Paul Cholton's Analysing Political Discourse By Paul Chilton

Discourse communities are all around us—we all belong to a discourse community. A discourse community is a body of persons who share common and unique modes of communication or discourse (“Discourse Community”). In order for a community to identify as a discourse community, the community must possess six defining qualities that categorize it as a discourse community. As defined by John Swales, a researcher and professor of linguistics, discourse communities “have a broadly set of common public goals, mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback, one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims, an acquired lexis, and a threshold level of members with a

Lakoff and Johnson state, “[w]e have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action” (3). They are saying that metaphors are used all the time and not just when people talk, but when they think and in what they do. This is exactly true because after learning about metaphors, and getting a better understanding of them, I have realized how much I, and others, apply them to everyday life without even realizing it, or trying to. Using a metaphor to describe Haas and Flower’s reading concepts will therefore make for a better grasp of what the concepts mean.

*All the works below for the exam are done independently. No cooperation or discussion with anybody else.

Figurative language is a key part of connecting with the reader. Choosing a specific audience is a key strategy to any book, movie, or speech. It is also critical to make it clear who they are. Rhetoric was one of the many strategies Walls used to tell her

When one has authority in a discourse community they need to know how to use it appropriately. In Wardle’s reading she gives an example of this about a guy named Alan joining a discourse community within his workplace. As we know, Alan was a computer support specialist in the humanities department, who was young and just out of college. Alan left his first job because he thought that he was not granted any responsibility (291). He then found another job within the university working on computers. Right off the start Alan was making decisions as being the only computer specialist within the start of his new position. As Wardle states, Alan did not have to necessarily prove his knowledge like most people who start a job (292). The first mistake

Life is like a massive highway that have infinite routes anyone can choose take to reach some type of designated goal. Those various routes lead to distinct exits, where one can discover a group or groups that share similarities dealing with viewpoints, beliefs, or understanding towards a particular goal. These groups can be identified as discourse communities. According to, “The Concept of Discourse Community,” in the textbook, Writing About Writing, John Swales stressed that in order to be classified as a discourse community the group has to have all six defining characteristics. Swales emphasized, “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals, mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, utilities and hence processes one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims, acquires specific lexis, and has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discourse expertise” (Swales, 221-222). Keeping this key detail in mind, there is numerous type of discourse out there.

“rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a response to a situation…the situation controls the rhetorical response…rhetoric is a mode of altering reality…by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action…Let us regard rhetorical situation as a natural context of persons, events, objects, relations, and an exigence which strongly invites utterance” (Philosophy & Rhetoric, Volume 1, 1 –

Figurative Language is the art of using figures of speech, loaded words, appeals, etc. they are used to have more of an impact and to persuade the listeners to join your side. in his speech, Patrick Henry tried to appeal to the audience by bringing up God into

What is a discourse community? According to John Swales, a respected written communication analyst, a discourse community is described as a group of people that have the same goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. In addition, “A discourse operates within conventions defined by communities, be they academic disciplines or social groups” (Swales, 119). This is not be confused with a speech community, “a community sharing knowledge of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech” (Swales 121). In determining whether or not a group is a discourse community, there are several certain rules, rather a list of criteria, in which

Two definitive works done by Swales and Porter has helped established on the definition and criteria of a discourse community. While Swales was the primary source of information for Porter’s own piece, Porter can develop a more in-depth view on discourse communities.

Discourse communities are everywhere. Everywhere we and go and almost everything we do relates or falls into a discourse community of some sort. Whether it’s a long, pointless conversation on the phone with a best friend or being part of a school croquet club, it’s part of a unique discourse community in some way. Every discourse has it’s own distinct qualities and almost all have a different way of communicating. These discourses are strong influences on all of our personalities. The way every human in the world acts and communicates is influenced by one or multiple discourse communities.

Today, politics in the United States engulf us in the drama of it all and is greatly reflected in the people we choose to cultivate relationships with. For example, there is quite a wide polarization between the two major parties in the U.S., which makes it difficult to have a relationship with someone of the other party because their views are wildly different, and even opposite, of your own. As the reading puts it, “The Rhetoric deals with the possibilities of classification in its

Metaphors help readers visualize and develop a greater understanding of the text, which in this case, is neuroscience. In conclusion, Elizabeth Kolbert's use of metaphorical expressions stimulates imagery and connections, which in turn, appears to strengthen the thesis of her essay to the

Discourses are the “social and cultural practices through which individuals and groups use language to establish their identities…they provide ways of being, thinking, acting and using language so that people can identify themselves in social and cultural networks” Discourses affect peoples views on all things, for example, two different

Fairclough (1995) clarifies that discourse is not only written and spoken language, but it also visual part that has meaning (p.54).