Discourse CommunityPurpose and AudiencePurpose: To investigate a discourse community* (e.g. profession) you hope to join and to learn about the kinds of texts (genres) that community uses. This assignmentwill enable you to identify some of those rules or patterns by interviewing a professional in your field of study and by doing outside researchAudience: Your instructor, your classmates, and other faculty members on the 100A portfolio committee..*Discourse Community: Any group of people who form a communitya family, a neighborhood, colleagues, practitioners of a particular professionand establish informaland formal rules regarding who gets to join their community and how spoken and written interactions (i.e. discourse) occur within the community. Anyone who wants tojoin that community has to learn its discourse rules and patterns.Writing StepsStep 1: InterviewFor this assignment, you will interview a professional in your field of study to gain insight into your future discourse community. Try to select someone at a senior.level, with at least five years of experience working in this field, who can provide you with a broad view of the types of work and opportunities that are available toyou. Your professors in your field of study may be able to give you advice on finding a suitable interviewee. Unless you hope eventually to become a faculty member ata university, you should not interview one of your professors.It is preferable to interview the subject in person. The interview should cover 1) your subjects background and career path; 2) your subjects current role andresponsibilities; and 3) your subjects insight on the types of communication skills required for advancing in your field.In preparation for the interview, you will work in class to develop a set of questions for your particular interviewee. You will also discuss various interviewingstrategies. Before the interview, you will need to discuss with your interviewee the confidentiality of the interview. Because people sometimes share sensitiveinformation in an interview, you need to assure them that the information will be confidential and that you will not use their real name or the name of the company.Step 2: Outside ResearchFind a minimum of 2 outside sources.(articles, journals) that give you additional information about your future discourse community for example, what types of workor jobs someone in that field would have, or what the requirements will be for those jobs in the future. You might also research additional genres of writing thatmight be used in your field. Note: Step 2 can be done while you are arranging the interview. You do not have to wait until your interview is done.Step 3: Prepare ReportYour Discipline Investigation will report the information you learned during your interview and outside research, providing an introduction and conclusion to share howyour own expectations about the field may have changed or broadened in doing this assignment.Suggested Organization.INTRODUCTIONYour introduction should include a brief overview of the discourse community you investigated for this assignment and provide a short background on why you chose yourfield of study and what your expectations were before you conducted the interview and outside research.INTERVIEW REPORTBackground & Career PathIntroduce your interview subject, giving details of the subjects background and education to show why the subject chose that profession and how he/she got started inthe field. You will also need to give some explanation of the subjects career path so far, highlighting particular positions or stepping stones to the current role.Possible topics to discuss in this section include:. Why your subject was drawn to a particular career field What requirements or skills were needed before entering the field The expectations and surprises your subject had in entering that professionUse outside sources (articles) to add additional or supporting information.Roles & ResponsibilitiesProvide an overview of your interview subjects current role at his/her place of employment, explaining the responsibilities of that position and how it fits into theoverall structure of the company or organization. Your subject should also give you a general sense of the types of jobs and career paths common in that field.Possible topics to discuss in this section include: The subjects job responsibilities in his/her place of employment Where your subjects job fits in terms of the overall structure of the profession Types of jobs people in this profession have The skills and qualifications your subjects job requires The biggest challenges the subject faces in this jobUse outside sources (articles) to add additional or supporting information..Communication SkillsExplain the types of reading and writing typically required in your field of interest. Provide an overview of the communication skills that are most important in yourfield. For example, some occupations demand the ability to work collaboratively on reports, while others may require an ability to respond clearly and concisely totime-sensitive email inquiries. Possible topics include: The types of reading and writing required in your subjects daily responsibilities The typical audience for written communication (co-workers, clients, general public, etc.). The communication skills your subject finds most important in his/her roleUse outside sources (articles) to add additional or supporting information.CONCLUSIONShare your thoughts on what most surprised or interested you about your interview and research. Did it change your expectations about your chosen field? For theremainder of your undergraduate studies, what further skills, knowledge, or experience.(such as an internship) will you need to develop to help prepare you for thestart of your career?REFERENCESInclude a list of your outside sources (at least two are required). Use the style that is used in your field of interest (for example, APA, MLA, etc.)APPENDIXInclude a list of the interview questions you asked. It is not necessary to include a transcript of the responses.Format Guidelines.Your final draft should be approximately 1500 words, with 1-inch margins and 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1.5-spaced with double spacing between paragraphs. Thereport should have headings (in capitals and bolded) to guide the reader. Please number your pages.Peer ReviewAll students must bring the following to the peer review: A draft of the complete report; include links to the outside sources you used. A copy of the interview questions you used A copy of the peer review sheet; remember to include any questions which you would like your peer reviewer to answer about the content and organization of yourdraft..During the peer review session, you will provide written feedback on his/her paper.Teacher ConferenceUse the feedback from your peer to revise your writing in preparation for a mandatory conference with your instructor. Bring to the conference: A draft of the final report (you will annotate both the document and your own report based on your instructors feedback); include links to the outside sourcesyou used and a list of the interview questions you asked; A copy of the peer review..Important DatesFirst draft due (1300 words min); Mandatory peer review Monday, June 30Mandatory conference with instructor and bring a 2nd draft based on peer review (1400 words min) Wednesday, July 2 Tuesday, July 8Final draft due on Canvas and in class (1500 words) Monday, July 14Things to Keep for the Portfolio A copy of this assignment sheet A copy of the interview questions you used All drafts produced for this assignment A copy of your instructors comments and your peers comments on your earlier drafts A clean (unmarked) copy of your final draft..
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