Project 1, worth 75 points, requires you choose a discourse community to which you belong and analyze that community.

You will define your discourse community using one of the assigned sources we’ve read this semester (Gee, Johns, Lyiscott, or Young) and explain the relevance of that community in your life. Some questions to consider are as follows:

• What is your role in the discourse community?
• Who are some key members with whom you interact?
• What does this discourse community mean to you? What does it do for others?

You will provide an artifact from your discourse community, what Johns would call a genre of your discourse, that circulates within that community. Johns defines genres as texts that enable communication within a discourse community. For our purposes, these genres or artifacts can be visual, textual, graphic, or digital. Your analysis should explain how the genre or artifact that you’ve chosen represents the values and practices of your community.

You should assume that I and your peers in this class are the audience for your writing and that we are outsiders to your discourse community. That means we’ll need detailed explanations of your discourse community, your role in that community, and the artifact you provide.

Formal Requirements

Your final project will be assessed based on the below criteria:

• Your introduction should define your discourse community by quoting Gee directly. In other words, introduce your discourse community to me by using at least one of the following terms: primary, secondary, dominant, or non dominant. Remember that any time you quote a source, you should also explain that source in your own words and connect it to your discourse.
• You should organize the body of your writing into paragraphs that support a claim or topic sentence. For example, a paragraph might be about your specific role in your community OR about a specific practice within the community OR about a community artifact. However, a single paragraph should NOT be about all of those things at once. Think of each body paragraph as forwarding a single claim supported by evidence that you analyze and explain in detail.
• You should use a total of two assigned sources in this project.
• Cite your sources using either the MLA or APA citation methods.
• You will deliver Project 1 as a new page to your website, similar to what I’ve done here.
• Your final Discourse Community Analyze should be about 1000 words.
• If possible, please include an image or sample of the artifact with your final project.

Due Dates

• 9/17: BP1 due! This post directly supports your understanding of primary and secondary discourse communities.
• 9/24: BP2 due! This post directly supports your understanding of how artifacts function within discourse communities.
• 9/24 & 9/26: Writing workshop days! Come to class with a draft that you will work on individually and in groups. I will provide guidelines for composing and revising and will also be available to offer feedback to your questions.
• 10/8: Final Discourse Community Analysis due! Your final project will be posted as a new page to your WordPress site. I will use the below rubric to grade your final project.

What am I looking for and how will you earn points?	Points Earned
Introduction (10 points): A successful introduction defines your discourse community by quoting Gee directly. In other words, introduce your discourse community to me by using at least one of the following terms: primary, secondary, dominant, or non dominant. Remember that any time you quote a source, you should also explain that source in your own words and connect it to your discourse.
Teach Your Reader about Your Discourse Community (20 points): Explain the relevance of your discourse community in your life. Describe your role in the community and identify key members with whom you interact. Use specific examples to demonstrate what the discourse community means to you and what it means to others. Since I am probably an outsider to your community, be as detailed as possible.
Analyze a Relevant Genre of Your Discourse Community (15 points): Choose a genre—or artifact—that circulates in your community and represents the needs or practices of the community in some way. Remember that Ann M. Johns calls genres “vehicles for communication,” so choose something that both communicates values AND invites interaction from community members. For our purposes, these genres or artifacts can be visual, textual, graphic, or digital.
Unified Body Paragraphs (20 points): You should organize the body of your writing into paragraphs that support a claim or topic sentence. For example, a paragraph might be about your specific role in your community OR about a specific practice within the community OR about a community artifact. However, a single paragraph should NOT be about all of those things at once. Think of each body paragraph as forwarding a single claim supported by evidence that you analyze and explain in detail.
Formatting guidelines (10 points): To earn points in this category, your essay should have the following technical components: using direct quotes or paraphrasing, integrate at least two assigned sources; include in-text citations and a works cited list, using MLA or APA citation method; post the project as a new page to your website.
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS 75