Reference no: EM132663123

Use the 6 Characteristics for the Conceptualization of Discourse Community to free write/brainstorm about a particular discourse community. Example on next page.

Question 1. "A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals."

1. Why does this group exist? What are its shared goals? What does this group do?

Question 2. "A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members."

1. How do group members communicate/share information with each other? Are they participatory?

Question 3. "A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback."

1. What are the purposes of the group's communications? What informational opportunities are available to the group? How does communication further the group's goals?

Question 4. "A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims."

1. Which of the above communications are considered genres (conventional textual responses to recurring rhetorical situations that provides a recognizable pattern for providing specific kinds of information that all group members recognize and understand)? What are some conventions of these genres?

Question 5. "In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis."

1. What kinds of specialized language (community-specific shared terminology) do group members use in spoken and written communication? What language is used for efficient communication among members?

Question 6. "A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise."

1. Who are the group members with expertise? Who are the group members with less expertise? What is the ratio between experts and novices in the ever-changing membership of the group? How do newcomers learn the appropriate language, genres, and knowledges of the group?