Discourse Communities

Communication has been a very essential thing in our lives since the beginning of time.
Usually, when we think of communication the first thing that comes into our minds is speaking
directly with other people. What some fail to see is that there are various forms of
communication such as writing. When it comes to writing there are many discourse
communities, which specialize in a specific type of writing, because writing can differ when it
comes to addressing yourself to a friend or to a higher authority, because you wouldn't write to
them in the same format. Four discourse communities in my life would be academic, civic,
professional, and personal.
In my life, the academic discourse community would be being a student. The people
involved in this community are the instructors and professors, which help pass on knowledge,
and peers, which like myself are trying to expand their knowledge and get a career. The media
that we use are computers to access the internet, for example I had an essay due for psychology
about the brain and I was able to use the computer to expand my information on brains. We use
textbooks, such as The Principles of Life. These books help provide information needed for the
subject and can be used as a reference to our studies. We also communicate through e-mail, in
case of an emergency or need help with homework assignments, when I write to my
instructors/professor I make sure to make it as professional as possible, I refer to them by their
last name, for example, I write Mr. Sanchez, I was having trouble understanding the material
for the assignment, do you mind elaborating more on the instructions? you also want to have a
formal closing like Best, Rosaisela Pineda. The topics we write about are instructions for
homework assignments, essays that have to do with biology or history. We write about what we
have learned during the class, such as how the brain works. The special languages that we use

are Blackboard, which is an online site where you receive and turn in any homework
assignments. Tuition, which is what you have to pay in order to get in. Due dates, which are
important dates that we have a certain amount of days to complete an assignment. To be a
student, you have to apply to the school and get accepted, as a university student, I have to pay
for tuition, I have to be respectful and make sure that I stay on top of my classes and maintain
my grades at a passing level.
My church community is my example of civic, because it involves going out to help the
community. As part of my church, I help give youth classes to younger kids and organize
community events such as fund raisers and movie nights, where we all get together and enjoy a
movie. The people involved are the Catholic religion followers and the priest. The main reason
to be in the church is to live a lifestyle in accordance to the Bible. The media we use is gospel
music, to help praise the Lord. We usually discuss the books in the Bible such as Genesis. In this
discourse community we hardly write, just mainly listen to the Gospel, which is what the priest
talks about. But if we do write to the priest we have to show great respect, such as referring to
him as Father. Words used here are baptism and confirmation which are steps into
becoming part of the religion also the Eucharist, which is a bread we eat to show our
gratitude.The conventions are to live by the Bible, live by the 10 Commandments, which are
basically rules on how we might sin and cause great harm to others or ourselves. We are born
into it or simply choose to follow this religion if we believe in it.
My experience as a dental assistant would be an example of a professional discourse. To
become a dental assistant, one must take and pass a state exam. The people I work with are the
patients and the doctors. To keep in contact, we either use e-mails or personal phone calls. In this
community we must show great respect to our patients and doctors. When addressing to the

doctors we refer to them as Dr. and by using their last names. The conventions and guidelines
are basically to take notes on everything that was done to the patient, for example if we did a
restoration, a cavity repair, we would write on our notes Pt. had a restoration on tooth #3.
We use special languages such as #1-#32 which are the names of the teeth. And Z.O.E.
which is the name of a cement used for cavity treatment.
My last discourse, would be my friends as an example of personal. To become my friend,
we basically have to relate one way or another like have the same hobbies, or taste of music.
There aren't really guidelines in becoming one of my friends, as long as you show support and
trustworthiness. When I write to a friend it is mostly through text messages. Since we don't have
to worry about being formal, we could spell out things like, hey wassup!! as a greeting. We
usually write about how our lives have been going and when will we hang out. The purpose of
writing to each other via text message is mainly to keep in touch. We use words such as lol or
lmao to show that we are laughing at the topic. We also use social media networks such as
Facebook, where we share ideas and show our friends what we have been up to. When writing to
a friend, you dont have to be formal as compared to writing to one of the doctors that I work
with.
The ways we write truly depend on who we are addressing ourselves to. We want to be
professional when the time calls for it, but there are also times that we don't need to. Although it
might seem that it is not a big deal, it reveals your true characteristics as an educated person and
it also shows that you are respectful.