18 October 2021

HR: None

With my written discourse community paper, I elected to compare and contrast the running community and VMI’s Corps. The purpose of this was to prove their statuses as discourse communities in accordance with Swales’ criteria (Swales 1990) and to understand how two entities with this same classification can differ at such a level. In addition, the mentioned groups are ones that both I and the interviewed are members of and can thus be more fairly compared.

To be frank, there was not much that I myself learned from conducting this essay; since understanding the term “discourse community” I have been aware that the running and VMI communities are indicative of this name. Even prior to knowing this much, it was obvious that they function as areas of life where people of different origins and ideals gather with similar purpose to work towards a common goal, essentially summing up the criteria set by Swales. Writing the paper served to provide a side-by-side view of the differences of these communities but did not invoke any new understanding. Furthermore, due to the chronological order of my membership in these communities, this essay has reminded me of how much my own life has changed. Though it functioned as a catalyst, and I am still a member thereof by association, I no longer run for sport; following the end of my high school running career, I entered VMI, where there is an entirely different structure, method of communication, and end goal. In other words, the fabric of and experiences in each community is entirely opposite, and so the essay presents evidence of this in print. This perspective I own is supported by the interview included, arguing, too, that though not mutually exclusive, the running community and the Institute do not push much continuity more than the required ethic needed to carry on.