CUCNY Ethnographic Narrative Essay

Discourse Community Ethnography GuidelinesWe have defined the concept of a “discourse community” as a social group that communicates, in
part, using written texts but also shares common goals, values, writing standards, specialized
vocabulary, and specialized genres. As we have learned, writing is a social act—an act of
connecting with others for multiple purposes.
For this assignment, you will need to draft an ethnographic narrative about two distinct discourse
communities. You may begin by describing the general customs of your two communities, but
this ethnography should primarily focus on the communication practices of the communities
under investigation. Swales’ six criteria for defining a discourse community are a strong resource
to draw upon for your ethnography, but the shape and content of this ethnography will be entirely
up to you to decide. For example, your essay might compare and contrast the communication
practices of both discourse communities, it might tell a story from the first person perspective, or
read like scientific report complete with observations and hypotheses. Your narrative should be
sure to include some scientific rhetoric (i.e. objective and impartial descriptions) to capture the
customs and communication habits of the communities under investigation.
Here are some questions to get you started:
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Who are the members (experts/novices) of these discourse communities?
What forms of writing and communication are used in these discourse communities?
What are the typical genres and media used by the members of these communities?
What topics and/or subjects are written about in these discourse communities?
What are some unique conventions (guidelines and/or rules) of these discourse
communities?
What specialized language is used? Why is this so? What are some instances of overlap
between one community and another? Provide examples.
How does one become a member of these discourse communities?
What can you hypothesize after having observed these two communities?
Assignment Requirements:
➢ Length: 400-600 words
➢ Format: Use citations when necessary. APA
Rubric:
Ethnographic
Rhetoric
25 pts.
Focus
25 pts.
Supporting
Details
25 pt.
Writing
Fluency and
Grammar:
25 pts.
A
B
C
D
Clearly describes two
distinct discourse
communities and
employs concise
ethnographic rhetoric
throughout
Sufficiently surveys
two distinct discourse
communities and
employs
ethnographic rhetoric
Describes two
discourse
comminutes by
employing loose
ethnographic rhetoric
Ethnography is
general and nonspecific
Response exhibits
strong focus on
topics/ subjects
Response may lose or
may exhibit minor
lapses in focus on
topics/subjects.
Response may lose or
may exhibit major
lapses in focus on
topics/subjects.
Supporting details
consist of specific,
developed details that
define each discourse
community listed.
Supporting details
consist of some
specific details that
define each discourse
community listed.
Supporting details
consist of general
and/or undeveloped
details, which may
not be relevant to the
discourse community
listed.
Demonstrates skillful
writing fluency,
exhibits few or no
grammar and
mechanical errors.
Academic voice
throughout. Writing
is clear.
Demonstrates good
writing fluency,
exhibits minor
grammar and
mechanical errors.
Academic voice
throughout. Tense is
mostly consistent.
Writing is clear.
Demonstrates
adequate writing
fluency; exhibits a
fair number of major
grammar and
mechanical errors.
Academic voice, and
tense are somewhat
consistent. Writing
could be clearer.
Response may fail
to establish focus on
topics/subjects.
Supporting details
are sparse— almost
no relevance to the
discourse
community listed.
Demonstrates
limited writing
fluency, exhibits
numerous major
grammar and
mechanical errors.
Loose academic
voice, Tense is
inconsistent.
Writing is unclear.
F
Assignment
fails to read as
an
ethnography
No focus
found.
Lacking
supporting
details for the
discourse
community
listed.
No writing
fluency;
unclear, and/or
errors distract.