According to (this should say “Per John…” “According to” makes this unnecessarily wordy) John Swales, a linguistics professor at the University of Michigan, a discourse community shares six characteristics that help ensure longevity of the group. The University of Memphis Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) is an example of a discourse community; by using the six characteristics provided by John Swales, I intend to prove this point.
One of the traits of a discourse community is a common goal Swales says, “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals” (220). The common goals for this discourse community are to witness, to serve the community of Memphis, and to help members of the group with their 3. walk in (should be …show more content…
is described by Swales as maintaining “… mechanisms of intercommunication among its members” (221). This is a way to communicate among members. This also includes feedback from the members which allows for Swales’ third criteria. The way the BCM exhibits this characteristic is by using GroupMe, an app that is basically a group text. This allows for feedback, general communication, and notification for meetings and events. The BCM also has meetings and an open door policy for feedback on improvements to allow for accommodations. These traits give opportunities for status reports about the members’ actions toward the common goals, helping 4.the furtherance of the …show more content…
(see Appendix A for interview questions). When asked what an average day in the life of a BCM member was like, he responded with, “We have so many options to be involved with the community and to share the gospel while doing so.” He went on to say that there isn’t a typical day seeing as there are many ways members can choose how they would like to serve the community. When asked if there is any way that people 2.are considered nonmembers, he responded that the only way you are not considered a member is if you lack the willingness to serve. He said that if you aren’t there to help and serve the community that it destroys the whole idea of what the BCM stands for. During the course of the interview Vincent did mention that there probably is a typical day for those who have a schedule, but as for him, he claims he couldn’t stick to one if he
One of the traits of a discourse community is a common goal Swales says, “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals” (220). The common goals for this discourse community are to witness, to serve the community of Memphis, and to help members of the group with their 3. walk in (should be …show more content…
is described by Swales as maintaining “… mechanisms of intercommunication among its members” (221). This is a way to communicate among members. This also includes feedback from the members which allows for Swales’ third criteria. The way the BCM exhibits this characteristic is by using GroupMe, an app that is basically a group text. This allows for feedback, general communication, and notification for meetings and events. The BCM also has meetings and an open door policy for feedback on improvements to allow for accommodations. These traits give opportunities for status reports about the members’ actions toward the common goals, helping 4.the furtherance of the …show more content…
(see Appendix A for interview questions). When asked what an average day in the life of a BCM member was like, he responded with, “We have so many options to be involved with the community and to share the gospel while doing so.” He went on to say that there isn’t a typical day seeing as there are many ways members can choose how they would like to serve the community. When asked if there is any way that people 2.are considered nonmembers, he responded that the only way you are not considered a member is if you lack the willingness to serve. He said that if you aren’t there to help and serve the community that it destroys the whole idea of what the BCM stands for. During the course of the interview Vincent did mention that there probably is a typical day for those who have a schedule, but as for him, he claims he couldn’t stick to one if he