Luisa Gonzalez

RWS 1301
Discourse Community Map Response
Communication is one of the most fundamental factors of our existence. Without it
humans would not be able to express feelings and ideas in an objective manner. Without it,
society as we know it would cease to exist. Take a minute to unplug from your device and see it.
Our communication sources are incredibly fast and common nowadays that we might fail to
recognize how significant it is; how every source of knowledge, the bonds and friendship in our
lives, all organizations and institutions and each idea, invention and innovation, to mention few,
are the offspring of our ability to communicate to one another. Nevertheless, communication has
led us to create a variety of discourse communities in which people bond over specific
preferences working towards a certain goal, using specific genres and language to express their
ideas to a certain audience.
The principal discourse community within my life is the one of my family. It consists of
my siblings, my parents, cousins, uncles and aunts, my grandparents and even close friends. The
reason which I chose my family as my primary discourse community is due to that it is my first
one ever. It has made me become the person who I am, through the teaching of moral and ethical
values, and through unconditional support and encouragement. Within my family communication
sources such as Facebook, group chats, cell phone calls and the regular Sunday breakfasts are the
most common ones while the language is always casual yet respectful and acceptant of one
anothers ideas or beliefs. One could say they these are the conventions to be a part of it, but
family will be family no matter what.

Secondly on my discourse communities comes the University of Texas at El Paso. It

consists of all students, faculty and staff. Here, goals vary from turning in an assignment on time
to winning a certain position in an election, yet the main goal is to obtain knowledge through
classes of your interest in order to obtain a specific degree in the time span of hopefully 4-5
years. Sources of communication between individuals include blackboard, my.utep.edu webpage,
study groups and e-mails in which the language is more professionally oriented, objective and
above all respectful. To become a member of this community one must pass the required testing
and pay a reasonably high tuition which results in a load of joyful duties such as studying daily,
getting good grades and turning in required assignments.
Thirdly, one of the discourse communities that I am blessed enough to be a part of, is the
life changing experience of Rotarys youth exchange program. Members of the program include
students and host families from all over the world. The programs main goal is to provide
members with a sense of independence through a year abroad, to cultivate a multicultural
mindset and promote countries through the point of view from the students. Communication is
limited to knowledge therefore modern tools such as Google translator and Skype are true
blessings while one gets to familiarize and ultimately become fluent in the new language.
Students are required to do so within the span of 3 months, as well as do community service in
host country and discuss cultural differences. Lifelong friendships are usually the outcome of this
discourse community.
Finally, my most recent discourse community consists of a gymnasium by the name of
Raw Fitness. Membership is not as easily obtained since one must be a hundred percent
committed to the institutions conventions. Once a person gets chosen to become a part of this
community, he or she must set a desired goal and comply to the sacrifices in order to achieve it.

Tough love and encouragement are the most frequent yet moderate use of language, since most
of the time youll find yourself out of breath, between members and trainers. This torturous yet
magical places main goal is to induce habits and provide clients with the knowledge of a healthy
and balanced lifestyle.
By understanding the different communication concepts within each and every discourse
community, we have been able to adapt to a modern society formed by indefinite of these.
Knowledge and ability to recognize them is the key to being successful in our fast-paced world.