Julio De La Cruz

Miss Salas
Rhetoric & Composition 1301
8 October 2015
Discourse Community Ethnography Draft
Discourse communities can range from all types of different groups as long as the people
in it share the same goals, and have discussions that can help them reach these goals. My
discourse communities consisted of groups that needed to find an efficient way of
communicating in order to complete their objectives. These discourse communities that I chose
were more work oriented than anything else, they were communities that the people in it chose to
be in for their current benefit such as a job at a restaurant or a group in a course they are taking.
In Swales article listed six characteristics that a discourse community should have in
order for it to be deemed a true discourse community. I felt like all of the characteristics that
swales had listed really fit to the ones I chose. These characteristics were having common goals,
different ways of communicating, members providing feedback, incorporating several genres of
communicating, obtaining a lexis, and each member having to attain some kind of skill in the
community. Mirabellis article resonates with one of the communities I chose since it is focusing
on a food service environment. I chose Olive Garden, an Italian restaurant and its a very similar
scenario since Mirabelli observed an Italian restaurant as well. Just like my case, Mirabelli
observed the working environment and even interviewed an employee there all while pointing
out the facultys communication methods as a discourse community.
While observing the workplace of the hostess I interviewed at Olive Garden, I noticed
many code words and conventions that I could not possibly understand unless I wouldve been a
part of the discourse community. Words like Phased which would be the reference to a clean

Julio De La Cruz
Miss Salas
Rhetoric & Composition 1301
8 October 2015
table and Turning which referred to a section of tables that was closed off, were all codes that I
wouldnt understand unless I was taught to in the workplace. That was Mirabellis point, food
service workers had to adapt to new knowledge at their job. When I asked the hostess why she
was working there, it was a response that most young adults in the food service industry would
say also, they needed the temporary job to get by. That was another point of Mirabellis, most
youth needed these jobs to get through their current situation to their future. That is also the way
this discourse community of the restaurant I observed is similar to the second community I
observed. The second discourse community is the Jazz to Rock Class group I am in. Although we
dont get paid to be in it, we need to get through this course in order for our future classes to fall
in line.
While doing this project, I learned that communication is important and mandatory when
collaborating on something to reach your common goals with your peers. Not only your peers,
but whoever you have to respond to, whether its a boss or a customer that you may have to
serve. I can see myself applying all these concepts and ideas to any future job that I may acquire
or just a discourse community in general as I never really saw the true importance and
complexity of communication.