For your argumentative research essay, you will write about a discourse community of your choice. As a reminder, while definitions for discourse communities vary, the definition we’ll use for our purposes is, “a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated” (Porter 38-39).
Your research essay must support an argument. For this assignment, your argument will be your answer to the question, “What are the defining characteristics of your selected discourse community, and how do these characteristics help or hinder the community in achieving its goals?”
E.g., “Comprised of Marvel fans and dedicated to the discussion of the films and television shows, the members of the Marvel Movie and TV Show Franchise Forum on the website av forums converse about the minutiae of the Marvel franchise, from ‘easter eggs’ to costume design. However, their insistence on avoiding spoilers in discussion in order to maintain a joyful viewing experience for everyone greatly impedes the forum’s ability to fully explore the intertextuality of the Marvel movies and television shows.”
To answer this question, you will want to explore the following elements of your discourse community:
What are the goals or objectives of the group?
What topics are discussed?
What language/ways of communicating are valued?
What forums house communication and member interactions?
What values are shared?
What conflicts among members do you notice?
*Note: Please don’t write an essay that simply answers these questions in order – look for connections and draw conclusions from what you’ve noticed to support your argument.
You will be required to use at least two scholarly sources. One must be either the Porter or Harris essay. The other must be a scholarly source of your choosing.
The paper will be 5-7 pages in length, MLA formatting, and double-spaced with size 12 Times New Roman font.
Introduction: Your introduction should “hook” your audience and provide important information about your discourse community in order to prepare your reader for the rest of your essay.
Thesis: Your thesis will be your answer to the question, “What are the defining characteristics of your selected discourse community, and how do these characteristics help or hinder the community in achieving its goals?”
Body paragraphs: Body paragraphs should be structured with a topic sentence that is a specific claim, evidence from your sources, and analysis that explains how and why your evidence supports your argument.
Two scholarly sources: In addition to either the Porter or Harris text, you must use at least one scholarly source in this essay to support your argument. Do more than summarize the sources you use. Instead, analyze your sources and draw conclusions based on your analysis. Remember to properly cite your sources, and to put quotation marks around any language that is not your own.
Conclusion: Further develop your argument of significance here. Why should your audience care about your topic? Why are your ideas important to your readers?
Organization: Clearly connect ideas between sentences and paragraphs by using transition words to show how concepts relate to one another. Think about the most impactful structure for persuading readers of your argument.
Other Tips:
Examples of discourse communities:
Professional: American Nurses Association
Social: First-time moms Facebook group
Cultural: Star Wars fandom group on a particular website
Note: You will need to sufficiently narrow your topic so that you are not discussing a group that’s so large that it’s impossible to analyze (e.g., “women” or “the LBTQ community”). One way to do this is to consider important topics for the group and locate particular forums where conversations around this topic take place. Instead of “Pittsburgh Pirates fans,” you might, for instance, find a specific Facebook group devoted to Pittsburgh Pirates and treat them as a discourse community.
On characteristics of your discourse community: Here you’ll want to think about members of the discourse community. Who are they, where do they communicate, what do they value, what does expertise look like to them? You’ll also want to ask yourself about how communication is regulated – are there “rules” or “conventions” folks follow in the forum you’ve identified? Significantly, you’ll also need to identify goals of the discourse community – what are they trying to accomplish?
On your other scholarly source: While it may be that you cannot find a scholarly source on the specific discourse community you’ve selected, you might still want to look for sources on the forums where the communication takes place (e.g., social media, website, etc.), or on the topics discussed by the group to look for the issues the group values.
