Discourse communities are often identified as professions, academic disciplines, or business organizations.

• However, more informal social groups function as discourse communities, too. 

Literacy in a Discourse Community

The writer appears to be literate in the eyes of a specific discourse community when he or she:

• displays a mastery of the common knowledge of that specific community,
• displays a working knowledge of important aspects and developments in the topic area (chosen by the writer), and
• privileges that community's discourse conventions (for the genre/category of writing being done).

When the writer appears to be literate in the eyes of the relevant discourse community (for a particular context and instance of writing),

• the target audience (of that particular instance of writing) is likely deem the writer's text worth reading.