A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourses, basic values, and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals. Linguist John Swales defined discourse communities as "groups that have goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals". Each discourse community has its own set of written or unwritten rules and uses them to pursue a common goal. Some examples of a discourse community might be those who read and/or contribute to a particular academic journal, members of an email list for Madonna fans, basketball teams, Taco Bell employees, librarians, urban planners, teachers, runners, superfans of Beyonce, and many more.
Swales uses six criteria to determine whether a specific community is a discourse community. These criteria are:
- Common public goals
- Methods of communicating among members
- Participatory communication methods
- Genres that define the group
- A lexis
- A standard of knowledge needed for membership
Discourse communities exist in more than just academic situations. For example, if you make a New Year’s resolution to become healthier, you are part of a discourse community that shares a common goal of becoming healthier. Knowing how discourse communities work can help you navigate the writing assigned in different general education courses and the specialized writing.
