English homework help. Paper #3
Discourse Communities
(150 points)
We have been exploring the concepts of Discourse/discourse and Discourse communities. Linguists James Paul Gee and John Swales have shown us both how they define these terms and how they think they apply to the ability to learn. For this paper, you will choose a Discourse community that you are a member of (either expert or novice) or one that you wish to join and write a paper that informs the reader about your community and persuades the reader that your group qualifies as a Discourse community. While you will need to start with the six criteria that Swales lays out as your main framework, you will also need to incorporate Gee to help you explain what you mean even further. I am expecting some vocabulary words like mushfake, identity kit, primary/ secondary and dominant/non-dominant Discourse, etc. to make their way into your work alongside definitions and explanations of all six of Swales’ criteria. Remember to forward the ideas presented in Gee and Swales to help convince your reader that your community is a DC. This paper is examining your ability to define the concept of a DC and your ability to incorporate authors and their concepts into your own writing.
Requirements
Format: MLA, 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1” margins
Length: 3-5 pages, not including your Works Cited page
Works Cited: Must use Gee and Swales, can bring in other sources if needed
