Writing is not universal–so why do we act like it is? 

When it comes to writing, conventional rules should be constantly considered and challenged. The modernization of the world necessitates a corresponding modernization in how we communicate. Social perspective on writing is–and should be–ever-changing. 

Discourse communities are pockets of people that share the same goals, cultures, purpose, or even proximity, and they narrow down the socially-acceptable rules and norms to make them more palatable for specific groups. Specifically, John Swales recognizes that a discourse community should have the following: 

1) has a broadly agreed set of common public goals;

2) has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members;

3) uses its participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback;

4) utilizes and possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims;

5) In addition to owning genres, it has acquired some specific lexis;

6) has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise. 

For example, the elegant writing style of affluent white English students at Harvard University will be drastically different from black elders that grew up in the south because of their individual discourse communities. 

Affluent white English students at Harvard University are most likely influenced by the academic discourse community prevalent at the school, as well as other discourse communities like generational wealth and white privilege. Black elders living in the South have their own discourse communities, likely shaped by cultural and historical influences. They may not have had the proper academic training due to living through Jim Crow laws, making their written communication drastically different from affluent white students. The clash of their personal norms might create an illusion of right and wrong approaches but, in reality, it’s nothing more than a matter of differing perspectives and experiences, and both are extremely valuable. 

Embracing the diversity and flexibility of discourse communities all around the world dismantles the notion of a one-size-fits-all approach to writing. 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash