Link to Infographic

https://create.piktochart.com/output/6182b886931f-burnout-survey

Hi Matthew! After reading your insightful infographic, I feel like I was able to grasp a great
understanding of what it is like to communicate within the business community. I feel like
throughout the infographic you were very concise, yet informative, which is very important! I loved
the visuals and illustrations and I appreciate how they relate to the section or topic. I'm thrilled you
and your expert mentioned COVID-19 in your interview, and that you decided to include it. COVID-19
had such a strong impact not only on the business world but on every community. However, I would
love to hear a little more in-depth from your expert on how COVID-19 changed how people
communicate. I was able to understand that in the Business Community, people need to
communicate professionally but also keep it short and sweet. As for what I think could be improved
only has to do with formatting and aesthetics. I think the infographic would flow better if you put the
facts BEFORE the interview. That way, there is some more context and the readers might have a
better understanding of discourse within the business community before they hear about it from an
expert. Furthermore, I think there is enough room to include more information throughout the piece,
such as in the areas titled: Visuals and Language, Citations, and Audiences. While I understand you
may not feel like you have much else to say for some of them, there must be a little bit more
information you can provide. Since you talk about how much the business community has changed
over the years, I think you might be able to turn that into its own section with more information from
different sources. I feel like the sentence "Many companies may not be doing enough to minimize
burnout" feels a little disjointed and out of place, and I am confused as to what it is referring to.
Maybe consider making the text smaller or adding it along a different section. Lastly, I think you
should add more sources such as the WAG worksheet our professor recommended we use, this way
it will strengthen your credibility. Overall, this is a great infographic with a lot of potential to be
perfect. I'm excited to see how it turns out in the end, I know that with both Dean's and I’s feedback,
you will be able to finish your infographic successfully! -Talia Vazquez

Dean Swift peer review:

Dear Matthew, I think you really have a great understanding of what this project requires. I think you
got a lot of great material throughout your worksheet and your infographic. First off your infographic
was really good and easy to understand about what the communication needed in the business
world. The main points I took away from it that is very important to communicate, but also very
important to get straight to the point effectively. I really liked the interview question of how much
Covid has changed the business world. I think the answer could have some more detail about how
covid has changed business instead of saying it has changed it in every aspect. I personally would
go into detail about what has changed. I definitely think just a tad bit more information on that part
would definitely help the audience understand what those major changes are. Next I really liked the
three forms of writing, I think that is really good information that helps me understand what forms of
writing and communication are necessary with the given situation. Looking into your part 1 of your
analysis, I think your topic of choice with analyzing progress reports is really interesting. I definitely
think that you need more information about what has changed radically throughout the years. The
only thing I see is about the internet and how that has changed lots, but this is a very broad topic.
The readers will need to know what the internet has specifically done to change the business world. I
think all together you really just need a little more information. I think some more information about
communication would really help the audience understand which are the most important. Adding
some more details to these questions will really help you in the long run, but I think you have a really
good start and understanding of what you need to do. I am really excited to see how this turns out by
the end of the semester. This is a really interesting topic and I look forward to more peer reviews in
the near future.

Project 1 Worksheet (Write answers to the

following questions and brainstorming activities)
Instructions: Check out the Writing Across the Curriculum’s WAC Glossary to understand the
terms we’re dealing with better. Then, view the WAC’s Writing About guidelines and other
research on library databases to understand the general conventions of your discipline. These
guidelines are written and checked by professionals in the field. They provide basic information
about the features and conventions of texts in specific fields or disciplines and should give you a
good basic understanding from which you can grow your knowledge. Then, find a specific
artifact utilized in your field that you will analyze in detail in Part 4 and for your blog post.
Answer the following questions in detail (some are easy answers and some require some critical
thinking):

Part 1: Discourse Community Analysis

Instructions: Answer the following in detail:
1. What kinds of “artifacts” or textual products that are produced in your discipline and think
about which one you might want to analyze for Project 1. You’ll choose one and analyze
it in dept in Part 4. Check out the WAG genres for this. I chose to analyze progress
reports. They differentiate in different companies and organizations and what their
company's main focus is. They vary by showing past obligations and future ones and
how it might change the future of the company.
2. What kind of words/terms/language patterns, genres, and mediums are unique to your
field? Choose some and translate them. This will be useful for your infographic. Has this
shared language changed over time (think the last 10-20 years)? For example, in
communications and journalism, the discourse community has changed radically with the
advent of social media with new language being introduced all the time. Additionally, the
medium has shifted radically from print to digital forms, which has introduced all sorts of
new words and language. Business Management has changed radically throughout the
past years and has become quite a sought-after field with the new generation. One of
the biggest is how technology has developed over the past decade and what all is
controlled by the internet. Most business managers are able to do scheduling
appointments and product orders just by typing a few things on a computer.
 3. What kinds of research methodologies or activities, etc does your field utilize/value (i.e.
the scientific method? Ethnography? Literary analysis? Creative production? - and many
more!) Has this changed over time? For example, in journalism the methodology shifted
because media organizations had to turn out their news so much more quickly. Similarly,
the methodologies of research and access to information in other fields influenced by
technological advances have changed significantly over the past few years. Demonstrate
with specific examples. The methodology of business has changed drastically, especially
since we have recently been through a pandemic, and many businesses have had to
obtain more and more inventory very quickly due to brick-and-mortar locations as well as
having an online website that is more easily accessible for many of the population.
4. What kinds of assumptions does your field make? This includes knowledge base, ethical
stance etc. For example, the assumed knowledge base in science changes all the time
with new discoveries and better science (think: what we now know about the
transmission of Covid, or the severity of climate change). Additionally, in media some
would argue that what is valued now is less deep investigative journalism, and more
entertainment-style journalism (what will sell vs. what is important for the public to know).
Remember to demonstrate with evidence.
My field makes assumptions about the audience by assuming that the audience is
knowledgeable about the field of expertise. This can be good or bad because you don't
know whether to use ethos, logos, or pathos. You just have to read the crowd and
assume which to use.

5. What kinds of citation styles does your discipline use? What does this citation style
privilege in terms of order and why (e.g., the order of MLA is Author, Title, publication etc
with the date at the end. This is largely because in the humanities the author’s name is
more important than how new the knowledge is. Conversely, in the sciences the more
recent it is, the better, which is why the date is often used in the in text citations) APA
and MLA are the most commonly used in this field, that being the company name and
author of the text is the most important alongside the text itself. It will have the reader
see who has given this information related to the text.

Part 2: Finding and Interviewing your Expert:

1. define “expert” in relation to discourse community - who might an expert be in this case
in your discipline? An expert in my discipline would have a very successful company
they have been running for many decades and have found all of the ins and outs of the
field they pursued with their company. I would consider my father an expert in the
marketing field and how successful he has been over the course of his career.
2. How is knowledge constructed in that discourse community? Knowledge is gained by
actions used in this field, long hours, watching coworkers and other “experts” pursue
their careers.
3. How might established members of your academic discourse community act as
gatekeepers and determine the modes of discourse that emerge in your discipline?
Many will hire you and test you and your skills to see if you have what is needed for the
position you have received, they will give you such tasks and responsibilities
 4. What are 2-3 questions that you will ask your experts? Don’t forget that these questions
should be about how the field communicates rather than what the field does (e.g: “how
important is written communication in your job?” Vs “do you like your job?”)
1.How has your position changed over the past few years?
2.How big of a role has technology played in your career and what has it changed since
the beginning?
Would you consider communication via email or in person more important?
5. Make a list of the experts you will reach out to. I will contact my father and grandfather
because of their success in this field.
6. How will you reach out to them: by email? Office hours? By telephone? If you email, be
sure to provide a heading and a closing and be sure to give them enough time to answer
your questions (so send the questions off asap). Be specific. I will contact them by
phone, such as calling or texting.

Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis of your Artifact:

This is an important part and you should spend some time here. The more detailed you are, the
easier it will be to translate this into your visual.
Step 1:
● Conduct another careful and thorough reading of the Writing About Guidelines for your
field or discipline (depending on the guidelines available).
● The goal here is to conduct a thorough investigation of a discourse community in your
chosen field or discipline, including explanations of the features that constitute it as a
discourse community and a list of the different genres of texts circulated within the
community.
Specific questions to answer about your artifact:
6. Author/s: How many authors are there and what do you know about them? How do you
know it? Is there a note? If so, where is this note? How does/do the author/authors
establish authority or hierarchy? There are five authors and the note is at the bottom of
the page underneath the sources consulted. They use hierarchy
7. Purpose/Aim: Does the text seek to inform, instruct, analyze, persuade, argue, or
evaluate? How do you know?
Business writing seeks to inform, instruct or even persuade the reader about a specific
topic professionally. When trying to communicate with a customer a business
professional may need to inform the reader about the service they are providing.
8. Audience: Does the text write to members of the discourse community or to outsiders or
to both? Is the text primarily targeted to equals, experts, or beginners? In short, who is
the audience and how do you know? How much is the audience expected to know
already? What kinds of information is assumed? The audience of business writing is a
range of people, including internal and external users. Internal users are people who
work within the business, this might include managers, employees, or executives.
External users would involve clientele, donors, or potential customers. When writing in
business, most texts are primarily targeted to beginners. The writing needs to be
straightforward and concise but not overly formal. Audiences are expected to know the
 basics of the topic at hand. For example, when communicating with a client they know
what service they are seeking, but not the exact details on how the service is executed.
9. Rhetorical Situation and Context: Where is this text situated/published? Are there ads
surrounding the text or anything else? What can you tell about the venue as a whole?
See above—what information is assumed?
There are no ads surrounding the text or anything else. I can tell from the text they are
explaining the ins and outs of business and what is needed to be able to talk to a
business source.
10. Sources: Does the site use other sources? If so, how many and of what kind? Are they
peer-reviewed sources or not? How can you tell? How does the author treat the
sources? Respectfully or critically or both? How are the sources cited?
This site does use other sources, there are two other sources. The author uses the
sources throughout the link and the sources are cited in APA format.
11. Content Level: How specific or broad or difficult is the content, the ideas and information
in the text? The content of writing in business is clear and straight to the point. The text
should not be misleading or interpretational. The reader should know exactly what is
being asked or expected of them. Also, the reader should not find the text difficult to
read.
12. Format: What is the structure or layout of the text? Is there an abstract? Are there key
terms? Are there sections or is it one long text? Columns? Endnotes or footnotes?
The layout of the text is bullet-pointed, and there is one main keyword and that is
Audiences. There are multiple sections of different key points with different headlines.
13. Language: How would you characterize the tone of the text? The writing style? Is the
passive voice or active voice dominant? Is the first person or third person dominant? Are
the sentences long or short? Is there use of figurative language such as metaphors and
similes? Offer a sample sentence or two as evidence for analysis.
When characterizing the tone of the text, it is deemed as professional. The style
depends on what information you are trying to communicate, you may use a report to
convey the annual income of the company. When dealing with reports, passive voice is
dominant, but active voice is dominant when making a business plan. Most sentences
are short to maintain a straightforward and clear message. Business writing does not
use figurative language as it can be confusing. Business Plan Example: “The Managers
plan to have an orderly and efficient work environment.”
14. Visuals: Are there any visuals, such as charts, graphs, or pictures? What kinds of
appeals does the site use primarily (ethos, pathos, or logos)?
There are no visuals in this certain text. This text mainly uses logos to use reasoning to
use explanations to back up their arguments. For example, the text says to “present a
plan of action.”

15. Remember, this is not just an observation. Rather, it is an analysis which means
you draw conclusions from the observations you make about the text (i.e. what does it
mean that it uses passive voice? What does it mean that sources are cited with the date
first instead of the author? etc.)
This text uses active voice to be dominant. All the points are short and straight to the
point to get the thought across to the reader. Active voice is very efficient in text like this,
so it can be short and sweet, but also getting to the point.

Hi Matthew,
Some good work here, but I would have liked to see a reflection and self assessment - I
think that would have helped you meet the goals of the assignment a bit more clearly.
Please note that you’re welcome to revise this project if you’d like to!
Best,
Dr. W