Discourse Community Map-Claire MacDonald

Discourse Community Map-Claire MacDonald

1. 2. Sorority

   • Audience: Members of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority
     • Purpose: To unite as a sisterhood within the sorority and develop life-long friendships and learn skills about love, labor, and loyalty as leaders around TCU campus
       • Genre/media: The sorority is focused on exemplifying our core values through sisterhood events and we use social media to reveal ourselves to others through the way we look, act, and the ways we become involved in different things
         • Topics: We discuss and write about the history of our sorority and how we align with our values and come together as one sisterhood
           • Conventions: There are many rules within the sorority such as aligning with the values, not actively communicating with non-members, not wearing our Greek letters until initiation, tasks that are to be completed monthly, and much more
             • Language: The language depends on the setting and time. For example, the way our sorority communicates with a potential new member is going to be very different than how we communicate with active members of the sorority
               • Membership: To become a member, a girl has to go through formal recruitment and be granted a bid to become a part of the sorority. After receiving a bid, there are different rituals and ceremony that new members experience before becoming an initiated member of the sorority

2. 5. TCU community

   • Audience: Students at Texas Christian University
     • Purpose: Writing, communicating with, and learning as students at TCU to develop leadership skills and earn a degree for a future career
       • Genre/media: There are so many different areas within genre and media that are used within the TCU community such as campus-wide events that are promoted on social media and all types of media used to help students get involved within communities
         • Topics: Topics regarding how students interact with one another are discussed as well as how students are performing academically in their courses
           • Conventions: There are rules that apply to the students at TCU whether this is complying with their housing and residency, how to act in their courses, being enrolled and earning credits toward a degree, and several other details
             • Language: Being voted the happiest college students, TCU uses positive language to provide students with high care and appropriate challenge so that they can be successful in the journey that lies ahead
               • Membership: Becoming a student at TCU requires applying, being admitted into the university, and taking the correct amount of credits in order to graduate on time in their specific field of study. Maintaining a certain GPA is also required to stay enrolled at TCU

3. 3. Army ROTC

   • Audience: Cadets going through the ROTC program and being trained to become second lieutenants in the United States Army
     • Purpose: To learn the tactical and applicable information that is necessary to become a second lieutenant in the Army. We write about information that needs to be memorized and applied in our everyday lives in field training exercise and physical training
       • Genre/media: We watch videos and attend an outdoor lab that prepares us and gives us the knowledge necessary to participate in the ROTC program. We apply the military-based media that we watch in class to further understand how to perform tasks in a variety of settings
         • Topics: Many topics are discussed daily in ROTC. Day-to-day we conduct physical training that prepares us physically. We also bring a notepad and pen to the lab weekly to write down everything we have learned so that it can be applied.
           • Conventions: There are very strict rules and guidelines within the Army. This includes the uniform we are required to be in with our hair and appearance looking a certain way. There are several customs and courtesies that we have to follow and there are consequences if they are not followed.
             • Language: There is strict, formal, and proper language used within the Army because there are many rules that need to be followed
               • Membership: The membership process requires a physical fitness test, being of good moral character, being a U.S. citizen, and agreeing to be commissioned into the Army

4. 1. Church

   • Audience: Christian members of the Church
   • Purpose: To unite as Christians through worship, prayer, and reading the Bible which influences the way I communicate and write
   • Genre/media: As a Church community we always use instruments to worship and sing songs together
   • Topics: We write about our prayers, and reflections on what we read in the Bible, and we journal and write down important notes from the sermon on Sundays at Church
   • Conventions: The rules that are established within the Church include morals and values that align with exemplifying the characteristics of Jesus Christ
   • Language: A loving Christ-centered language is used within the Church because it aligns with the values and the way everyone speaks to each other comes from a pure and loving heart. Everyone at Church speaks this way because our goal is ultimately to praise Jesus with our thoughts, words, and actions. Words used: building ethical leaders, horned frogs,
   • Membership: You become a member of the Christian Church by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in your heart, being born again through baptism, and living your life for the one who died for our sins

5. 4. Nursing

   • Audience: Nursing students at TCU
     • Purpose: Writing and studying as nursing students to learn how to become a registered nurse
       • Genre/media: In-class instruction is conducted along with lab simulations and completion of clinicals to gain knowledge and experience
         • Topics: All topics including everything about the human body system and the intricate factors within that are discussed in order to prepare students for their career in nursing
           • Conventions: There are rules that come with complying with working with patients including background checks, enforcing regulations, amending, and following the standards
             • Language: Language about nursing terms and how to treat and communicate with patients is taught and applied
               • Membership: Becoming a nurse requires 4 years of undergrad and nursing school and passing the NCLEX exam to be a registered nurse