgDeRweZ-0XM6EoU_00w2F75Z16HN3Mr1mZen4Tw2RRk2-3degiBAG_ZsNFJ7K.ctymPrYoUzXIFh0Y
This semester, we will be discussing the idea of Discourse Communities and how they shape who we are and how we present information. You will write a 4-page (double-spaced) essay that explores one of your discourse communities. You will use at least two sources (outside research) in your essay.
For this essay, you will choose a discourse community that you belong to. You may want to choose a discourse that you discussed in a discussion post, but you don’t have to. Once you have chosen your discourse, write an essay that follows the directions below.
Intro
(1-2 paragraphs). Introduce your discourse community by doing the following:
1. Describe the discourse, how long you’ve been in it, how you came to be in it, and why you chose to write about it
2. You will also describe what you do to identify yourself as a member of this discourse. In other words, how do other people recognize or know you as a member?
3. Next, you will discuss if it is a primary or secondary discourse and how you know (you can find these terms in the lecture on Gee).
4. Finally, share why this discourse is important to you and how it shapes your life.
Body
(This section will be the longest part of your paper and should be several paragraphs) In the body of the essay, you will analyze the discourse community. In your analysis, focus on the following:
1. What commonly agreed upon goals does your community have? Are these goals publicly stated (if so, where?), or are they simply known to the community? Explain and give specific examples. This might be a place to use a source if the goals are explicitly stated.
2. What common values or ways of thinking are shared among members of your discourse? (Remember the lecture on Gee?). This is another great place to use a source!
3. How do members of the discourse community communicate? How is this different or similar to how you communicate in other discourses? Why do these particular modes of communication work better than others for this community (for example, Whatsapp vs. text, text vs. phone calls, Zoom vs. websites, etc)?
4. What genres of text are utilized to help further the goals of the community? For example, how is information shared for newer members to learn and grow? Be specific and give examples.
5. What are examples of the “specific lexis” for your community, and why is it important for your community to have this kind of specialized language? Give a lot of examples here! Another great place to use a source if you can find an example of language in use.
6. Who are the expert members of your community, and how would a new member identify them? Why are expert members important to your community?
7. Who are the new members (novices) of your community? How do “newbies” reveal (whether intentional or not) that they are new? What is the value of new members to your community?
8. What needs to be learned in your discourse, and what needs to be acquired? Give examples and explain. Why can’t the things that need to be acquired simply be learned? (this is from Gee Lecture, it will be impossible to write without referencing this info from the lecture).
Conclusion
(1-2 paragraphs). Wrap up your essay and bring it to a close. In this section, you should focus on the following:
1. How would you describe your level of membership in this discourse? Are you a novice? An expert? Somewhere in between?
2. What do you still need/want to learn in the discourse? What do you still want to acquire? Explain and give examples.
3. As you grow and move forward with life, discuss some current or possible conflicts between this discourse and others you belong to (think about Gee and this idea of conflict)
4. If you could go back in time and choose to write this paper on another discourse community, would you? Would you stick with this one? Why?
5. How has this analysis expanded or changed the way that you see your community and yourself in it? In other words, how has writing this essay changed your perception and understanding of yourself and your discourse community?
6. Intended Audience: The audience of this essay is someone who may not be a member of the discourse community. You are the expert in this situation. Your goal is to share your expert knowledge with those outside the discourse as well as analyze the discourse.
Basic Requirements
Include the information above
4 full pages, double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman Font (or similar), 1-inch margins
Use MLA or APA format
Include in-text citations and works cited/reference list at the end (in MLA or APA format)
Use two outside sources in addition to the article “Understanding Discourse Communities” and the lecture on Gee
———-Note to the writer that will be hired———–
We do not know the student’s gender. So do not assume any gender when writing the essay. The student is Chinese but studies in a university in US-.
