Discourse Communities
Discourse communities consist of a group of individuals who are involved in a process to achieve a common goal. Different people have different goals and to achieve these goals they are obliged to take different paths; a discourse community brings these individuals together for a common goal. People join community discourses or groups in order to share ideas, knowledge, culture, or tastes with the members of that particular group/discourse.
Knowledge and Convincing
In relation to the knowledge acquired from this class of English 1301, it is necessary for one to convince the members of the particular discourse he/she is interested in that they can fit into the discourse community. This can be achieved, for example, through knowing the group's rhetorical situation such as its motivations, cultural contexts, as well as its audiences. Alternatively, one can apply rhetorical appeals of ethos (appeal to experience and credibility), pathos (appeal to emotions), or logos (appeal to facts). An application of the three Aristotelian appeals would ensure that the members of a particular discourse community are convinced that you have what it takes to join the group. In order to be accepted into a discourse community, therefore, one has to understand, learn, and appreciate the ways of the people in that particular community, how they argue, reason, and communicate, as well as their set goals and objectives.
Proving Membership in a Discourse Community
This paper is a prove to you, my instructor, and you, my classmates, that I joined the discourse community of my high school soccer team by acquiring the necessary knowledge and establishing my credibility and passion and love for soccer.
Developing Love for Soccer
My love for soccer developed at an early stage in my life back then when I was a kid. This can be attributed to the role my father played in making me develop the love for soccer. I used to accompany my dad to the stadium to watch a match as he really used to love watching the local team playing and scoring against their neighbors. This motivated me later in my childhood to actually develop the art of soccer, and my dad used to be my trainer. I developed this talent until just recently when I joined my high school soccer team, the Foothill soccer team. Just like any other group you join, it takes time to blend in into the team easily. My understanding of the team's goals and objectives as well as my role in contributing to achieving these goals and objectives helped me adopt the team's ways easily. I also had to apply my knowledge and skills when communicating and associating with the rest of the members of the community. I knew and understood well that for me to blend in well with the team, then I had to show my commitment as a team player. With this, I developed a good relationship and love with the rest of the members. Actually, we were a family. This helped the team improve its performance from losing most games in the entire season to coming back and being undefeated. As a team, we always stuck together and shared knowledge and responsibilities.
Blending into a New Group
Have you ever been among a group of people whom you feel are superior to you in some way, either intellectually or in terms of age? This was the feeling I had initially when I joined the school soccer team since most of the members belonged to the upperclassmen and yet I was the only freshman on the team. My resilience and determination to be part of this discourse community helped a lot in blending into such a group. I used the appeals of logos and ethos to convince the upperclassmen that I belonged to their group and ought to be given a chance to prove my worth. However, as you know, the freshman is always tasked to handle the messy kind of work such as gathering all the balls, and of course, if the team was in trouble, then the blame would entirely be on the freshman.
Test of Commitment
My experience with the soccer team seemed to me as a test of commitment and devotion to the team as well as the team's goals and objectives. Through the experience with the soccer team, I learned that a member of a discourse community must learn to appeal to the emotions and values of other members of the discourse community. Through communication and sharing of responsibilities as a team, we achieved much as well as enhanced and developed each other's talents. Communication is a virtue that any discourse community ought to incorporate in its day-to-day engagements so as to aid in team building and strengthening of the group's relationship. Working together as a team is also necessary for achieving the set goals and objectives that a particular discourse community is aiming at. Based on my experience in the discourse community of the high school soccer team, I now understand the relevance of use and application of the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos in convincing a group that you are part of them. Communication is another tool that I will use in joining future discourse communities that I would like to join.
