Discourse Community Analysis
(30%)
What is a Discourse Community Analysis?
A Discourse Community Analysis provides an explanation of how a discourse community functions and provides specific, research-based recommendations for newcomers to a discourse community. We are asking you to present your Discourse Community Analysis as a short report in memo style.
For this assignment, imagine that you are a member of a particular discourse community and that you have been asked to prepare your analysis as a way to introduce newcomers to the community. Your audience is not your instructor, but a newcomer into a discourse community that you already belong to. Your submission should serve as a guidebook for your chosen discourse community about how to communicate effectively within that community.
Academic Integrity
The use of any generative AI (such as ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Grammarly Go, and all similar tools) is not permitted in this or any assignment in COMM202. Paraphrasing tools are also not permitted.
Any research included in your assignment (including secondary sources and primary sources such as interview content) must be real and must be cited in APA style. Falsification of research sources or citations is a serious academic offence. Your Draft and the Final Version of this assignment will be submitted to the Turnitin.com reference database for textual similarity review when they are uploaded to the Dropbox. More information on the use of Turnitin.com can be found on the official course outline.
Why am I doing this?
The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate awareness of communication in a vocational context, whether that be as a student or a professional. By examining the specific ways that we communicate within discourse communities, we can learn how to appropriately navigate new communities as we evolve both personally and professionally.
What do I have to do?
Choose a discourse community related to your program of study or career pathway and write an informal report using memo format that presents a careful observation and analysis of the communication that takes place in that community. Remember, you should be writing for a specific audience: a newcomer to that community.
Specific Requirements
Length: 750 words (plus/minus 75 words)
At least one direct quotation that is cited according to APA. This can be taken from any of the readings suggested in Unit 1: Discourse Communities, or your own research. When making reference to the theory of John Swales, you must cite content on Swales from the COMM202 D2L course content, not from other sources.
Use the following memo headings at the top of your first page:
To:
From:
Re:
Date:
Use the following section headings for the text of your report:
Introduction
Background
Research and Analysis
Conclusions and Recommendations
Format:
Do not indent paragraphs.
Single-space your report text throughout, skipping a line between paragraphs.
Headings should be bolded and left-aligned.
The Reference page must be formatted to APA standards (correct heading, double-spacing, alphabetization, hanging indentation, etc.)
When do I have to do it?
Your first draft is due for peer review at the beginning of lab for peer review. You must also submit a copy to the Draft 1 Dropbox on D2L.
You must attend lab in week 6 to participate in the in-class writing workshop.
Your final draft must be uploaded to the final version Dropbox by 11:59pm on Sunday of Week 6
How will I be graded?
Completing the first draft for the deadline and participating in peer review in class is worth 5%.
Being present in week 6 lab and participating in the in-class writing workshop is worth 5%.
The final draft is worth 20% and will be graded using the rubric posted to D2L.
Late submissions of drafts cannot be accepted. The course late policy will apply to late submissions of the final version.
How do I do it?
A Step-by-step Guide
Plan: Choose a discourse community related to your program of study. This should be a community that you are already a part of (such as students in your program area) or are going to be joining (such as professionals in your chosen field).
Research: Your research will be based on information gathered from secondary sources, including course readings, and from job postings, job profiles or job descriptions from organizational websites. You can also include information from primary research conducted in the form of an interview with a discourse community expert. This could be a professional in the field, an instructor in your program, or an upper-‐semester student. However, please note that an interview isn’t mandatory. You are not required to complete one for this assignment, but it is an option. Suggested questions you may ask:
• What activities do they engage in?
• What means of intercommunication do they use?
• How do they share information and feedback?
• What kind of things do they say, what kind of specialized language do they use?
• What kind of text/documents do they create?
Analyze: Take the data that you have collected through research and analyze your findings using concepts learned in the course, specifically, Swales’ (1987) six characteristics of a discourse community. You should apply 3-4 of Swales’ characteristics, focusing on those that relate to communication (Swales’ characteristics 2-5).
Draft: Write a report. Remember, the audience for your report is a newcomer to the community. Your report must include at least one direct quotation that is cited according to APA. This can be taken from any of the readings suggested in “Unit 1: Discourse Communities,” or your own research. Your report must also include the required section headings.
Revise: Use peer feedback and feedback in the draft workshops to revise your draft.
Submit: Upload your final draft to the Dropbox in D2L in the format requested by your professor (either Word or PDF).
What am I supposed to write under each section heading?
Introduction
Purpose (why are you writing this report? who is the audience?)
Method (how are you going about the task of writing the report? what sources have you used?)
Background
General description of a discourse community including basic duties
Education, training or certification requirements
Details required for new a community member to make sense of the report
Research and Analysis
Summary of research findings (from interview/secondary sources)
At least one direct quotation and/or paraphrase from each of your sources
Application of 3-‐4 of Swales’ 6 characteristics of discourse communities to day-‐to-‐day job responsibilities involving communication (using Swales’ characteristics 2-5)
Conclusions and Recommendations
Summary of significant characteristics of the discourse community
Bulleted list of top three recommendations for action–in other words, what are the most important three steps for a newcomer to become a successful member of the discourse community?
