I have been researching the techniques and responsibilities of a resident assistant with the goal of seeing how discourse communities are utilized to create a comfortable community among people with likeminded ideas and aspirations. Through this research I have discovered that resident assistants have a lot more responsibilities than meets the eye. More importantly however, I now have a better understanding of what a discourse community is and how we are surrounded and included in these communities, whether we are aware of it or not. Having a better understanding on the subject has allowed for me to better identify discourse within my research and translate it into a way that is easy to see and understand for any audience. The main conversation I am having currently is about the importance of understanding discourse communities and being able to provide an explanation to those who wish to hear it. Discourse communities are not only important in college settings but as well as beyond graduation. Discourse communities are created among people with similar goals so your future or current career opportunities will give you a chance to create a discourse community with people who share aspirations. I plan to join the conversation of discourse communities, specifically among resident assistants, through research obtained by first hand accounts and credible articles that hold information I feel is valuable to the audience. John Swales' ideas and writings have piqued my interest and he is known as the father of discourse communities. He believed that discourse communities are one of the most important but underdiscussed topics in literature. He gives a differentiator between speech communities and discourse communities which has been helpful in identifying discourse throughout my research. He believed that there is a checklist of qualifications that needs to be passed in order to be considered a discourse community. I am looking to see if resident assistants do enough in their community to meet the qualifications of a discourse community. I think this will hold value in a conversation among those who understand discourse communities because RAs watch over students who have a common overall goal of graduating. Discourse is seen in many forms and I believe that a resident assistant is a great example of a leader creating a community for people to feel safe and comfortable.

Secondary source:

The author of this article Dan Melzer had the intention and priority of helping the reader understand what a discourse community is and why it is important for college writing and beyond that. The article goes into detail about how there are genres working within discourse communities and why different communities hold different expectations and goals for their writers. Melzer also goes into depth about the specific qualifications or requirements needed to be considered a discourse community. This article stood out to me because the author uses a personal account of a discourse community he is a part of and builds off of his own experience to help the audience better understand. This article seems credible because it is giving the benefits and constraints of a discourse community rather than just funneling biased information. 

I truly think this will positively contribute to my research assignment due to the first hand example provided by the author. The article easily relates back to my other sources discussing discourse communities and it will help me to fill in the gaps of knowledge that may be missing surrounding the topic of discourse communities and college living. This article is also based off of a similar foundation as John Swales’ article who is known as the founder of discourse communities

Melzer, Dan. “Understanding Discourse Communities.” Understanding Discourse 

Communities, wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/writingspaces3/melzer.pdf. Accessed 11 

Sept. 2025. 

Secondary Source

Schlosberg, D., Collins, L. B., & Niemeyer, S. (2017). Adaptation policy and community discourse: risk, vulnerability, and just transformation. Environmental Politics, 26(3), 413–437. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2017.1287628

Links to an external site.

In this article, David Schlosberg goes into detail about a social experiment done to see how different forms of discourse have different effectiveness around the world. He talks about how different countries' governments have different priorities and it shows within their population's concerns. He took information from several countries around the world with different economic situations to compare the worries of the citizens. He talks about how the discourse brings people together to express their concerns but also makes a point to discuss how the "the language of community groups illustrates a diversity of concerns"(Scholsberg), illustrating that discourse communities help to identify how people are truly feeling about a topic. The author discusses how leaders and community members need to adapt to changes in concerns and how it can bring communities together to improve upon each other.

This article will assist my research project as the author explains why different discourses have different impacts on their communities. He helps to simplify how their are different perspectives on topics of real world problems and that the variables provided through the people's citizens and the government go hand in hand to create discourse communities. This will relate back to my primary sources and the topic of a resident assistant using discourse to bring their residents together to form a community and feel comfortable expressing concerns that they have or someone else they know may have. 

Secondary source

This source takes a closer look into the leadership aspect of a resident assistant on college campuses. The article discusses how resident assistants are supposed to be known as some of the most positive and supporting people on campus. The author then takes time in this article to dive into the techniques used to develop healthy, comfortable communities for the students living in these buildings. This article is going to be worth adding to my research because it discusses different ways that RAs are being leaders in their discourse communities and give examples of discourse being used to promote their goals and messages. The article also discusses how a resident assistant can be an outlet to other sources of help or information that a student may be looking for or someone feels they need. 

I think this source will link well with my primary sources because it is giving more context as to what steps and RA takes to create a discourse community. I am looking forward to comparing the techniques discussed in this article to the techniques given to me through my personal interview with the RA on my floor. This article gives me the more social point of view of a resident assistant rather than just the qualifications and responsibilities of one. 

Soria, K. M., Brazelton, G. B., & Roberts, B. J. (2021). Resident Assistants’ Leadership Efficacy. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 48(1). https://doi.org/10.71348/001c.137515

Secondary Source:

In this article John Swales, who is also known as one of the founders of discourse communities, breaks down what a discourse community is and provides a basic foundation for the topic. He differentiates sociolinguistic grouping and sociorhetorical grouping, this is being done with the intent to try and separate discourse communities and speech communities. There are different social needs and ideas between the two groups due to the people involved. Swales feels there is a valuable difference between the communities, beginning with the distance they create within the community. Discourse communities are meant for a more localized group while speech communities can branch among far distances. Location generally has a play into what speech group you are born into or adopt. The main difference between the two groups as stated by Swales ". A speech community typically inherits its membership by birth, accident or adoption; a discourse community recruits its members by persuasion, training or relevant qualification", you must earn the right to be in a discourse community whereas for speech communities you get to choose.

Furthermore, Swales gives six defining characteristics to look for when identifying individuals of a discourse community. This will be the most useful contribution to my project because it gives a check list for readers and myself to go down to determine if the qualifications are met for a group of individuals to be considered a discourse community. When interviewing a RA I will go down this checklist and ask questions as to how they meet each qualification. 

Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community, 2011, www.mjreiff.com/uploads/3/4/2/1/34215272/swales.pdf Links to an external site.

Primary Source:

For this source I went directly to UCF’s website in order to learn more about resident assistants’ roles, qualifications and responsibilities. Through reading about resident assistants on the website I found that the main role of an RA is to be a leader in a community focused on student success and a feeling of belonging among their peers. The website lists several activities and responsibilities that come with being a resident assistant at UCF along with a description of what each task is. My findings have helped me to better understand that there is a lot more to a resident assistants’ job than just creating flyers and opening locked doors. There is a lot of meaningful rhetoric that takes place among the discourse community created by RAs. 

This source is beneficial to my research because it contains valuable and credible information about what it really means to be a resident assistant. Some people in the audience may not understand what a resident assistant is and this website will help me to better explain to my audience so that they can have a better understanding of how discourse communities are incorporated. I think that the source can be related to my other sources because it holds information about the rhetoric that a resident assistant needs to take advantage of and gives a direct view into a resident assistant created discourse community. 

“Resident Assistant.” Resident Assistant • Housing and Residence Life • UCF, UCF Residence and Housing, www.housing.ucf.edu/employment/resident-assistant/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025. 

Primary Source

My final primary source is from the UCF housing youtube channel. The channel is filled with informational videos about the roles and responsibilities that come with being a resident assistant. The channel provides videos giving process information as well as introductions. UCF allowed for people to ask questions to the RAs and also posted that on their channel. This website is another example of how resident assistants use discourse among their communities to spread information. This follows up on the idea of multiple ways of writing because it is giving an audio and visual display of information rather than a written or face to face message. The channel is more instructional than informational and I think that it is a good idea creating videos as it gives a visual guide to the audience of people who have never been to UCF before.  I am looking to relate this source back to my other sources that were discussing housing at UCF and put together a bigger picture of all the different uses of discourse used by RAs in their residential buildings to create a comforting community. 

“Ucfhousing.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/@UCFhousing/videos. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025. 

Primary Source

This method took me right to the source of my research topic. I personally asked the resident assistant on my floor questions about how he is making our building a discourse community. I interviewed him one on one to ask all the questions I had for him. The time that I spent with him was valuable because he broke down the different types of discourse he was using as well as the additional activities he does to help create a community of people with similar goals and likes. My RA discussed how he puts flyers on the resident’s rooms when the information he has is important but not urgent whereas if he has urgent and important information, he will write it in the online group chat for the entire floor. He also discussed how he sets up events in hopes of creating community and bringing everyone together to socialize and share any ideas they have towards each other or the building. 

This source is very useful towards my research because it ties all my sources' different ideas together with a real life firsthand example. This source helped to answer my questions. For example, I was able to see how he puts a flyer together, what information he makes sure to include and where he puts it for the right audience. I think this will be one of if not my most valuable source because I can return for more information if needed and I am constantly being exposed to ways he is utilizing discourse to spread information and create community. 

Primary Source

For this source I stuck with the in person interview as I wanted a more personal, first hand experience. I interviewed one of my roommates that share the same RA as me and asked him questions about the effectiveness of the different forms of writing used in our building. I wanted to know if he feels up to date on all the information being sent out by our RA and if he felt there was anything that the resident assistant could be doing better to make sure he doesn’t miss any important information. My findings have further led me to realize that the idea of discourse communities are not very popular and there is a difference between the forms of writing that are being used to disperse information.

This source was very helpful towards my research as it gives the audience as well as myself a real experience from someone inside of a discourse community. My roommate was unaware of the concept of discourse communities so I was able to take advantage of this situation and explain to him how they are implemented and used in our everyday life whether we are aware of it or not. I think this source really can relate to any of my others as it shows all the information the other sources are providing but in a real life scenario.