Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces

1. Drawing on Wardle, what are the three ways that newcomers try to belong in a new community? Give a specific example to illustrate each 'mode of belonging.' Then consider why a newcomer might chose not to participate in some aspect of a new community.

The three ways that newcomers try to belong in a new community are engagement, imagination, and alignment. An example of engagement is having a newcomer interact with someone who "knows the ropes".  An example of imagination is when a newcomer thinks of all the wonderful things a new community can provide for them. An example of alignment is having newcomers and older members of the community negotiate things. A newcomer might not participate in a new aspect of the community if they feel intimidated or excluded.

2. Think of all the people you know who have some sort of institutionally ascribed authority. Can you think of a time when one or more of them lost their authority in your eyes or someone else's through their linguistic actions or behaviours? If so, what happened?

I can think of a time where someone lost authority in many peoples eyes. The person who was in authority one day made an announcement that they did not care what the community thought, they would run things the way that they wanted to. Because of this, the person lost their authority amongst most of the members of the community.


3. Towards the end of the article, Wardle quotes Thompson as saying that the choices we make with language are very often unconscious; that is, we might be using language in resistant ways unintentionally. Do you agree that this is possible, or do you think that people are usually making conscious choices when they use language? (question #4)

I do agree with Wardle, the choices that we make with language are often unconscious. I think that once we become encultured and surrounded by a community that has the same language we no longer focus on the language that we are using. It becomes almost natural.


4. Think about your own experiences enculturing into a role or system. What kinds of language did you have to learn to use as you grew into this new community? What tensions existed between your identity and the demands of your new role/community? How did you adapt to the new community?

Enculturing into my workplace, there were many different things that I needed to learn. There are different buttons, different phrases that we have to know, and even abbreviations that I do not always remember to this day. There was a lot of pressure when I first began working because of the fast-pace of my job. I was able to adapt to the community by learning from more experienced coworkers.


5. Name one concept from this lesson that you most struggled to understand. What about this concept, term, or idea is troublesome? What do you currently think it means, whether you feel certain or not?

I originally had a hard time with the concept alignment in this article. I simpl
y had a hard time understanding what it meant by "defining broad visions and aspirations". I now realize that this means  that the newcomer and the experienced community member may have to come to an agreement through discussing their differences and explaining them to each other.