Wherever your eyes wander, you will find groups of human beings working together to accomplish a uniform task. For those that are from rural areas, you may see farmers herding cattle (I know it’s a group effort because I’ve had to do it). If you live in an urban area or city, you may see construction workers piecing together new buildings. Your locality makes no difference because these groups, or communities, are everywhere. However, not every group can be classified as a discourse community. In John Swales essay, “The Concept of Discourse Community,” he lays out six criteria that delineate a discourse community. With these six points, he aims to drain the saturation that surrounds the meaning of the term, making it more concrete. The Mechanical Engineering department at Virginia Military Institute is an example of a discourse community that aligns with Swales’ six points.

Mechanical Engineering is one of the most versatile fields of engineering one can enter into because curriculums cover objects and systems in motion within almost every aspect of life. With the understanding of how motion affects objects and systems, a mechanical engineer’s purpose is to transform an idea into a usable product. Few people can grasp the concept of engineering, and those that do tend to gather into groups to accomplish projects or teach others. This leads to the formation of discourse communities.

What is a discourse community? By definition, a discourse community is, “a group of people with shared values and goals who also have a shared discourse style” (What is Discourse Community). Based off this definition, a discourse community could be found just about everywhere. Swales wanted to create a more defined definition so that the idea of a discourse community was no longer suggestive but concrete, “It has been appropriated by the ‘social perspectivists’ for their variously applied purposes in writing research” (Swales 217). Swales argues that a discourse community must have strict guidelines to be considered one in the first place. More specifically, Swales lays out six characteristics that a discourse community must meet. These criteria extremely limit what groups can and cannot be a discourse community, but they assure that his goal of creating a more concrete term is met.

To see just how Swales’ six points play a part in VMI’s ME department, research had to be done. The start of which was to take a visit to the department itself. After this, I reached out to Mrs. Graves, the secretary of the ME department. After answering some basic questions, she pointed me in the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Blandino, a faculty member within the department. She was kind enough to allow me to interview her. For any additional information that I felt was necessary, I relied on VMI’s website and other various online resources. This research allowed me to effectively argue that the Mechanical Engineering department at Virginia Military Institute is, in fact, a discourse community that fits all six of Swales’ rules.

The first characteristic that Swales lays out is, “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals” (Swales 220). He states that these goals are typically written down in some fashion, or they may be implied. Either way, Swales argues that these goals must be present because otherwise, the discourse community runs a high risk of crumbling. VMI’s Mechanical Engineering department supports this idea because they have been around for decades with the mission to, “Prepare graduates for graduate studies, a professional engineering career, or a career in the military through a continually improving curriculum of courses in engineering, related sciences, mathematics, and humanities which will ensure that our graduates are prepared to meet our educational objectives” (Mechanical Engineering Catalogue). This goal is reinforced by various aspects of the program. One of which is the senior design project, each senior is required to do before graduation. Previous projects include a disaster relief drone and affordable prosthetics for third world countries (The Design and Aerodynamic of an Autonomous Relief Drone, Designing and Analyzing a Low-Cost Prosthetic Socket). The projects were summarized, framed, and put up on the walls in the ME department for any and all to see. The significance of this is that those who visit the department can clearly see the work that has been done by the members of the community.   This clarifies the goals set by the group. Alongside studying the posters, I conducted a recent interview with Lieutenant Colonel Blandino. I asked her how the department prepares students for life after college. She responded by saying that students participate in various projects that require real-life applications so they understand how the skills learned in the classroom get applied to the real world (Blandino). Between the efforts of the professors and the projects that are required of seniors, it is quite evident that the Mechanical Engineering department has a definitive goal, which is required by Swales. This means that the department meets Swales’ first requirement for being a discourse community.

The second rule that Swales has set for discourse communities is, “A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members” (Swales 221). In the second, Swales argues that a discourse community must have some form of communication between its members. However, he also says that it is acceptable if members do not directly communicate with each other as long as they have a way to connect with their initial “base” (in this case it would be the ME department). The main form of communication between ME members is the classroom. It is in the classroom that professors help students work towards the department goal of becoming a good Mechanical Engineer. On the VMI website, the ME department communicates the curriculum in which the goals that have been set, will be accomplished (Mechanical Engineering Catalogue). Also, within the classroom, students interact with the professor on a personal level. Both actions are examples of intercommunication between members. For those that are no longer involved in the classroom and out of touch with other current members, the VMI Alumni Association is available as a way to connect those who would otherwise be out of reach (Vmialumni.org). With this, the ME department ensures that all member, new and old, have a way of participating in intercommunication. Through these forms of communication, the ME department satisfies Swales need for intercommunication.

The third rule that Swales sets for discourse communities is, “A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback” (221). In the third, he says that the members must continually absorb information sent out through the lines of communication that are provided. He argues that if members do not provide feedback or actively take in the information that is sent out, then it disqualifies the discourse community. The ME department satisfies this third rule through emails. LTC Blandino said that emails are how professors, faculty, and other members of the department reach students outside of the classroom (Blandino). Information, such as schedule updates, upcoming projects, and job opportunities is emailed to students. The department provides the emails of those, such as professors, on the VMI website (Mechanical Engineering). The interaction does not stop there though; students can respond to emails with questions, or they can request more details on whatever subject is being discussed. In association with the classroom, students can reach out to professors with questions they have on the topics that are being taught at that time through email. Through email, faculty members, professors, and other members of the department can share information. This type of platform allows students to easily provide feedback and ask questions about the information if need be. Because of this, the ME department satisfies yet another rule established by Swales.

The fourth guideline, or rule, established by Swales is, “A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims” (Swales 221). In the fourth, Swales argues that discourse communities must utilize multiple forms of communication to reach members effectively. He says that it is crucial for new groups to sort out which genres and practices they will use to express the goals of the group. Some various genres of communication that the ME department uses have already been mentioned. Some of which are: the classroom, senior design project posters, and email. Apace with these, the professors have an “Open door policy” (Blandino). What this means is that students can walk in during office hours to ask questions or to discuss the projects that are being undertaken. This form of communication does not publicly develop the goals of the discourse community, but it does help members develop the “Furtherance of its aims.” The final form of communication that will be discussed, the department’s bulletin board, speaks to both the public and members. Information, such as pictures of previous projects, how to register for PE (Professional Engineer) and FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exams, internship opportunities, how to get involved with ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and scheduling can be found on the bulletin board. The pictures help demonstrate to the public what the ME department at VMI does and what they have accomplished. The information about registering for exams, internship opportunities, and how to get involved with ASME, all support the department’s goal of creating great engineers capable of changing the world. The evidence provided in this paragraph satisfies Swales’ rule of utilizing multiple forms of communication to effectively develop the goals of the discourse community. I believe that he would be proud that the department uses so many different forms of communication

The fifth rule that Swales says discourse communities must meet is a little more interesting in that it deals with the unique languages discourse communities develop. His rule states, “In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis” (Swales 222). This language, he says, is specific to one discourse community and is used to make communication more efficient. The ME department has developed clear lexis.   They use countless symbols and abbreviations on a day to day basis (Blandino). Some of the words, such as delta, epsilon, theta, and nu all have symbols to represent them (Villaluz). This makes writing the words significantly more efficient. Some examples of abbreviations are AISI, BC, BRZ, and CDA (Wikipedia). Again, having symbols and abbreviations makes the day to day process easier and much more challenging. It is pretty obvious that this is a form of lexis because anyone outside the realm of mechanical engineering would experience quite the struggle attempting to understand and communicate the previously stated symbols and abbreviations. The only people that would have any luck deciphering the language would be engineers with a different background other than mechanical engineering. With that being said, the ME department more than satisfies Swales fifth rule of having lexis that is unique to the discourse community.

The sixth and final rule that Swales has set for discourse communities reads, “A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise” (Swales 222). Swales is saying that there needs to be a respectable ratio between the experienced and inexperienced. In the classroom, the ratio between students (inexperienced) and professors (experienced), on average, is 11:1 (Academics). However, there is a total of nine professors in the ME department (Graves). Each of these professors have acquired their PE certification; this demonstrates a high level of expertise (Blandino). Also, seniors can be considered experts on the subject as well. They certainly have more experience than the freshmen. These upper-classmen offer their support to the lesser experienced students by participating in study groups and tutoring (Miller Academic Center). With the help of the seniors, the ratio of novices to experts is quickly balanced out as Swales requires it to be.

Groups are everywhere. Humans create these groups to work towards specific goals. However, not all groups are created equal. John Swales argues that special groups called, “discourse communities,” exist amongst the million other communities in the world. To be considered a discourse community, there are six rules that must be met. Through extensive research and analysis, it is possible to conclude that the Mechanical Engineering department at Virginia Military Institute is a discourse community. However, other linguists argue that Swales’ guidelines are too harsh and that discourse communities overlap, causing outside influence. This is a question for another time.

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Academics.” Virginia Military Institute, https://www.vmi.edu/academics/. Accessed 12 July

2019.

Baker, John Fleetwood. “Mechanical Engineering.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 December

     2017, https://www.britannica.com/technology/mechanical-engineering

Durbin, Trevor, and Willard, Josh, and Richards, Tyler. Designing and Analyzing a Low-Cost

     Prosthetic Socket. Virginia Military Institute Mechanical Engineering, 2017-2018.

Goldsmith, Joshua, and Ferrell, Christopher, and V, David Tyler. The Design and Aerodynamic

     of an Autonomous Relief Drone. Virginia Military Institute Mechanical Engineering, 2017-2018.

Graves, Charlene. Personal Interview, 11 July 2019.

LTC Blandino. Personal interview, 11 July 2019

“Mechanical Engineering Catalogue.” Virginia Military Institute,   http://catalog.vmi.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=25&ent_oid=544&returnto=783. Accessed

12 July 2019.

“Mechanical Engineering.” Virginia Military Institute,             https://www.vmi.edu/academics/departments/mechanical-engineering/. Accessed 12 July

2019.

“Miller Academic Center.” Virginia Military Institute,         https://www.vmi.edu/academics/support/miller-academic-center/. Accessed

12 July 2019.

Nordquist, Richard. “The Difference Between a Speech and Discourse Community.”

     ThoughtCo.com, https://www.thoughtco.com/discourse-community-composition-1690397. Accessed 12 July 2019.

Villaluz, Kathleen. “The Most Common Uses of All the Greek Letters in Science, Maths and

Engineering.” Interestingengineering.com, https://interestingengineering.com/common-uses-greek-letters-science-maths-engineering. Accessed 12 July 2019.

Vmialumni.org. http://www.vmialumni.org/s/1752/alumni/start.aspx?gid=2&pgid=61 Accessed 12 July

2019.

“What is Discourse Community.” Igi-global.com, https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/discourse- community/37806. Accessed 12 July 2019.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Engineering drawing abbreviations and symbols.” wikipedia.org, 4

April 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Engineering_drawing_abbreviations_and_symbols&id=890902906

Swales, John. “The Concept of Discourse Community.” Writing About Writing: A College

     Reader, [1^st ed.] edited by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, Bedford/st. martin’s, 2011. 215-228.

 

Help Received:

Peer review with Veer Bhatt, Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, Grammarly.com, Suggestions from LTC Ticen, Suggestions from Ty Hevener and Chris, Handouts/previous essays