Navigating Through Discourse Communities


A discourse community is a group of members with a common goal that communicate on a regular basis. Fig.2 is an assignment I completed for my English 102 class. Discourse isn’t just in academia, but in everyday life. In fact, many of the strategies discussed here can apply to all ways we communicate with each other.

Let’s take a deeper look into these academic writers and their communities.

 

John Swales wrote about the characteristics found in any discourse group:


1. They all share a common goal.

2. They communicate within the group.

3. They exchange information and feedback.

4. They used genres (means of communication). A genre is form of communication that happens repeatedly, like an agenda, text messages, meetings.

5. They have a specialized vocabulary, known as lexis.

6. They had a working ratio of novice to experts within their members.

Keeping these traits in mind, think about who your audience is. Use genres that are familiar to them. Use the language you learn to connect with your reader. And know that your new voice can contribute to the shared interests of everyone in the community.


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