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Caroline Larach
ENC 1101
Professor Wolcott
11/09/2014
Discourse Communities

Out of the many discourse communities, the discourse community of

people who study writing is covered by Writing About Writing and is important to
understand. Knowledge of their works allows the reader to comprehend how and why
they write. The explanation of a discourse community gets considerable attention through
John Swales. John Swales presents that a discourse community is composed of several
key elements. The first being an agreed set of common public goals. It is important to
engage into the works of people who study writing because it can benefit readers, such as
college students, to observe and improve their writings. Another element composed of a
discourse community brought to attention by Swales is that it employs mechanisms
designed to provide information and feedback. In Laura Carrolls Backpacks vs
Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. Carroll work focuses on the implications of
rhetorical analysis, that is, the way we use language and images to persuade. The main
importance and message from her work is for us to stop and consider about what and how
we are persuaded in different situations. If we do not become aware of these implications,
we would then become mindless consumers who then buy into arguments on what makes
us happy created by media (Carroll).
Study of Carrolls work has been ideal towards myself as she inducts real-life

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situations that I can relate to. An example of these being whenever someone walks into a
room, as she discusses, I find myself performing rhetorical analysis by seeing what I can
derive from a person by just simply the way they are presented through their clothing. We
are taught at a young age to follow the clich, dont judge a book by its cover, but
humans find themselves performing rhetorical analysis on a daily basis, many without
even realizing it. Carroll describes that this form of analysis can be beneficial. When this
is applied to academics, college students are able to identify key concepts when they are
studying for an exam or quiz. The effectiveness behind Carrolls work is that she
incorporates methods and examples that are experienced by almost all college students
and certainly myself. Laura Bolin Carroll understands that in order to get her main point
across, her work must first appeal towards the main targeted audience in college students
and she is successful in this by presenting myself with these highly relatable real-life
situations.
A discourse community utilizes and possesses one or more genres in the
communicative furtherance of its aims (Swales). In this statement, the word genre,
refers to any type of text. It is easy to understand that different types of discourse
communities possess different types of text, whether it be articles or a chalk board.

Writing About Writing constructs its written work through some different types of
texts, including journal entries, bullet point text, and through articles.
In Intertextuality and the discourse community by James Porter, his take on
the goal of intertextuality must be to aid students to develop their writing styles for the
discourse communities that they wish to join. What Porter exposes towards the reader is
idea to produce socialized writers. That is, member of discourse communities that are

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producing optimal and useful discourse within their community. A key element of his
teachings include the importance of audience analysis. Instead of the audience acting
upon as the receivers, but rather as the intertext of its discourse community. Other areas
that is touched upon by Porter is the only best way for someone to understand a discourse
of a community is to conduct in critical reading. As well as, writing assignments should
be designed to be a part a web within the discourse community to ultimately be a part of a
community search for purpose. Porter is able to get his message across by implementing
his ideas through scenarios of an ideal discourse community. A college student reading
his work can critically think about the implications of his written work and apply it
towards their own (Porter).
In Paul Prior's, Tracing Process, he describes writing to be composed of two
distinct practices, that of inscription and composition. Inscription is composed of the
physical act of writing down words. While composition is the more intellectual side of
writing. That is, writing notes and drafts (Prior). Prior is able to depict his importance of
understanding ones text by the means of keeping track of all written accounts.
I found it a personal benefit that the information composed from the written
work included real-life scenarios that I could relate to. This strategy of teaching their
information, considering this is a college textbook, is efficient but is categorized and
could be found to have left out some individuals.
In order to continue undemanding the work of compositionists, rhetoricians,
and scholars of writing, it would be essential to maintain a continued study of the
discourse community of the study of writing through analysis of ones own writing style,

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teaching others of material learned, and read critically upon feedback from those
scholastically qualified.
It is important to study people who study writing because this allows the reader
to comprehend how and why we write, analyze and improve our writing, and to be able to
observe and see effectiveness in other writings. Writing About Writing allows college
students to be exposed towards the discourse community of those of compositionists,
Rhetoricians, and scholars of writing, along with the accessibility of information being
found in one location.
John Swales ends his work on discourse communities stating a discourse
community has a threshold level of member with a suitable degree of relevant content
and discoursal expertise (Swales --). Meaning that discourse communities experience
members entering inexperienced. Simply by possessing the book, one is exposed towards
information to better educate their writing habits, techniques, and performances. These
writers all offer crucial evidence that also helps improve critical thinking. For us to be
become better writers, it will not only improve our academic career, but also gladly
contribute towards the discourse communities that we will possess in our lives. By
understanding and analyzing rhetoric work, we can become able to see the how and why
persuasion affects consumers. Ultimately we would be able to identify social aspects,
such as beauty being possessing physical wants, that we would not be able to identify had
it not been for a skill in the implications to understand rhetorical situations.
With Writing About Writing we are in fact given the keys towards greater
knowledge of understanding writing and its use in language. The works of educators has

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presented us with opportunities for a better understanding of our culture. Study of the
discourse community of those who study writing can benefit with more thoughts being
efficiently organized, as well as inspiring for more commitment towards their tasks.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Laura. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing
About Writing A College Reader. Wardle and Downs2nd ed. Boston New York:
Bedford/St.Martins. Print.
Prior, Paul. Tracing Process: How Texts Come Into Being. Writing About Writing A
College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. 2nd Edition. Boston,
MA. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011.492-494. Print

Porter, James E. "Intertextuality and the discourse community" Wardle,

Elizabeth A., and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing: A College Reader.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 395-409. Print.
Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Writing About Writing: A
College Reader. Eds. Wardle, Elizabeth and Downs, Doug. 2nd ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 215-229. Print.