Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Rebecca Fisher-Tringale
RC 2001-139
21 January 2019
A discourse community is a group of people that strive for the same goal intellectually,
verbally, and linguistically. John Swales, the author of The Concept of a Discourse Community,
Each reason will be given an answer with the idea of lawyers in mind. There are many reasons
why the study and practice of law, or being a lawyer, is a very specialized discourse. In order to
be a sophisticated community, one must have a specific set of language and communication used
among its members. There is a specified style of writing within each community. Lawyers are a
unique community when it comes to writing, communication, and their communal goals.
shared common set of goals. Based on the article, Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key
Roles and Responsibilities in the 21st Century, written by Harvard Law School, the universal set
society at large” (Heineman 5). Every lawyer across the world has a very similar, if not exact,
idea of those four goals, and they strive to meet them everyday. Swales also believed that a
discourse community must have mechanisms of inner communication. Once again, lawyers have
Bar, lawyers have meetings weekly to catch up on the weeks cases and talk about previous or
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upcoming assignments (Sutterwala). These meetings may be face-to-face or over the phone.
These meetings are based on the firm’s decision. Some firms may have weekly meetings while
others have bi-weekly meetings. Another qualification that Swales determined was the idea of a
community needing to provide information with feedback. The American Bar Association
important topics that occured during that year. Academic journals are an example of providing
community. For lawyers, there are endless amounts of genres. There are family lawyers, who
deal with divorce and child or spousal abuse. There are civil rights lawyers, whose cases deal
with equality versus inequality. The different genres in the practice of law could be discussed in
great detail, but another important characteristic for being a discourse community is the idea of
having a specific set of vocabulary used within the community. Business Insider stated five
words that only lawyers would understand which were wobbler, recess, tort, upstanding, and
therefor. All of those words have different meanings to the general public, but to lawyers, tort
means an act that harms someone else that leads to being sued (Abadi 1)
A distinctive trait, based on John Swales’ work, is that there must be a threshold level for
the membership into the discourse community. There must be something that makes someone a
part of the inner circle of that community instead of being on the outer circle. For lawyers, it is
pretty easy to tell who is a part of the inner circle based on who passed the BAR exam and who
is legally a lawyer or attorney. For example, only lawyers know that they have to record every
part of their day whether that be on paper or an actual recording. People who are on the outer
circle of the study and practice of law think being a lawyer is what you see on shows like “Law
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and Order.” The study and practice of law and being a lawyer clearly marks off all of the items
on Swales’ checklist. Besides meeting all of the discourse community requirements, discourse
communities have their own individual way of writing, communication, and reading.
For lawyers, there are usually two types of writing; an analysis of a problem or a
persuasive argument (Cornell). Cornell Law School wrote an article on legal writing stating,
“Any legal document must be concise, clear, and conform to the objective standards that have
evolved in the legal profession” (Cornell 1). Lawyers, just like any other profession, must stick
to strict writing guidelines when conducting their memos or legal documents. A crucial style of
writing for this profession is persuasive writing. Having the skill of persuasion is one of the most
important tasks of attorney’s day-to-day work. A lot of law schools offer, or even require,
students to take a legal persuasion class. Persuasion is not as apparent or important in other
discourse community writings, such as the teaching community or the nursing community.
Teacher’s use creative and informative writing styles, while nurses write charts for their patients.
Attorneys use the tactic of storytelling to get the attention of the courtroom. They paint pictures
for the jury or judge in order to make them feel like they were present at the time of the incident
or crime (O’nions). There are many tricks and techniques that attorneys must possess to do their
job effectively. Writing a legal analysis is a crucial technique that lawyers would need to perfect.
Discourse communities vary when it comes to writing and its process. A legal process is
not only a specific way of writing, but it can also be a way of communicating. An attorney gives
a legal analysis every court case in front of the judge or jury. Lawyers also intricately write the
legal analyses to turn into their bosses, or give to their clients to prepare them for court. The
process of writing one of these analyses involves specific classes and years of practice. An article
titled, The Fine Art of Legal Writing, Nikki Lacrosse wrote, “The process of writing a legal
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confront and revise our thoughts and theories until we can clearly communicate them to others”
(Lacrosse 1). The ability to communicate on paper and with speech is an essential part of being
Being a part of a discourse community takes a lot of work, but can be super rewarding.
When someone is a part of a community, they aim for mutual goals. The goals involve a mix of
good rhetoric and communication. In order to be a part of the law discourse, one must go to law
school and pass the BAR. That is the first step to get one’s foot in the door. The significance of
the study and practice of law is the idea that lawyers and attorneys are the voice for their clients.
The most significant goal that this discourse community shares is to help and protect their
clients. With the use of persuasion and persistence, lawyers and attorneys dominate in their
community. Discourse communities all share one similarity; aiming for the collective goal of the
group. Lawyers aim for the success and security of their clients. Being a part of the law discourse
community takes a lot of work and persistence, but with passion and power, anyone can be a part
of this community.
Works Cited
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Abadi, Mark, “7 words and phrases only lawyers understand.” Business Insider, January 18,
2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/words-phrases-only-lawyers-understand-
2018-1
http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/pdf/perspec/2008-fall/2008-fall-9.pdf
Heineman, Jr, Ben W. “Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key Roles and
https://clp.law.harvard.edu/assets/Professionalism-Project-Essay_11.20.14.pdf
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/journ
al_of_the_professional_lawyer_home/
Lacrosse, Nikki. “Enhancing Your Writing Skills The Key To Success In The Legal World.”
Writing/
https://definitions.uslegal.com/l/legal-analysis/
public-interest-law/public-interest-work-types/legal-writing/
O’nions, Mark-John. “6 Techniques Lawyers Use to Persuade Judges and Jurors.” M.J.
persuade-judges-jurors/
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Sutarwalla, Murtaza. “Do You Hold Regular Meetings with Attorneys and Staff?” American
Bar,
https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/solosez/2016%20Threa
ds/threads_2016_01_Do%20You%20Hold%20Regular%20Meetings%20with%20
Attorneys%20and%20Staff.pdf