Reading Journal
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| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | Melzer, Dan. “Melzer-Understanding-Discourse-Communities.pdf – Understanding Discourse Communities Dan Melzer This Essay Is a Chapter in Writing Spaces Readings on: Course Hero.” Melzer-Understanding-Discourse-Communities.pdf – Understanding Discourse Communities Dan Melzer This Essay Is a Chapter in Writing Spaces Readings on | Course Hero, www.coursehero.com/file/65182523/melzer-understanding-discourse-communitiespdf/. |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | In this article, Dan Melzer uses his story of him joining a beginner’s guitar group to help explain the six features of what a discourse community is. The first point on the list states that discourse communities have a common set of shared goals. This applies to his group because everyone is there to better their guitar skills. The second point states the community should have communication among members. In his guitar group, they communicated through their website to recruit new members. The third point is the use of that communication to provide feedback and other information. Through their website, they could talk about meeting places and what handouts were needed. The fourth point is different genres. His group would play multiple songs of different genres, but genres also apply to the website and music handouts they used. The fifth point, having a specific language, is shown by how they use specific guitar terminology that only they could understand. The sixth and last point, having expert members, is essential so that beginners can learn from someone with more experience. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.
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Genre- A category of composition
Lexis- a specialized language |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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This article heavily relates to that of Johns. Both of these articles discuss what discourse communities are and how they work. Whereas Johns’ article is more academic in writing style, Melzer uses a more personal style of writing. He tells his own story which helped me understand a bit more in depth about discourse communities. I felt like I was able to relate more to Melzer. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | Out of the six points Melzer made about discourse communities, which point would you consider the most vital for the community to work best? |