1301 DCA Paper Expectations
I know you are working on the draft for the Discourse Community Analysis, so I thought I’d let you know what I’ll be looking for as I review your drafts and make suggestions for revising them.
Since you are writing a first draft of your essay, this draft can be 3-4 pages long, but the final draft MUST be 4-5 pages long. The final draft must be four full (down to the bottom of the page) pages long. Points will be deducted for anything less.
Mechanics:
- The essay should be in Times New Roman size 12 font and double-spaced throughout
- I’d like to see the proper MLA headers, but at least your name must be on the draft
- You must spell-check the essay before submitting. I subtract 5 points off the final grade of any essay that has not been spell-checked
- I expect the essay to be as error-free as possible; this means carefully and thoroughly proofreading the essay before turning it in for grammar, usage errors, comma splices, run-ons, fragments, etc.
Introduction:
- The intro should name and tell me a bit about your chosen discourse community (DC), things like where it was, who was in it, how long you were in it, etc. I need enough info that I can picture your DC
- I like the last sentence in the intro to be the thesis statement
Thesis:
- The thesis must be clearly stated and easy to follow, listing the three things you plan to discuss. Do not say I used my ethos, logos, and pathos; instead say I used my credibility or my character, my knowledge, and my powers of persuasion/ability to persuade people in the thesis
- So a sample thesis might look like this: To become and remain a successful member of X discourse community, I used and grew my knowledge, demonstrated my good character, and utilized my powers of persuasion
Body paragraphs:
- Each body paragraph should cover one aspect of the thesis, using specific examples and thoroughly explaining how those examples helped you be a successful group member. So if we use the thesis example above, the first paragraph would cover knowledge, the second would demonstrate character while the last would cover your use of persuasion
- Each paragraph should have a topic sentence that tells me exactly what you’ll be discussing in the paragraph and is related to the thesis: To become a successful member of X group, I used my basic knowledge of X and later grew that knowledge to become a valuable member of my group, for example.
- Remember this essay is not an autobiography. I don’t want step-by-step info of what you did while in the group. Instead pick particular examples of ethos, logos, and pathos, and discuss HOW these helped you be successful. The explanation is what convinces your readers that you truly did become a successful member of your group.
- Never assume your readers can and will follow your ideas or make connections between your examples themselves. It is you job to interpret the material for them. This is often hard for inexperienced writers to understand. We understand what we mean, so we automatically assume our readers understand as well, but they don’t. So this is vital to the success of your argument.
Conclusion: The conclusion should tie up and connect the ideas in the rest of the essay and explain how discovering and studying the ways in which you used these rhetorical appeals will help you when involved with future discourse communities.
Paper Organization Sample
- Introduction with thesis
- Paragraph/Section A
- Paragraph/Section B
- Paragraph/Section C
- Conclusion
Introduction: This is one way to organize the essay—there are others
Here you will give your readers some information about the discourse community (DC) you will be discussing, for instance:
- What was the group?
- When did you join the group and how long were you a member?
- Where was the group located?
- Anything relative to your reader’s understanding of the group and your participation in it.
Don’t begin the essay with a definition of discourse community; you can assume your readers know what one is since everyone else will be writing about one. Don’t define ethos, logos, and pathos either. Introduce your reader to the idea of a DC and then give your pertinent info.
Transition to the thesis by explaining perhaps a bit about how people join DCs; then move into the idea that people become viable members of a DC by using and acquiring knowledge, demonstrating good character, and using persuasion to influence the thoughts or ideas of the group.
The last sentence in the intro should be your thesis—clearly stated and easy for your reader to follow. The thesis does not need to be long or sophisticated; better it is to the point. So your thesis might read like this: To join the Latin Club, I used my knowledge of the language and its history, but to become a true member and remain a true member of the club, I learned more about the language and the history of the Roman world, demonstrated my credibility by serving as the club’s vice president, and persuaded the leader and members to take action to support the City of Florence after a horrific flood. This thesis gives me 3 things to discuss in the body of the essay.
Your responsibility in the body is to SHOW your reader how doing whatever you did helped you become and remain a successful group member. Don’t just tell me step-by-step what you did—that’s not the purpose of the paper. Use examples of what you did and then explain HOW these helped you in the DC.
Body section 1: Knowledge
Your topic sentence will introduce the idea of knowledge and how you used it.
The first section here would be about gaining and using knowledge. Let’s say I learned about Latin’s extensive influence on our present day language. Big whoop, you might say, but perhaps this helped me have thoughtful conversations with other members who were interested in the same idea. You don’t join a group and stagnate. You have to learn as your fellow members learn. Perhaps I studied about Emperor Caligula and gave a short presentation about his life and times to the club. I’m not only learning about the history of Rome, but I’m also learning how to make presentations, which will help within the club, but also help me outside the club. Perhaps other members who had never done a presentation were encouraged by my getting up in front of the group. See the difference between just telling me what you did and SHOWING me how this helped you remain successful in the DC?
Body section 1: Credibility
Your topic sentence will introduce the idea of credibility and how you used it.
Think about how demonstrating good character help you be a good group member. Election to the Vice President’s position is an honor, yes? Why did my fellow members vote for me? What did I do that showed them I was capable of handling the position? Use specific examples and explanation to show how gaining this position helped you be successful in your group.
Body section 3: Persuasion
Your topic sentence will introduce the idea of persuasion and how you used it.
I was a member of the Latin Club many moons ago while in high school. My junior year, Florence, Italy, suffered its worst flood in hundreds of years and an untold number of art masterpieces were damaged, not to mention damage to the lives of the city’s citizens. I was devastated by this news and the pictures of the disaster. I wanted to do something, so I discussed organizing some fund raisers at school and within the community with Mrs. McNamara, our sponsor. The club met and I outlined my ideas, which were accepted, with modifications, of course. That’s how DCs work. We all worked together; we produced and sold lapel pins (I still have my pin J) as well as many other projects. I don’t remember our exact contribution, but it was several thousand dollars. In this process, I learned how to convince other people to support an idea, how to work with committees as well as how to work with school officials, etc. How did this make me successful in the DC? Wow, too many ways to count—but, of course, you need to tell your readers.
Conclusion: Here you can discuss how participation in the DC helped you become the person you are today. You can also discuss how you can use the skills you learned while a member when joining other discourse communities.
Hope this handout is helpful and don’t hesitate to ask questions,
Bona Fortuna—speaking of Latin!
Anna
