Purpose
To create an in-depth profile article of a specific community that you belong to or want to join. This profile article should:

  • be written in the genre/style of an online news article and make thoughtful claims about the shared values and goals of this community,
  • inform your audience of how discourse/literacy practices function in that community to reflect its values and meet its goals.,
  • use specific details from your research (including details from your Genre Analysis Report and Personal Profile Report) as evidence to support your main claim about your community’s values and goals
  • be written in the genre of an online article and reflect choices (e.g. design, style, tone, organization, etc.) that are made for a specific audience and purpose in its conventions.

 
Rationale
One way we are identified as a member of a group is by what we do and how we communicate with other members. Communication is prompted by a specific purpose, to a specific audience, and to complete specific actions, and genres emerge as communities accomplish these needs. Researching the literacy practices and genres of a specific community will help provide you with insights into a community with which you are a new or a longtime member. As you research, you will learn more about these key terms:

  • Discourse Community: A group of people organized through a set of shared discourse and literacy practices, values, and goals.
  • Genres: Categories of texts that allow community members to accomplish activities and goals (e.g. academic/professional publications, newsletters, listservs, social media posts, etc.)

 
The Research

  • Web/Popular or Scholarly Sources: Research & collect three sources that reveal details about your community and its goals and values.
  • Genre Analyses and Personal Profile: Research and analyze two different texts from your selected community and a prominent member of your community. This is what you did for Project 2

 
The Profile Article
After conducting your research, you will take on the persona of a reporter for the one of the publications listed above and write a profile article that explores and discusses the values, goals, & communication practices of a community.
Your profile article should have the look and feel of an online article.
 
In this profile article, you should consider the following questions (but you do not necessarily need to answer EVERY question—these are here to guide you):

  • What information about community activities should you highlight?
  • What are the most interesting aspects of this community’s use of language and literacy practices, especially for your target audience?
  • How much description of location, activities, and membership is needed for your readers?
  • What images could you include to enhance the readers’ understanding of the community?
  • How could you effectively integrate dialogue, description, and/or narrative into this profile?
  • What are your own biases about the group you are profiling? How much of this bias should be reflected in your profile?
  • How will you address the “so what” question to your audience? In other words, why should the audience care about the community and be engaged in reading your profile?

 
Language and Voice
In a profile article, the focus is on the group being profiled, so third-person pronouns (He/She/It/They) are expected. However, writers often have personal connections to the profile group, which means first-person pronouns (I, We) can be used strategically. Continue to develop your own style and voice as a writer, but also make sure that the language and ‘voice’ that you use is appropriate for the online article genre.
Purpose
To create an in-depth profile article of a specific community that you belong to or want to join. This profile article should:

  • be written in the genre/style of an online news article and make thoughtful claims about the shared values and goals of this community,
  • inform your audience of how discourse/literacy practices function in that community to reflect its values and meet its goals.,
  • use specific details from your research (including details from your Genre Analysis Report and Personal Profile Report) as evidence to support your main claim about your community’s values and goals
  • be written in the genre of an online article and reflect choices (e.g. design, style, tone, organization, etc.) that are made for a specific audience and purpose in its conventions.

 
Rationale
One way we are identified as a member of a group is by what we do and how we communicate with other members. Communication is prompted by a specific purpose, to a specific audience, and to complete specific actions, and genres emerge as communities accomplish these needs. Researching the literacy practices and genres of a specific community will help provide you with insights into a community with which you are a new or a longtime member. As you research, you will learn more about these key terms:

  • Discourse Community: A group of people organized through a set of shared discourse and literacy practices, values, and goals.
  • Genres: Categories of texts that allow community members to accomplish activities and goals (e.g. academic/professional publications, newsletters, listservs, social media posts, etc.)

 
The Research

  • Web/Popular or Scholarly Sources: Research & collect three sources that reveal details about your community and its goals and values.
  • Genre Analyses and Personal Profile: Research and analyze two different texts from your selected community and a prominent member of your community. This is what you did for Project 2

 
The Profile Article
After conducting your research, you will take on the persona of a reporter for the one of the publications listed above and write a profile article that explores and discusses the values, goals, & communication practices of a community.
Your profile article should have the look and feel of an online article.
 
In this profile article, you should consider the following questions (but you do not necessarily need to answer EVERY question—these are here to guide you):

  • What information about community activities should you highlight?
  • What are the most interesting aspects of this community’s use of language and literacy practices, especially for your target audience?
  • How much description of location, activities, and membership is needed for your readers?
  • What images could you include to enhance the readers’ understanding of the community?
  • How could you effectively integrate dialogue, description, and/or narrative into this profile?
  • What are your own biases about the group you are profiling? How much of this bias should be reflected in your profile?
  • How will you address the “so what” question to your audience? In other words, why should the audience care about the community and be engaged in reading your profile?

 
Language and Voice
In a profile article, the focus is on the group being profiled, so third-person pronouns (He/She/It/They) are expected. However, writers often have personal connections to the profile group, which means first-person pronouns (I, We) can be used strategically. Continue to develop your own style and voice as a writer, but also make sure that the language and ‘voice’ that you use is appropriate for the online article genre.