| Benjamin Hammack John Swales: Discourse Community In John Swales’ essay “Discourse Communities”, he discusses and defines what a discourse community is and how it is different from a speech community. He clearly notes six distinct characteristics that every discourse community displays, yet having all six of these traits does not make a group of people a discourse community. These include common goals, intercommunication, participation, genre, common lexis, and classification of membership. I found Swales’ statement that “writing is to a discourse community as speaking is to a speech community” very helpful when understanding the difference between the two. I agree with Swales’ statement that academic classes, at the onset, cannot be considered discourse communities. I can recall that my ENC 1101 class could not be considered a discourse community until late into the semester. The diffidence of students prevented us from establishing connections, communicating, and creating a common goal early on in the semester. Over time, we all acquired and adopted the attributes that Swales points out. We edited and graded each other’s papers, provided feedback on how to improve writing techniques, and all worked toward the common goal of passing the class. I would consider my work to be a discourse community. I work for a hedgefund, and based on my experience working there, I can say that we fall under Swales’ definition of a discourse community. We all work towards a common goal of making money. Communication between members is essential to our workflow, and that communication is full of esoteric jargon and acronyms. Though not all members are directly involved in the money making process, there exists different categories and classes of members in the forms of projects and departments. Swales, John M. "2.2 Speech Communities and Discourse Communities." Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge University Press, 1990. 23-24. Print. Why Benjamin Hammack? I chose Benjamin Hammack's post on John Swales Discourse Community because we had commonalities between our discussion posts. I chose this posting because before doing my post, his discussion allowed me to gain a better understanding of what a discourse community is. He included the traits which creates a discourse community which i thought was a very important feature within his post. I believe his post to be effective because he added an anecdote, marking he clearly understands Mr. Swales definition of a discourse community. I chose this posting because Benjamin had a clear understanding of what a discourse community and his posting aided me to come to a better conclusion of what a discourse community entitles. Skylar Munsch Robert Greene: Framing Argument isn't just about debating with an opponent over a heated topic. It is the process of research and inquiry as well as basic conversation. Framing an argument must be done in a certain way, one that is relevant to the topic being discussed and whether the debater(s) are qualified in the given area of topic interest. Also in order to write an effective argument one must take into account of the conversations held previously about that given topic, because chances are that the person isn't the first one on the scene. From this passage I grasped the fact that scholarly arguments must be taken from a conversational point of view. because not only am I probably the last person qualified to discuss my given field, but I have to learn patience. Research and framing an argument both take time and patience, for no one is going to find the key to their argument in a day. So by taking research not as a chore but as the first step in framing an argument one can better appreciate the time and effort that it would take to properly construct a scholarly conversation. Another interesting bit I gathered from Greene was that in order to enter the conversation one must think of the writing process as "...understanding conflicts, the claims others make, and the important questions to ask, not simply as the ability to tell a story that influences readers' ways of looking at the world or to find good reasons to support our own beliefs." (Greene 147) In other words, one must answer a series of questions that seem logical or support our beliefs as well as alter the way people see the world and their beliefs. Greene, Robert. "Argument as Conversation." The Subject Is Research: Processes and Practices. Portsmouth: Boyton/Cook, n.d. 145-55. Print. Why Skylar Munsch? I chose Skylar Munsch's post on Robert Greene's Framing passage because right away he states that the definition of argument is research and inquiry. His passage is to the point and clearly marks what framing is and what it does for your paper. I chose his input because he states very effective points about framing: it takes time and patience, relevant to the topic and that it is the first step in making an argument. Another reason i chose his passage was because he included a direct quote, which tied his purpose together and discuss the purpose of framing. This post was chosen because Skylar Munsch clearly defined what framing is, helping me further my research on the purpose of framing. |
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