Select a group of people you believe meets John Swales’ six defining characteristics and answer this question: How does the group you chose exhibit the characteristics of a discourse community?  Present your conclusions in a document showing that you understand the  six characteristics of discourse communities and know how to apply them  to groups as defining criteria.This  assignment will help you understand what a discourse community is and  how one of them functions. You will learn to think deeply about the use  of written communication within a group, and you will examine how that  group uses writing to achieve its goals.

Objectives

• Understand how language practices mediate group activities
• Examine the discourses and texts of different communities
• Understand how language plays a role in discourse and community 
• Identify the relationship between language and identity
• Acquire tools for successfully responding to varied discourse conventions and genres in different classes

For  this assignment, you will need to review the information on Discourse  Communities presented in the Module 3 Content, including the LibGuide.  You will choose a group and determine how that group “counts” as a  discourse community by analyzing how the defining characteristics  apply. 

As  you read in the Key Terms Activity, you will not be able to use a  sports team or any athletic group as the chosen discourse community to  analyze in your writing. You will also not be able to use our University  as a subject of your analysis because that type of community is  analyzed thoroughly in the Interactive Activity Video. 

Before you write,

1. Brainstorm several groups you are (or have been) in that you think might be considered discourse communities.
2. Consider how those groups use text and language, then choose one group to examine. 

In your writing,

1. Show  how the group, such as a club or a community, possesses each of the six  defining characteristics from Swales’ definition by illustrating, one  by one, how those characteristics function in your group. Please,  include your own definitions/explanations of the six characteristics  first and then continue to showing how they function in your chosen  community.
2. Consider  what you learned about the group that you did not realize before  completing this analysis. What do you now understand that you did not  prior to the brainstorming and the writing you have now completed? Add  this brief concluding reflection to your writing, explaining the value  of performing this kind of analysis. Title this portion of the  assignment “Mini Reflection” and include it at the end of your written  document.