Looking back to the beginning of the semester I was not quite sure what to expect. I remember being so confused on grasping certain concepts and that was clear to see in some of my journal entries. One in which I wrote that “I have no idea what to do.” This was before beginning the profile assignment we had at the beginning of the semester. It wasn’t until I read some examples on The Activist before I even decided what a profile actually is. This was before I knew what genre was too, so I just had an idea of what a profile should “require.” It was my first introduction to a type of genre. 

   My perception of what makes a profile to be a profile was solely based on the examples I had seen. Some points include that it is an article written on someone or an organization. Either a question and answer format or a few paragraphs with direct quotes of these people. Typically, either something about their life or what the company does and how it affects a community.  I went through a lot of changes, I began with a full question and answer paper but then realized that it was very lengthy and didn’t get much attention from readers in the beginning. So I switched it up. I cut out almost half of my words and used direct quotes from The Coalition in which I chose. I wrote about key points and how they benefit our community here in Cincinnati. I also began with some facts that weren’t too appealing to see as a resident of the greater Cincinnati area about homelessness. Even after writing this profile, I was unaware then about this genre and what I should make of it. Something that I strongly connected this profile to was the concept of discourse communities. 

   According to The CCCC’s article “Discourse Communities”, this is how it is described, “it’s a group of people, members of a community, who share a common interest.” In this case I can definitely agree. We see this concept constantly whether it’s at a workplace, in our families or here at UC Blue Ash. I see it as everyone within a group as sharing the same goals, collaborating together for a similar outcome. The article mentions that these people have the “same language.” I would consider this to be incorrect, in my theory of  discourse communities I think diversity is a part of what makes it important. Same thoughts and interests don’t have to be the same language. I see it as our casual classroom where we as students work together to achieve the same goals. Doesn’t necessarily have to be a long term goal like graduation but as simple as completing and assignment.   

   Moving into our photo caption assignment, I felt more confident about what regulations were to classify this as this type of genre. These are something i’ve seen before and that I felt I could write about anything that I enjoy.