Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Field:

Having problems figuring out what to write about in your expository essay?  Since I want you to analyze your career field as a discourse community, here are some important questions to consider (I don't expect you to answer every single one, but if you think about these, you're on the right track):

Finish the sentence:  "My career field is a discourse community because..."

What makes your field unique (in the way it uses language or the way it communicates)?  What makes your field similar to others?

How does your field use language?

What forms does communication take in your field?  Print, visual, electronic, aural, etc?

How does your field's discourse unify the community?  How do they use language or communication to connect with others?

What value does your field put on language?  On communication?

Why does your field use language or communication this way (what values are implied)?

What kind of style does your field use?  Formal/informal, assertive/deferent, commonplace/significant subjects, formal/organic organization, etc (look further into Laib's book for more choices about style).

What values are implied by your field's choice of style?

What are the written, official rules about how to communicate in your field's discourse?

Why are those written rules important or vital to your field?

What are the unwritten rules about how to communicate in your field's discourse?

Why are those unwritten rules important or vital to your field?

What kind of citation format does your field use (MLA, APA, COS, Turabian, others)?