Rhetorical analysis, according to professionals, in a scholarly or trade publication. (an article from a general interest or news publication will not work, because it will be written for everyone, not for that discourse community.) Purpose: your goal is to "de-code" or explain the communications habits of your professional to someone who is thinking of joining the profession. You want to help them be successful by knowing how to "talk the talk." you're providing a "survival guide" to the profession that you wish someone had given you. Audience: you are writing this to someone who is just starting out in your chosen field, or who wants to join the field. Stance: you may choose to approach this as formal anthropology, or perhaps tongue-in-cheek. You may choose to position yourself as an expert who just wants to be helpful and offer a hand up to a newcomer. Media/design: a simple textual report is sufficient, unless you can think of genre: the piece is an analysis. Perhaps you can think of it as being titled, "the secret language of whales," only substitute "criminologists," etc. For "whales." study the article you have selected for evidence it presents about the norms of communications in that field. What is the purpose (of the article)?

Who is the audience?

What stance does the author take? What's the genre?

What medium is it in?

What does it tell you about how professionals in your field communicate?

What will you need to be aware of to be taken seriously as a fellow professional in that field?