Amber Nicole Felix September 9, 2013 English 1311 Discourse Community Response In society, people would think a community

is just a group of people. It is much more than that. As said in The First Guide to Composition, "a discourse community is a social group that communicates, in part, using written texts but also shares common goals, values, writing standards, specialized vocabulary, and specialized genres. (BrunkChavez, 2013.pg.148) In my understanding, it is a group of people that have the same interests in something, depending on the group they have joined. To be a member of the family discourse community, one must be born, adopted, or married to an individual in the family. Even if one were not blood related, taking part in family gatherings, and socializing with the members of the community, would be considered a member as well. This is the community that one can go for advice, a good laugh, a shoulder to cry on, basically any type of support one needs. There are moments where the community could be dysfunctional, but thats what makes it unique from others. Similar to the other groups, there is a particular way to communicate with the family. For example, when the siblings get together, and go to a family party, there is a code word that is used if one feels uncomfortable, or just cannot be there any longer. That code word is Mistletoe. If any one says this word, regardless of the situation, it is time to leave the party. Although it may seem silly and childish, only the siblings know this, and that is what brings our community closer together. The only guidelines in this community are, one must always be respectful to your family members, and always be

honest. By doing this, it shows the loyalty towards one another, and it enables the members of the family to trust one another. The next discourse community would be dancing/Trooperettes. Becoming a part of this community is easy, but there are guidelines one has to follow. First there is trying out for the team, and meeting the qualifications that the judges have, to become a member on the team. Once those guidelines are met, then you are a member. Even though you are a member, this community still has a lot of rules and regulations for each girl to follow. If you did not follow these rules, you were given demerits. If a person has a certain amount of demerits, she would be eliminated from the discourse community. Although it was a very strict community, everyone still had their fun. Most of the Trooperettes shared the same interest in topics such as music, dancing, people, and entertainment. Not only is this discourse community a very active one, it is extremely social as well. The church discourse community is rather more difficult to join than most. One must either be born a Catholic, or convert. To be a member in the church, one must be a practicing catholic, and participate in church events, such as festivals, retreats, basically anything having to do with the Catholic Church. The church community does not necessarily have rules, but there are beliefs that Catholics feel very strongly about. For example, a couple that is not married within the Catholic Church, and married outside of the church, may not consume the bread and wine. This is one of the many beliefs that the members of the church feel strongly about. Types of topics that the community discusses would be other religions that are similar to Catholicism, Jesus Christ, first Holy

Communion, baptism, confirmation, marriage in the church, A.C.T.S retreats, church fundraisers, and church events. The final discourse community the will be discussed is within the school. To become a member of this community, one must have a high school diploma, have taken the SATs, admitted a college application to the university, and finally be accepted into the university. There are different ways of communication at the university. For instance, discussing a topic with a friend is different from discussing a topic with a professor. Communicating with a professor, one must us proper language, and be respectful towards your educator. There are many rules and guidelines that a student must follow. The university has these rules and guidelines to protect the students. For example, any type of academic dishonesty is not tolerated on any level. There are serious consequences for this; it could lead to academic probation, and even expulsion from the university. The topics that are most likely to be discussed within this community are student academics, student courses, athletic events, sororities and fraternities, school events, financials, etc. This discourse community is challenging to stay in, because one must maintain the grade point average to continue to be a member. In todays society, there are many different types of discourse communities. Each group is different in their own way. They have different rules, topics, and ways of becoming a member. When an individual joins the community, they learn to adapt to the regulations to being a member. By inviting new members, the community continues to grow. It will, not only become larger in population, it will become a discussion topic in the media, newspapers, magazines, etc., and almost every discourse community wants this because it is positive attention towards the community.

Work Cited First Year Guide To Composition (Brunk-Chavez, 2013.pg.148)