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SylQualaBright
ProfessorWolcott
English1101
8November2014

WritingAboutWriting......AsaDiscourseCommunity?

Whatmakesadiscoursecommunity?,isthethenumberonequestioninourminds,but
thereareafewwaysofdistinguishingadiscoursecommunityfromtherest.Takingtheconcepts
ofSwalesandmodifyingitslightly,Ihavecreatedagoodsetofguidelines:
1.

Adiscoursecommunityhasacommongoal,thatsagreedbroadly

2.

Adiscoursecommunityutilizesandhencepossessoneormoregenresinthe
communicativefurtheranceofitsaims.

3.

Adiscoursecommunitywillhavealexis(avocabularyspecifictothis
communityinparticular)

4.

Adiscoursecommunityhasathresholdlevelofmemberswithasuitabledegree
ofrelevantcontentanddiscoursalexpertise.

WithinWritingAboutWriting,twochapterstitledProcess:HowAreTexts
Composed?andRhetoric:HowIsMeaningConstructedinContext,thesetwochaptersalong
withafewothersactasadiscoursecommunity.Howyouask,wellwitheachsectionofthebook
eachauthorhasmasterywithinthefieldofwriting,althoughthegenreofthesectionsare
differenttheybothcorrespondtosimilarcomponentsofwriting(writingasaprocessand
rhetoric),theybothsharesimilarlexis,andtheysharethegoaltoeducateothersonthe
componentsofwriting.AsIlookatthesectionsfollowingeach,Ivecometorealizethatthe
bookasawholeisntjustasinglediscoursecommunity,becauseeverychapterisitsown

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discoursecommunityandthewriterswithineachshareasinglegoalthattheothercanagree
with.JusttakeAnneLamottandJohnPaulGee,theyarebothestablishedwriters,butthegoal
whichisspecifictoeachauthoristhatLamottwantseverywritertounderstandthatwritingis
alwaysstartedwithaShittyFirstDraftandnooneisperfectandGeewantshisreadersto
understandthedifferencebetweendiscourse(Discourse)asdominantandnondominantand
primaryandsecondary.Thetwosharesimilaritiesfortheirinterestinwritingbutthemessage
theydesireissomethingentirelydifferent.Yes,initsentiretythebookdisplaysdifferentgenres
andineachchapterittakesaspinontheimportantcomponentsofwritingandthrough
understandingthosecomponentstheyhopethatthisinformationwillbenefitusinthefuture.
AlthoughIwontbegoingintothefieldofteachingwriting,Ifeelthatthebookhas
providedmewithinformationthatcouldpossiblyassistmeinmyfutureprofession.Through
understandingthediscoursecommunityofpeoplewhostudywritingandtheimportanceoflexis
withinmyprofessionasaveterinarianitwillbecrucialformetounderstandandalternate
betweenlexiswithinthisfield.JohnPaulGeealinguisticexpert,wrote,Atanymomentweare
usinglanguagewemustsayorwritetherightthingintherightwaywhileplayingtherightsocial
roleand(appearing)toholdtherightvalues,beliefs,andattitudes.Thuswhatisimportantisnot
languageandsurelynotgrammar,butsaying(writing)doingbeingvaluingbelieving
combinations.(Gee1989)Inthecontextoflexisthisparticularquoteissayingwithlanguage
alone,itisdifficulttofitintoaparticulardiscoursecommunitywithouthavingtheknowledge,
confidence,socialskills,andvaluestobackitup.Withinmyprofessionitisabsolutelynecessary
isthatImdeemedacompetentandrespectedveterinariansobeingbelievableandrespecting
thevalueswithinmyfieldaswellasunderstandingallthelexisnecessaryiskeytomysuccess.

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AsIlookbackatpastreadingassignments,Irealizethatthroughthemasteryofeachsection,
youarebetterabletounderstandwhatstocome.Forexamplethroughunderstandingthe
componentsofgoodwriting,itwouldprepareyouforunderstandingwritingasaprocess,and
understandingwritingprocessesyouwillthenunderstandrhetoricalanalysisifIdidnt
understandwhatgoodwritingwasIcouldnevergrasptheconceptofdiscoursecommunities.
TonyMirabelli,whoholdsaPhDinliteracy(amongstotherthings),discussedthelanguageand
literacyoffoodserviceworkershebroughtuptheexamplewithHarveyandpestosauce.
(Mirabelli,2004)AlthoughIwontbeobtainingaprofessioninthisfieldIfoundhisworduseful
tome,withineverydiscoursecommunityyouhaveasetofguidelineswhetherwritten,said,or
commonknowledgeifyouareunawareofthisinformationyouareboundtohitawall,of
coursebymakingmistakesyoudolearn.Howeverinsomefieldsofprofessions,mistakesare
simplyunacceptable,sobyunderstandingyourprofessionsguidelinesyouwillbebetter
preparedforwhatstocome.
Bytakinginalloftheknowledgeofthebookhasprovidedmewithfromthediscourse
communityofpeoplewhostudywriting,Ithinkitseasytoseethatthiswilldefinitelybenefit
meinmyfutureprofession.Sawlesprovidedmewiththeguidelinesofdiscoursecommunities,
Geeshowedmethatsimplyunderstandingwheretoplacewordsinasentenceisgoingtocutit
throughdiscourses,andMirabelliestablishedthemostimportantcomponentwithindiscourse
communitiesthatiscrucialforsuccess.IfeelthatWritingAboutWriting,initsentiretyhas
showedmewaystolookatwritinginalternativewayandbychangingmyperspective,Ifeelthat
thiswillfurtherpreparemeformyfuture.

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WorkCited
Mirabelli,Tony."LearningtoServe:TheLanguageandLiteracyofFoodService
Workers."WhatTheyDon'tLearninSchool.Ed.JabariMahiri.NewYork:PeterLang,
2004.14362.Print.
Swales,John."TheConceptofDiscourseCommunity."1990.WritingAboutWriting.By
ElizabethWardleandDougDowns.2nded.Boston:WarldleandDowns,2014.21529.
Print.
Gee,JamesP.Literacy,Discourse,andLinguistics:Introduction.JournalofEducation
171.1(1989):517.Print.