Communities

Secretary of State and American politician, Hillary Clinton once

stated, It takes a village to raise a child based off an ancient African
proverb. This quote examines the several influences it takes to shape a
person. Community is defined as a social group whose members reside
in a specific location. The different communities you are apart of
determine how you are shaped and how you essentially become you.
In each community you use different styles of writing in order to
communicate effectively with your tone, conventions, and genre you
determine how efficient your communication is between the diverse
communities youre apart of whether they are personal or professional.
Although I am apart of several communities the first community
that comes to mind when think about this subject is my family, The
Holly Family. In order to join and become apart of The Holly Family
have to be born, as a Holly or you have to get married and become a
Holly. The discourse between The Holly Family is informal most of
the time, but can be formal dependent on the conversation and the
topic. For example during Kwanzaa when discussing the principles
(Umoja: unity, Kujichagulia: Self determination, Ujima collective work
and responsibility, Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics, Nia: Purpose,
Kumbaa: creativity, and Imani: Faith) we tend to use formal speech
because the different principles have a personal meaning to my family,
but in everyday speech we are informal.

As a teenager, I held a steady job at Jcpenny. Once I was there

for awhile and started to learn their codes like MOD: Manger on Duty,
or LP: Lost prevention I started to consider myself to be apart of their
community. To join the Jcpenny community you have to apply, get
interviewed, be offered the job, and take a drug test and pass. At
Jcpenny we strived to give great customer service in a timely manner
so the discourse at my job was always formal because you are
expected to articulate to the customer different sales, promotions, and
answer questions about the product accurately in order to make the
shopping experience enjoyable for them.
Throughout life I have had several friends and was able to use
and improve my discourse with them. To be one of Kalonis friends you
have to be chosen by her or you have to choose her, you also need to
be nice and have a good sense of humor. While talking with my friends
or writing to my friend weather it be in text message email, in person
we use slang like Lol: laughing out loud, Idk: I dont know, or Tbh: to be
honest and the discourse is predominately informal. Because I only
speak English you have to speak English as well.
Recently I was honored to be inducted into the Hampton
University community, to be apart of this illustrious university you have
to apply which includes your SAT/ACT scores, a Personal statement,
and of course and Application Fee. College is unlike any other school
that I have previously been to because it is both academic and social

setting you have to use both informal and formal discourse on an

everyday bases. For example you would use formal discourse when
you are typing an English paper with proper grammar MLA/APA format,
and you would use informal discourse when you are promoting a on
campus event using terms like 12 to 2: Party in the student center
every Friday from 12pm to 2 pm, or QT, Onyx, and Ogre: class name
that other students outside of Hampton university wouldnt
understand.
The four communities have become my own figurative village
and have shaped the way I form opinions about different situations. In
conclusion in my opinion you should always be willing to expand your
village and join other communities to learn new discourse and
expand your view of the world. Thats how a person grows so I
challenge you to go out and join a new group make that an essential
member to your village, because If youre comfortable youre not
growing.

The Holly Family

Jcpenny Associate

Joining: In order to join the Holly family

you have to be born into it or marry into it
you have to carry the last name Holly
Conventions: Informal most of the time,
but can be formal dependent on the
conversation and the topic for example
during Kwanzaa when discussing the
principles (Umoja: unity, Kujichagulia: Self
determination, Ujima collective work and
responsibility, Ujamaa: Cooperative
Economics, Nia: Purpose, Kumbaa:
creativity, and Imani: Faith) we tend to use
formal speech
Topics: lifestyle,
religion, gossip family
news

Hampton University
Joining: In order to join the
Hampton university family you
have to apply and be
accepted in the university

Joining: in order to become a Jcpenny

sales associate you have to apply, get
interviewed, and be offered the job
Conventions: Formal at all times when
speaking to customers or writing down
product numbers you have to be accurate
in order to be time efficient and make
sure the customer has an enjoyable time
while they are shopping
Genre: item numbers, cashing out cash
registers, inventory
Topics: Business, Fashion, Style,
Customer help, Pricing, Coupons, What
MOD: manager on duty
LP: lost prevention
CCA: Credit Card Application

Kaloni
Holly

Conventions: Because college is both an academic

and social setting you will use both formal and
informal English on an everyday bases at the
university. When using formal English use proper
grammar MLA/ APA format . when using informal
English you can use slang when text messaging or
speaking
Genre: Papers, Emails, Math problems, Notes,
Speeches,
Topics: English prompts, Math problems, Gossip,
current events

Friends

Joining: In order to be one of

Kalonis friend you have to be
chosen by her must be nice and
have a since of humor
Conventions: Informal at all times, but still
appropriate and respectful to the other
friends feelings and thoughts must speak
English beacause thats the only language
kaloni knows how to speak
Genre: Text messages, Collaborative
projects, Letters
Topics: Fashion, lifestyle, Gossip, Campus
events

Lol : Laughing out loud

Idk: I dont know
12 to 2: Party in the student center every Friday Tbh: To be honest
Bb: Baby
QTX/ Ogre/Onyx: Class names
Ogden attire: Business casual attire