Kim Le

Writing 2

Ryan Minor

27 November 2020

The Science of Discourse

Straying not too far from the concept of different categories in writing (genres), we

introduce the idea of categories in social interaction. Ann M. Johns, author of ​Discourse

Communities and Communities of Practice, ​introduces readers to discourse communities. People

knowingly and unknowingly put themselves into discourse communities as they hone in on their

passions and interests. I applied to UCSB as a Chemistry major because that is what I am

passionate about, but I also carry an interest in the visual arts and all fields of STEM. I wanted to

look into the discourse community of chemistry through a chemical equation I knew very well,

the reaction between carbon dioxide and water. When I opened a few journals, I saw right away

that there were very distinct features of the journals that other discourse communities may not

have, but also realized that none of the journals were solely chemistry based. The language, the

syntax, the imagery, the content, and more. Some of those features may be similar throughout

different discourse communities, but each one is distinct in the way they use those features.

Discourse communities are formed from a group of people with a common interest that

openly express their views. The communities tend to become smaller as the topic of interest

becomes more specific. How they share their ideas can be found in multitudes of genres. For this

research project, I narrowed my topic of interest by answering: what is my favorite primary

school subject? The answer was easy, science. The first images of people that would be

interested in science would most likely be scientists and doctors. After asking myself more
specific questions I tapered my interests from science to chemistry to decomposition reactions,

specifically on calcium carbonate. The people in this discourse community would most likely

communicate through journal articles, yet others may discuss through other means. Gamers

might discuss through streaming and meme enthusiasts through any social media platform. The

topic of the decomposition of calcium carbonate can include discourse communities interested in

global warming, the threat to ocean biodiversity, and acid/base reactions.

Body1: how they’re formed

-elaborate on ocean acidification
Body2: theories, practices, and values define the community
- don't quote, just bring them up
Body3: shared features of the scholarly community they come from
- more specific
- quote from journals
Body4:Discourse Community
- What audience does the scholar seem to have in mind?
- What discipline(s) does this genre of writing fall under, and why?
- Does the author assume that the audience has certain knowledge? Does the scholar
mention any ongoing discussions to which they are contributing?
Body5 (?): Compare/ contrast to other discourse communities
-art, but art tied to chemistry somehow
 Works Cited
Calder, Nigel. “THE CARBON DIOXIDE THERMOMETER AND THE CAUSE OF GLOBAL
WARMING.” ​Energy & Environment​, vol. 10, no. 1, 1999, pp. 1–18. ​JSTOR​,
www.jstor.org/stable/44396944. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Arrak, Arno. “ARCTIC WARMING IS NOT GREENHOUSE WARMING.” ​Energy &

Environment,​ vol. 22, no. 8, 2011, pp. 1069–1083. ​JSTOR​,
www.jstor.org/stable/43735070. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Ehlert, Dana, et al. “The Sensitivity of the Proportionality between Temperature Change and
Cumulative CO₂ Emissions to Ocean Mixing.” ​Journal of Climate​, vol. 30, no. 8, 2017,
pp. 2921–2935. ​JSTOR,​ www.jstor.org/stable/26387983. Accessed 11 Nov. 2020.

Friedlingstein, Pierre. “Carbon Cycle Feedbacks and Future Climate Change.” ​Philosophical
Transactions: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences,​ vol. 373, no. 2054,
2015, pp. 1–14., www.jstor.org/stable/24505058. Accessed 28 Nov. 2020.
Your W2 paper should answer the following questions:
• How is a discourse community formed?
• What theories, practices, and values define the community?
• How do each of the peer-reviewed academic articles showcase the shared features of the
scholarly community they come from?
• In essence you are asking: what conventions make it clear that the articles are part of one
particular academic discourse community.

Here are some general things to consider while working on this project:
a) Argumentation: What is this scholar arguing? How does the scholar make that argument? Do
you find that argument convincing? What does the argument add to our collective body of
knowledge: a discovery? A new way of understanding something? A critique of another scholar's
work?
b) Use of Evidence: What kinds of sources does the author use? How does the scholar present
evidence and analyze it? Is this presentation of evidence clear and convincing? Does the scholar
discuss the benefits and/or drawbacks of these sources?
c) Discourse Community: What audience does the scholar seem to have in mind? What
discipline(s) does this genre of writing fall under, and why? Does the author assume that the
audience has certain knowledge? Does the scholar mention any ongoing discussions to which
they are contributing?
d) Other Genre Conventions: How is the information organized? Are there headings and
chapters? What about tone, language, use of visual material, etc.?
Remember: You are discussing the differences and similarities between the article’s academic
communities in terms of discourse, values, conventions, and rhetoric (not the topic or content
itself).