Fluent Essays

Instructions Item 1 of the Portfolio:  Report on the Communication in My Field of Study (due in week 2) For this assignment you will complete a form, providing information about 4 things: The program (discipline) you are studying The program guide you are using and things in it Analysis of one organization or website from your discipline Tips for communicating with folks in your discipline The complete form shouldn’t be longer than three pages. Less than two full pages will be considered under-developed. Read the information below for a broad understanding of the purpose of this assignment. Refer to the attached template for more specific details on what to do. What is a discourse community? You learned earlier that writing does not exist in a vacuum, that it is a conversation between writer and reader. One scholar, Erik Borg, says that “We do not generally use language to communicate with the world at large, but with individuals or groups of individuals…these groups are gathered into communities.” Each of us belongs to a number of these groups (called discourse communities). If you stop at a coffee shop routinely, you are a member of that community. Members know what the “rules” are for communicating with each other, what kind of greeting is used, what the standard length of comments is, what kind of comments are acceptable, and what kind are not. Other discourse communities might be related to activities with children, fitness, or church. You can probably think of examples of a conversation topic or a greeting that would be acceptable at the gym but not at church. In this assignment, you are going to look at the communication that occurs in one of your discourse communities, the one formed by an interest in your field of study (major, program, or discipline). How do I learn about the discourse community in my field?   What will you be looking for? You will be looking at the kinds of reading and writing members of the community do; the expectations and rules (conventions) for the communication; the way they communicate with each other online; and other tips that help you understand this group. How will you do this exploration? You will start by looking at the information linked below, first the course catalog and then in guides designed by a college Library staff to help researchers in the field. If your program is not listed in the 10 programs shown below, then go to this link to find your program (or one that interests you if you haven’t selected a program yet):  Research Guides by Program.  The university catalog has info on all programs, in case yours isn’t listed below. Click the first link to go to the university’s catalog. This gives general information about the program. Then move to the research guide for your program. Be sure to look at all the links in the guide. Scroll down the page at each tab.  Criminal Justice    Here’s the link to the Criminal Justice Research Guide. Business Administration  Here’s the link to the Business Administration Research Guide. General Studies  Here’s the link to the General Studies Research Guide. Management  Here’s the link to the Management Research Guide. Intelligence Studies  Here’s the link to the Intelligence Studies Research Guide. Sports & Health Sciences Here’s the link to the Sports & Health Sciences Research Guide. Psychology:  Here’s the link to the Psychology Research Guide. Homeland Security  Here’s the link to the Homeland Security Research Guide. Transportation & Logistics Management  Here’s the link to the Transportation & Logistics Management Research Guide. Environmental Science:  Here’s the link to the Environmental Science Research Guide. Once I’ve learned about my field’s discourse community, what do I do with that information? After you have looked at the catalog description, the research guide, and information in that guide (including an organization or website), complete the following report about the way the people in your program communicate.  A template of this report is attached for your convenience. Replace the sample answers with your own words. Save it with a title like this: Smith Robert Report on Communication.  Then submit the completed form as an attachment in the assignment link.    Please note that the template is in MLA style. If your field of study uses APA style, set up your paper (cover page, parenthetical citations, etc.) as shown in the guide linked here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html. Information in this sample is to help you, not to do your work for you. Copying and pasting info from this sample into your assignment violates the university’s academic integrity standards and could constitute plagiarism. BEGINNING OF REPORT ON COMMUNICATION IN MY FIELD FORM Name: Susie Sample Program I am studying: Sports and Health Sciences Research Guide I am using is Sports and Health Sciences 1. Types of articles I would find in journals in this program: Articles about nutrition, exercise, motivation, injury, and physical therapy 2. Databases I would use in this program: MEDLINE Complete; ScienceDirect Health & Life Sciences College Edition; SPORTDiscus with Full Text 3. Types of books I would use in this program: Reference books include ABC of Sports and Exercise Medicine; Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science, Sports Therapy; IOC Manual of Emergency Medical Care in Sports. Other books include those on youth sports, nutrition, injury, and exercise. 4. Examples of video media sites (if any) for this program: Duke Sports Medicine Videos; Mayo Clinic Sports Videos; Sports Injury Clinic on the Net 5. Websites for this program: Reference sites include Anatomy Videos – National Library of Medicine; National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research; Sports Injuries – University of Wisconsin. 6. Organizations used by people in this program: The American College of Sports Medicine; National Strength and Conditioning Association; Sports Dietetics - USA 7. Social media sites (if any) for this program: The National Association of Sports Nutrition on Facebook; American Kinesiology Association on Facebook; FoodInsight.org on Twitter Here is a closer look at one site. The American College of Sports Medicine (https://www.acsm.org/) is an organization that touts its diversity, with members working in “research, education and practice, working to ensure the best outcomes for every population.” ACSM claims to be “the world’s largest and most influential organization in sports medicine, exercise science and the promotion of physical activity and its cobenefits.” Review of the ACSM website found that the wording is clear, professional, and compelling, without confusing jargon or unnecessary multi-syllable words. The guide for authors for the ACSM’s publication (Exercise and Sports Science Reviews) says that most articles are by invitation only; uninvited submissions should focus on new ideas about contemporary issues and must be supported by original research published by the author(s). Specific guidelines are provided about language use (such as use abbreviations sparingly; use present tense; and follow the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s guidance). Images on the website are of healthy, active, primarily young people. It was not easy to determine if newcomers are treated differently than seasoned members. Here are tips for communicating in the sports and health sciences field: Tips for communicating with members of the sports and health sciences discourse community would be consistent with those related to interacting with any academic community. Specific tips are these: • Be clear, focused, and concise. • Do your homework (discussions are based on fact not opinion). • Stay current (approaches change based on ongoing research). • Avoid logical fallacies and aggressive language. • Use a formal, academic voice that is free of slang and conversational terms. • Know the VIPs in the field (institutions, organizations, researchers and authors focusing on your topic). END OF REPORT ON COMMUNICATION IN MY FIELD FORM REPORT ON COMMUNICATION 1 Report on the Communication in my Field of Study Student Name ENGL110: Making Writing Relevant Professor Name Assignment Due Date Report on the Communication in my Field of Study (FYI: Completing this report will help you find a good topic and broaden your understanding of your program. It will also help you determine who your audience might be for your final paper. You can delete this highlighted note.) 1. Program I am studying: Example: Sports and Health Sciences OR one that interests you if you have not selected a program yet 2. This is the Research Guide I am using and some of the things I found in it. Describe some things you found as you looked at the Research Guide for your program. Be sure to state the name of the guide. You dont have to use full sentences. Words, phrases, and/or a bullet list are fine. This list might help you: · The types of articles in the fields journals · The databases Id use to learn about this field · The types of books in this field · Video sites that talk about this field · Websites that focus on this field · Organizations used by people in this field · Social media sites used by people in this field 3. Here is a closer look at an organization or website used by people in my field. Important: Be sure that you have chosen a scholarly website. Do not use Wikipedia. Read this page to help you determine if your website is acceptable: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/evaluating_sources_of_information/evaluating_digital_sources.html 4. Describe things you found as you looked at an organization or website used by people in your field. You dont have to use full sentences. Words, phrases, and/or a bullet list are fine. This list might help you: · Topics discussed · Intended audience · Language used (formal, informal, complex, jargon, conversational) · Ways ideas are exchanged · Ways people give each other feedback (chat, Zoom, blog, something else) · Images, graphs, charts, photos · Ways to distinguish insiders from outsiders · Things that are distinctive about the users of this organization or site 5. Here are tips for communicating in this field of study. Based on your review here, write a brief paragraph offering communication suggestions to someone new to this field of study. For example, what kind of advice would you give newcomers to help ensure they know how to talk to and write for the people in your field? Use complete sentences here (and proofread).