Discourse Community Ethnography
Writing About Writing. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. Print.
Choose a discourse community that has made an impact on you or one that interests you and find a preliminary answer to this question: “What are the goals and characteristics of this discourse community?” Write an 8-9 page paper that tries to answer your research question based on careful observation of the community and research about the community.
Data Collection
· Observe members of the discourse community while they are engaged in a shared activity; take detailed notes. (What are they doing? What kinds of things do they say? What do they write? 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, IMs, and text messages
· Interview at least one member of the discourse community. Record and transcribe the interview. You might ask things like, “How long have you been here? Why are you involve? What do X, Y, and Z words mean? How did you learn to write A, B, or C? How do you communicate with other people [on your team, at your restaurant, etc]?”
Data Analysis
First try analyzing the data you collect using the six characteristics of Swales’s discourse community:
· What are the shared goals of the community; why does this group exist and what does it do?
· What mechanisms do members use to communicate with each other (meetings, phone calls, e-mail, text messages, newsletters, reports, evaluation forms, and so on)?
· What are the purposes of each of these mechanisms of communication (to improve performance, make money, grow better roses, share research, and so forth)?
· Which of the above mechanisms of communication can be considered genres (textual responses to recurring situations that all group members recognize and understand)?
· What kinds of specialized language (lexis) do group members use in their conversation and in their genres? Name some examples. What communicative function does this lexis serve?
· Who are the “old-timers” with expertise? Who are the newcomers with less experience? How do newcomers learn the appropriate language, genres, knowledge of the group?
Then use Gee and Wardle to analyze your data further:
· Are there conflicts within the community? If so, why?
· Do some participants in the community have difficulty? Why?
· Who has authority here, and where does that authority come from?
· What are the “modes of belonging” that newcomers are attempting to use?
· What sorts of “multiliteracies” do members of this community possess?
· Are members of this community stereotyped in any way in regard to their literacy knowledge? If so, why?
Planning and Drafting
As you develop answers to some of these questions, start setting some priorities. Given all that you have learned above, what do you want to focus on in the paper? Is there something interesting regarding goals of the community? Types of literacies in the community? Lexis and mediating genres? Decide what your refined research question is and how you will answer it. (See Wardle)
Your paper should have the following parts or make the following moves:
· Begin with a very brief review of the existing literature (published research) on the topic. (“We know X about discourse communities”) Citing Swales, Gee, Wardle and other readings in Writing About Writing might be appropriate)
· Name a niche/gap (“But we don’t know Y” or “No one has looked at X”)
· Explain how you will occupy the niche (attempt to fill the gap)
· Describe your research methods
· Discuss your findings in detail (Consider how the studies we have read in the class do this)
· Include a Works Cited page
What Makes It Good?
Your assignment will be most successful if you collect the required data and focused on your research question in trying to answer it. The assignment asks you to show a clear understanding of what discourse communities are and to demonstrate your ability to analyze them carefully and thoughtfully. And, of course, your paper should be a strong example of craft: thoughtfully organized, readable, fluent, and well-edited.
Other Requirements:
· Your essay should be 8-9pages in length
· Cite 5-6 sources
· 12-point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins
· MLA or APA formatting
· Include a Works Cited or References page
