Major Writing Assignment
Task
First,
select a discourse community that you want to learn more about: either your academic major
or an intended career field.
Information Technology as a career field or Computer science as major
Next,
pose a research question related to writing and communication in that community. Explore your question through research, observation, and description.
Note: this unit’s discussion and writer’s journal activities will help you define a research question and select appropriate research methods.
Next, identify how your community’s communication practices
connect with our readings and discussions on discourse community.
Write an
informative report, aimed at your classmates and other interested scholars, that describes what you learned in your research, using
IMRaD structure.
Design a
visual aid that will help your audience understand your research findings, and include it in your report.
NOTE: This
must be a visual aid that
you designed and created.
Sample topics/research questions include:
· How do retail managers train and evaluate direct reports?
· What sorts of writing do Social Work majors do for their classes?
· How do librarians use and teach information literacy?
· What do the communication practices of marines reveal about the values of the US Marine Corps?
· What will my Chemistry professors expect out of my written and oral communication?
· What communication techniques are used by Master Gardeners to teach and learn about gardening?
Requirements and Specifications
The ultimate “deliverable” of this assignment is a report. The genre of the report usually uses a straightforward structure, often with sub-headings. Your report should use the “IMRaD” structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. This clear structure helps your readers understand the motivations of your research, relevant background from previous scholars, your research methods, your findings, and an exploration of what your findings mean.
The report should be between 500-750 words.
The report should make direct reference to at least one of our readings on discourse community.
Use MLA guidelines for source citation and document design, unless you have made a prior arrangement with your instructor to use another set of guidelines for citation and document design.