Unit 2: Reading, Critical Thinking, and Uses of Writing
Discourse Community Ethnography
What is a discourse community? A discourse community is a group (or
community) of people who share interests, knowledge, and language
(discourse). John Swales (1990/2014) proposes six defining
characteristics of a discourse community:
 A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common
public goals.
 A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication
among its members.
 A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms
primarily to provide information and feedback.
 A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or
more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.
 In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has
acquired some specific lexis.
 A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a
suitable degree or relevant content and discoursal experience.
This assignment asks you to choose a discourse community that has made an
impact on you or one that interests you and explore its goals and characteristics.
The research and writing you do to complete your Discourse Community Ethnography
will involve multiple parts:
1. Research Proposal – due T 10/7
2. Annotated Bibliography – due R 10/16
3. Discourse Community Ethnographic Research Paper
o Draft 1 (outline) due R 10/30
o Draft 2 due T 11/25
o Final draft due T 12/2
4. Multimodal Presentation at First-Year Celebration – R 11/20
Unit 2
Research Proposal
Due T 10/7
Compose a proposal that outlines which discourse community you have selected to
research for the Discourse Community Ethnography project. In your proposal, address
the following:
 What is the community you have selected?
 How is this community a discourse community, according to Swales defining
characteristics?
 Where will you observe this community?
 Who can you interview within this community?
 What types of genres do you think this community might use?
 What is your plan for researching this community?
Requirements
 Respond in complete sentences and address each question fully.
 1 page, double-spaced, size 12 standard font
 Include your name on the document (APA format is not needed).
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
Annotated Bibliography
Draft due T 10/14
Final due R 10/16
Conduct research to learn more about your selected discourse community. To learn
more about your community and keep track of your research, you will create an
annotated bibliography.
 A bibliography is a list of sources an individual has used to research a topic.
 An annotation is a summary and/or an evaluation of a source.
Using the library database, select five credible sources that relate to your selected
community. In addition to these five sources, you will include Swales and Wardle in your
Annotated Bibliography (for a total of seven entries).
Create a Reference entry for each source in APA format and create an annotation for
each source that:
 Summarizes – What is the main point/argument/purpose of this source?
 Assesses – How credible is this source? Is it biased or objective?
 Reflects – How does this source fit into your research?
Each annotation should be formatted like this:
Requirements
 Double-spaced, size 12 standard font
 Use a hanging indent when citing sources
 Organize sources in alphabetical order
 Include your name on the document (APA format is not needed).
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
Ethnographic Research Paper
Draft 1 (outline) due R 10/30
Draft 2 due T 11/25
Final due T 12/2
Step 1: Data Collection
 Observe members of the discourse community while they are engaged in a
shared activity; take detailed field notes.
o What are they doing?
o What kinds of things do they say?
o What do they write?
o How do you know who is “in” and who is “out”?
 Collect anything people in that community read or write (their genres) – even
very short things like forms, sketches, notes, and/or messages.
 Interview at least one member of the discourse community. Record and
transcribe this interview. In your interview, you might ask questions like:
o How long have you been here?
o Why are you involved?
o What do X, Y, and Z words mean?
o How did you learn to write A, B, or C?
o How do you communicate with other people in this community?
o How and why is this community involved in and/or affected by political
issues?
Step 2: Data Analysis
Analyze the data you have collected using the six characteristics of Swales’ discourse
community. This analysis will give you an overall picture of your selected discourse
community.
 GOALS: What are the shared goals of the community? Why does this group
exist? What does it do?
 MECHANISMS OF INTERCOMMUNICATION: What mechanisms do members
use to communicate with each other (meetings, phone calls, e-mail, text
messages, newsletters, reports, evaluation forms, etc.)?
 PARTICIPATORY MECHANISMS: What are the purposes of each of these
mechanisms of communication (to improve performance, make money, grow
better roses, share research, etc.)?
 GENRES: Which of the above mechanisms of communication can be considered
genres (textual responses to recurring situations that all group members
recognize and understand)?
 LEXIS: What kinds of specialized language (lexis) do group members use in their
conversations and genres? Name some examples. What communicative function
does this lexis serve?
 NOVICE/EXPERT: Who are the “old-timers” with expertise? Who are the
newcomers with less expertise? How do newcomers learn the appropriate
language, genres, and/or knowledge of the community?
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
Focus in on what you’ve learned about your discourse community to find something
especially interesting, confusing, or illuminating. Use the ideas discussed by Swales
and Wardle to help you. In trying to determine what to focus on, you might ask yourself
questions such as:
 Are there conflicts within the community? If so, what are they? Why do the
conflicts occur? Do texts mediate these conflicts?
 Do any genres help the community work toward its goals or keep the community
from working toward its goals? Why?
 Do some participants in the community have difficulty speaking and writing
there? Why?
 Who has authority here? How is that authority demonstrated in written and oral
language? Where does that authority come from?
 Are members of this community stereotyped in regard to their literacy
knowledge? If so, why?
Step 3: Planning and Drafting
As you develop answers to the questions listed above, consider what you want to focus
on in your paper. Is there something interesting regarding goals of the community?
Conflicts in the community? Lexis and mediating genres? Verbal and written evidence
of authority or enculturation in the community?
Once you have decided on what you would like to focus on, write a revised research
question to guide the planning and drafting of your paper.
Your paper should have the following parts, or make the following moves:
 Begin with an introduction and focused thesis statement.
 The first paragraphs/section of your paper should provide a brief review of the
existing literature on the topic of discourse communities and your selected
discourse community.
 Describe your research methods.
 Discuss your findings in detail – quote from your field notes, your interview, texts
collected, and other data you collected.
 Consider the significance of your findings.
Requirements
This assignment asks you to show a clear understanding of what discourse
communities are and to demonstrate your ability to analyze them carefully and
thoughtfully. It also asks that you not simply list the features of your discourse
community, but explore a particularly interesting aspect of that community.
Additionally, your Ethnographic Research Paper should:
 Be 6-8 pages, double-spaced, size 12 standard font
 Be formatted in APA – one-inch margins on all sides, title page, running head, intext citations, References
 Incorporate ideas and concepts from assigned readings (Swales and Wardle) to
help analyze and explain your discourse community.
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
Multimodal Presentation
Rehearsals in class on T 11/18
Presentation to be graded at First-Year Symposium on R 11/20
You will use the research and writing you have done for your Ethnographic Research
Paper to create a Multimodal Presentation. You will present your Multimodal
presentation both in class (on T 11/18) and at the First-Year Symposium (R 11/20).
What is multimodal?
The integration of multiple modes of communication and expression (alphabetic, oral,
visual, etc.) to construct a coherent and effective message
Audience
Your instructor, your peers/classmates, TAMUCC students, instructors, and other
members of the TAMUCC community. The purpose of First-Year Symposium is to
provide a professional venue for first-year students to present their research to others.
Some Multimodal Options
 A video – commercial, public service announcement, podcast
 Prezi or other web-based presentation
 PowerPoint
 Website or wiki
 Or any other idea that incorporates multiple modes of communication
Requirements
This assignment offers you a great deal of freedom in how you will present your
research through multiple modalities. Your Multimodal Presentation should:
 Be 3-5 minutes long
 Include multiple modes of communication – alphabetic, oral, visual, etc.
 Inform your audience about your ethnographic research
o Describe the discourse community
o Explain the methods of your research
o Provide an overview of the results of your research
 Be organized using an introduction, body, and conclusion.
 Cite any sources used within your presentation in APA format, both in text and on
a References page – this can be typed on a separate page and submitted along
with your presentation or included within in.
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
Unit 2 Calendar
9/30
Literacy Narrative and Literacy Portfolio due in class
10/2
Ethnography Workshop in CASA Writing Center
Dogtown & Z Boys
Introduce DC + Ethnography
HW8 due R T 9/30
Read: Swales, “The Concept of Discourse
Community” (215-229)
Respond: 1.) Use your own words to describe each of
the six characteristics of a discourse community
according to Swales. 2.) Consider a discourse
community you belong to, and describe how it meets
the six characteristics of a discourse community. For
example, what are its shared goals? What is its lexis?
What are its genres? (etc.)
DC Proposal due T 10/7
10/7
DC Proposal due
Researching, Citing, Annotating
10/9
Annotating and Analyzing sources
HW9 due R 10/9
Locate ONE source that provides background or
historical information on your selected discourse
community. Bring this source with you to class on R
10/9 - printed or accessible online. Answer the
following questions on a separate sheet:
 What is the main point of this source?
 How credible is the source? How do you
know?
 How does this source contribute to your
research?
10/14
Annotated Bibliography draft due
HW10 due T 10/14
Read: Wardle, “Identity, Authority, and
Learning to Write in New Workplaces” (284-301)
Respond: Consider Wardle’s discussion of
identity and authority in connection to the
discourse community you selected. How does a
newcomer or neophyte enter this community?
How do they become enculturated?
Annotated Bibliography draft due on T 10/14.
10/16
Annotated Bibliography due
Self-Review of AB
Annotated Bibliography due in class on R 10/16
10/21
Return AB to students
Work on Literature Review section of paper
Composing interview questions
HW11 due T 10/21
Read: Branick, “Coaches Can Read, Too: An
Ethnographic Study of a Football Coaching
Discourse Community” [Student Essay] (262-272)
Respond: Create an outline of Branick’s paper.
What does each section do?
10/23
HW12 due T 10/28
Completed interview questions due
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.
10/28
10/30
Discourse Community Ethnography draft 1
(outline) due
Discourse Community Ethnography draft 1 (outline)
due in class on R 10/30
HW13 due T 11/4
Fieldnotes due
11/4
Incorporating fieldnotes, interview responses, and source
materials
11/6
Integrated Assignment is due
Introduce Multimodal
“the visual, image-driven nature of writing” (p. 689)
Modalities
HW14 due T 11/11
Read: Introduction to Ch. 5, “Multimodal
Composition: What Counts as Writing? (683-689)
Respond: What in today’s world counts as writing
(versus visual art, photography, film, music, or
speech), and what makes writing good? (Correct
grammar and punctuation? The ability to
communicate an idea and be used for a purpose?
Catchy and well-crafted language? Good
arguments?)
11/11
11/13
HW15 due R 11/13
Planning document for Multimodal Presentation due
11/18
Presentation rehearsals in class
11/20
First-Year Celebration (TR)
Multimodal Presentation due
11/25
Discourse Community Ethnography draft 2 due
11/27
THANKSGIVING!
12/2
Discourse Community Ethnography due
12/4
Final Writing Portfolio due during Final Exam
Period
Finals begin!
12/9
Discourse Community Ethnography assignment description adapted from Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2014). Writing About Writing (2nd
ed.). New York: Bedford.