Reflective Argument

Reflective Argument

In our English 3010 intermediate writing course we have covered a wide range of topics that have essentially centered on two main concepts, discourse communities and writing expertise. The goal of these topics being to firstly, introduce us to this concept and secondly, to get us to truly understand how writing varies from not only our social environments but also but also in our professional and academic environments. Once this understanding was gained then a true appreciation for the different writing styles and techniques in the various environments could come about. This understanding that is gained on how various disciplines or professions write and communicate knowledge was translated into our extended writing project.

There were various concepts that needed to be learned in order to complete the project. These concepts include writing expertise, discourse community, genre, Discourse, literary review, problem statement and research questions. We have learned about these concepts concerning the course through different methods that have required us to think about how these concepts are important. The first method required us to read the assigned reading and conceptualize the topic so that we could understand it. One other method that has been used is group discussion; the purpose being to help facilitate greater understanding of the concept by bouncing ideas off of your peers. Another method was listening to video lectures, these lectures focused on one topic and helped to “cover the bases” by reiterating the topics in greater detail and giving any insight on the concept that may have been missed. All of these methods were for the purpose of preparing us for our extended writing project.

We learn about writing expertise first. Our readings from Ann Beaufort help to cement the concept of writing expertise. Writing expertise is having the knowledge of which style, diction, structure and other tools are necessary for writing efficiently in your discourse community. Next, Our readings from John Swales and Ann Johns help cement the idea of what a discourse community truly is; which are groups of people who are connected by common goals, values, ideas, etc. These communities can be of social, political, recreational, academic and professional in origin. Charles Bazerman describes genres as “forms of life, ways of being … [that] shape the thoughts we form and the communications by which we interact” (Bazerman 19). Basically genres are written forms of communication that is used for communication between members in a discourse community. The last two concepts that are vital to the extended writing project are introduced to us by Merriam which are problem statement and research questions. A problem statement informs the audience about what challenging or perplexing issue you wish to address. Research questions function to help explain to the audience “explain specifically what your study will attempt to learn or understand” (Merriam 60).

The steps that were included for the creation of the extended writing project was as follows; choose a discourse community and come up with a research proposal that included a problem statement and research questions. The next step was to find contacts in that discourse community and conduct an interview with them to gain more information on the discourse community, while obtaining three genres from the contact that are used in the community. Following that was an analysis of the three genres collected, which resulted in the data collection report. Then was the online resource project which required us to take all that we had learned about the discourse community and present it in a way that someone who is interested in the community could benefit from it. We had to inform them of what type of writing expertise would be needed in the field and also what other tools would be needed for success.

For the first step of my project, I had to come up with a research proposal. The creation of the research proposal required several steps. I had to figure out which discourse community I wanted to focus on and what aspect of that community I wanted to know more about that wasn’t already known to me.  I looked at a discourse community that I was already a part of, which for me was the Nutrition Department at Wayne State University. I had to then relate that aspect of the community back to concepts we learned from class; I focused mainly on discourse community, genres and writing expertise. To formulate my problem statement I had to ask myself what I was curious about in the discourse community and then look at how I could relate it to what we have learned so far. In doing that my problem statement became; how does the use of genres in this field play a role in one’s success? Centering on the problem statement was a series of questions that related to the problem statement that helped to narrow the focus on what I really wanted to study in the discourse community: What genres are used in this field? How are they beneficial? What types of interactions occur in this field? How do they affect one’s success?

The purpose of the research proposal was to pitch our idea for our project. So the essential components of the proposal were the problem statement and the research questions. Its function was to help create an outline for the project. My final draft of the research proposal clearly states what the problem statement is in a clear and concise manner and also relates back to the main concepts of the class, discourse communities, genres and writing expertise. The proposal also gave a summary of the ideas that we had learned about at that point in the course with references made to the source of the information. The wording contains terms that are specific to the content of the class but it also provides explanation in case the audience is not familiar with some of the meanings.

The proposal presents the information in an organized fashion by first presenting the ideas covered in the class, in the order that they were introduced in the class. The last concepts that are covered are the ones relating to problem statement, literary review and also research questions. Then following that is the proposed problem statement and set of research questions. In the conclusion of the research proposal is an explanation as to how these concepts are tied together. An example of this is “Writing expertise and discourse communities are connected in the fact that writing expertise helps one “communicate to an audience of readers in a given discourse community” (Beaufort, 10). The relationship between discourse communities and genres is that genres are properties of discourse communities.”

The data collection report consisted of an analysis of the three genres collected from the specific discourse community that was studied. From the Nutrition Department I collected a total of six genres. Those included a manuscript, a nutrition brochure, a grant application, a syllabus, a protocol form and a seminar presentation. From these six I tried to choose three that communicated to a different audience. The nutrition brochure communicates general information to the general public (EXPLAIN HOW) but mainly communicates to students of the university who are in no way affiliated with this community. In my data collection report I explain this further by stating “In the nutrition brochure there contains information pertaining to the department and some of its accomplishments… In it are different types of research opportunities that take place in the labs and the different paths that you can go onto with this program.” The manuscript communicates to the scientific community. This is evident from the content and also the length of the genre. I note in my data report that “The manuscript contains data from various experts of their results from their experiments and research… This genre is very long and contains various graphs and charts. The length of the manuscript is to be expected since this is the publishing of usually several months or even years of research.” Finally the protocol form is solely used for communicating with students who are already apart of this discourse community.

Once I decided on which genres to use, I then had to examine each and determine how they exhibited certain characteristics. These “characteristics” were the categories that formed the headings in the report. These included rhetorical and other textual features, function, subject matter knowledge and discourse community attitudes and values. In order to fill these heading with content I had to once again consult our textbook The Wayne Writer, to assist me in what was necessary to analyze these genres. What I found was that the concept of scene and situation as they pertain to different genres is necessary because it aids you in making sense of the genre. Also other concepts that need to be considered when analyzing genres include content, format, structure, tone, patterns, and various others.

In the data collection report the content was very organized. It contained various headings that informed the reader what the paragraph was going to cover. The report also makes various claims about each of the genres and then gives proof from the genre itself to back up the statement made. An example is when I state, “The next section is the “introduction” here background information is given on the topic being studied. In the “methods” section the data is explored in depth and various facts and figures are stated. An example of the type of sentences found in this section is ‘Thus, 4 groups were formed: HF control (HF; n=10), HF diet with FBCx (HF-FBCx; n=11), LF control (LF; n=10), and LF diet with FBCx (LF-FBCx; n=11)’.”Any terms used in the report that are specific to the discourse community is explained so that the audience is not left wondering at its meaning.

For the online resource project, there were two parts that needed to be completed; first, the cover letter and then the actual online presentation piece. In preparing for the cover letter I first thought about all of the concepts that we had covered in the class and which ones were essential to my project. Then in order to make a connection between the writing concepts and my findings I had to first use the tools provided to me from The Wayne Writer textbook on analyzing genres. I had to look at the function of the genre, the audience, the structure, the style and other aspects. Next I considered how to take my findings and make a connection for someone who would be interested in joining this community.

For the online presentation part of the assignment I had to consider essentially the same issues as for the cover letter with some minor differences. I had to consider which medium for the presentation would be best. That meant taking into consideration which option was best for me, seeing as I was going to have to be the one to create the presentation I needed a resource that could be comfortable with. I also had to think about which online resource could organize the information in a way that best highlighted my findings. For me that resource was PowerPoint.

In the cover letter the content is organized in the sense that it begins with an introduction followed by a bit of background information on the project and ends with a conclusion. The conclusion does tie the findings from the project to those who are interested in this discourse community. An example of this from the cover letter is “In order to become successful in this field it is helpful to study up on how to write in this fashion so that members of your discourse community and others related to it can understand and appreciate your work.” The cover letter also effectively closes any remaining gaps that there might be in the readers mind by making sure to answer the research questions.

For the online presentation the style used in the PowerPoint presentation helps to give it a professional feel to it with cool earth tones, not bright flashy colors to distract readers from the content. Also the slides are organized in a structured manner. They start with introducing the purpose behind the project, then leads into the problem statement and research questions. Following that are the findings and conclusion. The wording used in the presentation does use certain terms without giving an explanation on them, but instead the explanation is given in the cover letter.

Looking at the various writing assignments that have contributed to the extended writing project the overall purpose of each was satisfied. However in each there is room for improvement. In each assignment the connection of my findings to those who would benefit from this information could be a bit stronger. Also the explanation of different content in each assignment needs to be a bit clearer in its message. These assignments have contributed to a deeper understanding of my discourse community and also a deeper appreciation for the differences that appear in writing styles and techniques that may be present in other discourse communities.