Alexander Perez

UTEP ID# 88597350

With different audiences it is important to use the proper techniques to convey your
message effectively. To communicate effectively seven characteristics should be taken into
account: (1) audience, (2) purpose, (3) genres, (4) topics, (5) conventions/ standards, (6)
specialized language, and (7) process of joining each of the discourse communities. When these
characteristics are taken into consideration you can be sure that your message is going to
effective. There are four discourse communities that this applies to: 1) Personal, 2) Professional,
3) Academic, and 4) Civic.
My personal life consists of my friends and family and they provide me with
entertainment and communication. My friends and family range and have many differences yet
are all very close to me. I speak to my friends and family about various things and they range
from current events to memories to upcoming events. One trend that I find between all of them is
that we have a common courtesy and never overstep boundaries and try to give each other
privacy. When I am with friends that are my age I tend to use a slightly different vocabulary than
with my family and the difference tends to be the formality of which I speak to them. With my
friends I am much more informal and tend to speak in English compared to that of my family
which usually communicates in Spanish. In order to be a part of this group you simply need to be
pleasant and civil and your acceptance is guaranteed.
My former professional life consisted of customers, coworkers, and managers and my
goal was to provide customers with sales and advertisement. When speaking to customers I
would speak to them about the different services that we offered and all the details involved in

each service. Common details at my workplace were that we were all dressed professionally and
kept the environment professional along with keeping our vocabulary, both our English and
Spanish, professional. We had a few exceptions to that rule and that was when we would use the
abbreviations of the company names rather than the full name. In order to be a part of this group
it is recommended that you have exceptional interviewing/people skills as well as be proficient in
Spanish.
The academic part of my life involves UTEP professors, staff and students and all
students have a common goal, expand our knowledge and obtain a degree. The classes that are
taken are very similar but in many ways very different. Electives, pre-requisites, and core
curriculums are all involved but the subject of these classes can vary. The degree you are pursing
affects the subject of these classes, although some classes are required for every student to take.
At UTEP you are expected to adhere to certain rules and regulations especially involving
academic dishonesty. Students are expected to practice many different writing styles in order to
present different types of information. To be a part of this community you must present an
academic knowledge of at least high school level and your academic performance/placement test
must show that you are capable of handling college level work.
My civic discourse community is rooted deep in my high school, while attending
Eastlake High School I was a part of the marching band. We performed for the Eastlake
community as well as other school districts while at competitions. We provided entertainment
and fierce competition by mastering the various parts of our marching show including the ballad
and drum break, which tends to be the more challenging parts. Other parts that we focused on
heavily were our uniforms and visuals, we were sure to utilize our uniforms, which we kept very
clean to maximize the effect we were going for. We were able to achieve this by setting strict

guidelines for our uniforms and practice schedules were distributed and your attendance was
expected. With strong basics instilled in us such as watching our drum majors hands for the
tempo we developed a reputation for Eastlake, we became known as a powerhouse which
means that if we were competing we had very good chances for taking first. If you are interested
in joining I encourage you to evaluate your academic performance as well as your disciplinary
record because these factors play a big role in joining this discourse community.
In writing this essay I have learned new information about my discourse communities
and how to effectively communicate in each one. It is extremely crucial that every characteristic
is taken into consideration, this is when your message will be understood much better and the
desired response will be achieved.