There are no classes scheduled at City Tech for Monday, September 6 and Wednesday, September 8, but I want to make sure we stay on track, so I wanted to post a few links and reminders about what’s ahead! I’ve created a small Agenda for this week, but don’t look there until you’ve read this!

This past Wednesday, September 1, we spent a lot of time dissecting Swales’ criteria for Discourse Communities–I added questions to each criteria to aid in the dissection. One assignment I’m going to give you during this non-class week is for you to identify at least three discourse communities you are involved with (more on that in the Agenda).

They’re on the PowerPoint in the Course Profile, but I’ve copied and pasted them here for easy access while you’re thinking about the first assignment. (The criteria is in bold. The questions are in italics.)

Common public goals

What is this group’s goal?

Methods of communicating among members

What are the ways this group communicate with each other?

Participatory communication methods

How does this group primarily communicate with its members?

Genres that define the group

How does this group communicate with the outside world?

A lexis

What is the “language” they use within their group?

A standard of knowledge needed for membership

What does a person need to know before they can join this group?

Develops a sense of “silential relations”

Are there terms or actions that don’t need to be explained to a group member?

Develops horizons of expectation

Are there “rhythms of activity,” a sense of history, and a value system that the group members recognize?

I urge you to really ponder these criteria/questions in the upcoming non-class week as you think of multiple discourse communities that you are a part of, because when we meet again, we’ll start talking about the Unit 1 major writing assignment (you can find it here), which is going to be aided by your thoughts about the criteria.

You can see the details of what’s coming up on the Agenda!

Some General Notes

Go to the Course Profile page to review the PowerPoints from past classes. This is a great way to keep up with the class if you miss a session, or to to jog your memory.

Always check the Agenda section of our website! All the assignments with tons of details are here!