Discourse Community

Stephanie Costa
According to James E. Porter, a professor of English at Miami University, a discourse
community is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through
approved channels and whose discourse is regulated (400). All individuals are a part of a
discourse community, if not multiple discourse communities. As a student in the course ENC
1101 at the University of Central Florida, I believe the textbook we are using, Writing About
Writing: A College Reader, attempts to inculturate us into the discourse community of people
who study writing. In attempting to inculturate us into its own discourse community, it provides
us with important resources that will aid in our future endeavors such as upcoming courses for
our major, graduate school and even our profession of choice.
The Writing About Writing: A College Reader textbook incorporates numerous articles
written by professionals who study writing. As professionals, their articles follow a particular
format of writing that most professionals of writing use to convey their message. Not only does
the textbook include writings from professionals using this method, but it also teaches us how to
use the method, to help us write like professionals. John Swales, in his article, Create a
Research Space (CARS) Model of Research Introductions, where we were first exposed to
CARS, specifically states, When you write your own papers, making the same moves yourself
will help you present your own arguments clearly and convincingly (12). This statement shows
the desire of Swales to have his readers incorporate the CARS method in their own writing. The
CARS method of writing, which is described by Swales and later incorporated into articles
throughout the textbook, is a perfect exemplification of the genre used in our textbook. In John
Swales article, The Concept of Discourse Community, he notes, A discourse community

utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims
(221). Our textbook indefinitely follows this guideline, set by Swales, of being part of its own
discourse community. In addition to the textbook, used in this course, genre also plays a role at
my current jobs. One of my currents jobs is working as a server as Macaroni Grill. I do plan on
keeping a server job throughout my educational career, in order to keep me financially stable. As
a server at Macaroni Grill, our menu is one of the most important aspects of our restaurant. Our
menu, at Macaroni Grill, would be considered the genre of our restaurant because it provides the
guidelines by which the customers can choose their meals and the server can describe the dishes.
In addition to the genre of a discourse community, John Swales also mentions that, A
discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and
feedback (221). The most prominent way in which I noticed feedback being incorporated
throughout our textbook was in the discussion questions listed following each article. The
discussion questions play as a way for the readers to engage and elaborate on what was read in
the articles. By listing these discussion questions at the end of each article, the writer is
proposing feedback from his or her readers and trying to connect with their audience. As
students, we used these discussion questions as a guideline to complete our weekly discussion
posts among our classmates and engaged in responses and communicating to better understand
the message of each article we read. Feedback is another component of discourse community
that is very important in my current jobs along with my future career as an Optometrist.
Currently, I also work with Ophthalmologists at Magruder Eye Institute. I am an
Ophthalmologist assistant and work directly with the Doctors and their patients. As an
undergraduate student, my education level is, obviously, much lower than that of the Doctors.
Since I have been working at Magruder Eye Institute for about a year now, I am familiar with the

majority of the Doctors procedures. At times, I may catch up on something from the patients
chart that the Doctor did not take note of before his examination. Since the Doctor is of higher
educational standing, I am careful to address something I notice to him in a manner that is
respectful and not questioning his role as Doctor. I would consider this feedback of a discourse
community used in my work setting between the Doctor and myself.
In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis
(Swales, 222). The lexis of the textbook is, to me, one of the most pronounced components of
its discourse community. Each article had many terms that were difficult to understand as
undergraduate students. It would take multiple readings or dictionary searches to understand the
point that the writer was trying to convey in their article. For example, in James P. Gees article,
Literacy, Discourse and Linguistics: Introduction, the term mushfake was incorporated into the
text as a term never heard before at my educational level. Mushfake, as defined later in class, is a
term used to describe someone or something that tries to fit into a discourse community that they
do not really belong to. However, upon reading the article and engaging in my discussion post, I
had a significant amount of difficulty mushfaking my way into acting like I understood what the
article stated. As a student who plans on attending Optometry and is currently a Health Sciences
major, lexis is undoubtedly a part of the discourse community. The courses for my major, now at
the senior level, incorporate terms that are expected to be known as a senior from pre-requisite
courses such as medical terminology, anatomy and physiology. This is to better prepare us, as
potential graduate students, for the discourse community of graduate school and the lexis of that
level. As a future Optometrist, there will be medical terms used in patient charts and in
communication with colleagues that individuals who are not a part of the discourse community
of Optometry, will not understand.

It is true that our textbook, Writing About Writing: A College Reader, tries to invite us,
as the audience, into its own discourse community. Though some students may beg to differ, I
believe we have all been somewhat inculturated into the discourse community of the textbook
because of the depths that we have studied each writer and their study of writing. The resources
provided to us, as undergraduate students, will benefit us in our other courses before graduation
from UCF, our graduate programs and future careers.

Works Cited
Gee, James P. Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction. Journal of
Education 171.1 (1989): 5-17. Print.
Porter, James E. "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community. Writing About
Writing: A College Reader. Ed. John E. Sullivan III. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2014. 395-409. Print.
Swales, John. "Create a Research Space (CARS) Model of Research
Introductions. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed. John
E. Sullivan III. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 12-15. Print.
Swales, John. "The Concept of Discourse Community. Writing About Writing: A
College Reader. Ed. John E. Sullivan III. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's,
2014. 215-229. Print.