A discourse community is a group of people who come together to

accomplish the same objective. Starbucks is a brand name coffee shop that is
becoming globally known. Starbucks opened 599 stores in North America in 2003
(Fellner105). In its 2015 Company Profile Starbucks states Today, we are
privileged to connect with millions of customers every day with exceptional products
and more than 21,000 retail stores in 66 countries. Most everywhere you go in The
United States theres a Starbucks avalible to you. According to Google Maps, there

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:30 AM

Comment [1]: Make sure that you have a
title, page number header, your name/
professor/ class/ date header.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:30 AM

Comment [2]: I did not see this in your
works cited who made this statement?
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:35 AM
Comment [3]: Is this sentence saying it
is or just its? maybe just say the

are 51 Starbucks in Charlotte, NC including the one right on UNCCs campus. With

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:31 AM

Comment [4]: Comma to introduce the
quote.

all the traffic in and out of the Starbucks in the Union, youd think coffee was

Comment [5]: Spelling

essential for UNCC college students and professors. So, does this particular
Starbucks qualify as a discourse community? Lets explore this community and
Swales definition of a discourse community.
When you walk into the front entrance of the Student Union on UNCCs
campus, directly to your left is a Starbucks. As soon as you enter the doorway of
Starbucks you are able to take in the vibe of the store. The atmosphere is very
inviting. The baristas have a constant smile as they take orders and make the
customers drinks and speak in friendly tones whenever they interact with a
customer. The store is dimly lit, almost like a fancy romantic restaurant and the
songs playing are definitely not from the Top 100 most popular songs. The staff
follows a dress code and Starbucks employees are specially known for their green
apron. If you were a customer here, you would get in line, order your drink, and then
go wait in a separate area for you name to be called. There are a couple of seating
options available to you if you chose to sit and stay a while.
Swales believes there are six characteristics that all discourse communities
fit. I sat down with two baristas at Starbucks and talked with them about what these

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:30 AM

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:34 AM
Comment [6]: An outside reader may not
know what UNCC means include
University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:35 AM

Comment [7]: Swales because he is
taking ownership.
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:36 AM
Comment [8]: I like how you map it out
for your reader, it creates a good visual.
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:37 AM
Comment [9]: Maybe welcoming?
Inviting is a feeling you get before walking
in.. because it makes you want to go in.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:37 AM

Comment [10]: That are playing
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:38 AM
Comment [11]: So if they arent popular,
what kind of songs are they?
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:38 AM
Comment [12]: Since employees is plural,
change this to aprons to make it agree.
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:39 AM
Comment [13]: Your
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:39 AM
Comment [14]: Choose

characteristics are specifically as a worker at Starbucks. According to Swales, the

first characteristic is a discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common
public goals. (Swales 220). According to Sally, who has been working at Starbucks

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:40 AM

for two years, her goal as a Starbucks worker is to provide good customer service

Comment [15]: Make sure you are

following the MLA format.

and make their drinks as best I can. According to Sarah, who has been working at

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:40 AM

Comment [16]: No need for extra space
between and to

Starbucks for almost 3 years, her goal as a worker is to make money for college and
graduate. These are two very different goals, but for this Starbucks these are their
everyday goals since all of the baristas are also college students. Starbucks as a
worldwide company has a mission that all workers in all of the different stores must
work towards. Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person,
one cup and one neighborhood at a time. (Starbucks Coffee Company) This can be

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:41 AM

Comment [17]: So she can graduate? Just
saying graduate makes it sound like she is
graduating from Starbucks.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:42 AM

Comment [18]: Wording is confusing.
Maybe say Being a worldwide company,
Starbucks has a .

seen as another goal for the workers at Starbucks by not only serving drinks but

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:43 AM

Comment [19]: Shouldnt be the end of a
sentence

providing a specific kind of atmosphere.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:43 AM

Comment [20]: Follow the MLA format.

The second criteria for a discourse community is a discourse community has

mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. (Swales 221).
Communication is very important in our society as human beings. Starbucks

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:43 AM

Comment [21]: Either add a comma
before but or say but also

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:43 AM

Comment [22]: Is this it is or its

employees communicate by talking to each other, or by writing on the cups during

their shifts. This might be a little confusing but let me explain how it works. The
barista at the cashier will take a customers order and then write the customers
name and the drink they ordered on the cup. The cup then gets passed to more
baristas who are making the drinks and they use what is written on the cup in order
to do their job. If a employee has a question about how a drink is made they ask
their fellow baristas. Once the drink is made they will call out the name written on the
cup to let that specific customer know that their order is ready. This is an efficient
way of serving the customers without holding up a line. When the line gets short

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:00 PM

Comment [23]: Since later in the
sentence you put customers this need to
be the same.

baristas talk and gossip as any other college student would. They talk about classes,
upcoming events, home life, or things that interest them. During my observations I

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:12 PM

Comment [24]: This word choice sounds
negative did you mean to?

overheard conversations about dresses some of the workers wanted to buy to wear
to a party and even a conversation about the new T.V show Empire. Sarah told me
that Its pretty informal conversation even when it comes to communicating with
their supervisor and manager cause we hang out outside of work. Other minor ways

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:13 PM

Comment [25]: You need a comma to
introduce the quote.

of communicating with each other are texting, phone calls, and leaving notes for
each other.
The third criteria is a discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms
primarily to provide information and feedback. (Swales 221). These are things that
the members of the community must participate in, in order to receive information. In

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:43 PM

Comment [26]: Needs to be MLA format

order to become a barista at Starbucks you have to go through training to learn each
specific job. Sally explained I had to learn all the drinks and the register and I had to
learn how to clean all the stuff just basic training I guess. Sarah talked about how on
her first day she was learning the latte machine and the person training her had to
leave early so she was stuck figuring it out herself. At Starbucks you dont learn
everything at once. Youre trained on one machine (whether its a drink machine or

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:21 PM

Comment [27]: You need a comma to
introduce the quote.

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:44 PM

Comment [28]: Learning about the latte
Meredith 3/23/2015 2:45 PM
Comment [29]: This sentence is
confusing word it differently.

the cash register) and then you move on once you understand how it works. There
are no outside trainings or events that staff are required to go to.
The fourth criteria is a discourse community utilizes and hence possesses
one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims. (Swales 221),

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:46 PM

Comment [30]: Maybe use a different
transition since they are all the same.

which means that a discourse community had different ways of providing information

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:46 PM

Comment [31]: it is or its?

to people in the community and outside of it. The company of Starbucks has a
website to provide you with overall information about its company, goals, and even
has a store to purchase merchandise. Since the Starbucks in the Student Union is a

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:46 PM

Comment [32]: use MLA format

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:47 PM

Comment [33]: the would be more
appropriate here.

chain store owned by Chartwells, you are able to find information about this specific
Starbucks through UNCCs website. However the information is limited to times and
nutritional value. The Starbucks in the Student Union also has posters and

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:47 PM

Comment [34]: Adding a comma will
agree with the clause however.

brochures in order to provide more information on the company and refreshments.

One of the brochures even has information on how to provide feedback on this
specific store by giving you the store number which is 78090.
The fifth criteria according to Swales is that in addition to owning genres, a
discourse community has acquired a specific lexis. (Swales 222). Language that is
specific to Starbucks is mainly in their brand name products and the sizes of the
drinks. Their brand products include Frappuccino, Starbucks Refreshers, Starbucks
bottled Frappuccino coffee drinks, Starbucks Discoveries chilled cup coffees,

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:48 PM

Comment [35]: Is this necessary to
include?
Meredith 3/23/2015 2:49 PM
Comment [36]: MLA format needed.

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:50 PM

Comment [37]: I do not think that these
need to be capitalized.

Starbucks Discoveries Iced Caf Favorites, Starbucks Iced Coffee, Starbucks

Doubleshot espresso drinks, and Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee drinks. They
use the sizes Tall, Grande, and Venti. However if you go in and order using the
words Small, Medium, or Large they will understand just fine.
The sixth criteria according to Swales is that A discourse community has a
threshold of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:50 PM

Comment [38]: I do not think that these
need to be capitalized.
Meredith 3/23/2015 2:51 PM
Comment [39]: I do not think that these
need to be capitalized.

expertise. (Swales 222). Sally and Sarah both explained how there are three

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:51 PM

Comment [40]: Capitalization is not
needed here since its an ongoing sentence.

different levels you can be at. Most employees are baristas which means that they

Comment [41]: Use MLA format.

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:52 PM

make the drinks and run the cash registers. Baristas are the people who work mainly
inside the store and with the customers. The next highest level is a supervisor.
Supervisors monitor the stores and the baristas working and have also been trained
as a barista so they are able to help out. The highest level of this Starbucks is the
manager. The manager runs the whole store, fills out the orders and paperwork, and

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:58 PM

Comment [42]: Try to make this one
sentence because it would sound better.

counts the money in the cash register at closing time. The manager has a separate
office which is also in the Student Union but not connected or in the Starbucks store.
The Starbucks in the Union may just be a chain of the popular coffee shop
but also doubles as a discourse community. Starbucks has goals, different means of

Meredith 3/23/2015 2:59 PM

Comment [43]: This is only for the UNCC
campus Starbucks so make that clear.
Meredith 3/23/2015 3:00 PM

communication, their own registered word and lexis and different levels of job status

Comment [44]: Using a different name

may confused readers. be clear with your
words.

hitting all of Swales criteria for what a discourse community needs. By exploring how

Meredith 3/23/2015 3:00 PM

Comment [45]: Add a comma.

Starbucks is a discourse community we can relate these six characteristics to many

other things in our lives. We are all part of different discourse communities that may
or may not function in very different ways.

Meredith 3/23/2015 3:01 PM

Comment [46]: How can we relate?
Make sure to keep it personal.

Works Cited

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:29 AM

Comment [47]: Center this on page.

Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Boston: Cambridge UP. 1990.
Print.
Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks Company Profile. Starbucks Coffee
Company. January 2015. Web. March 22, 2015.

First of all, your paper is not formatted according to MLA conventions. The
requirements were 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, and double
spaced. Also, you did not include a title, your name, page numbers and those
requirements. Although, this is an easy fix! Your introduction is kind of confusing. I
couldnt seem to figure out why you chose this community and the purpose of it. You
have good claims, however, I do not know the most important things an outsider
should know about Starbucks. You included the six characteristics which met the
requirements. Go back and check on how to correctly site your source within the
paragraph. You included a period at the end of the sentence instead after the
(Swales) part, where it should be. Remember your readers may have never heard of
Starbucks. I personally think it may help if you are more descriptive with your
observations. Since I know what Starbucks is, I automatically know what the smells
are like. However, your readers may not know what coffee smells like. Helping your
readers picture and also imagine the smells will help them follow your paper. Your
transitions are not very smooth. You started each paragraph addressing the
characteristics which is good, however, using different transitions will keep your
reader wanting to read.

Meredith 3/23/2015 10:28 AM

Comment [48]: Make sure you are adding
a hanging indent.
Meredith 3/23/2015 10:28 AM
Comment [49]: Hanging indent.