You already have the right tools to make that connection. You know that the main thing that defines the characteristics of a community is its language, and you know how to analyze the language of any community to find out what it values. For this assignment, you'll look at the language of a community that's important to you--your own academic or professional field. Then, you'll use that analysis to answer some important questions for yourself: What kinds of writing and communication does my academic community engage in? What kind of language does my community use and what does that language suggest about the community? And, most importantly, what will it take for me to become a literate member of that community? What will I gain and lose (remember Rodriguez) by learning that language? To answer these questions, you'll work with a group of classsmates to explore three related areas of your field : one person will explore classroom assignments (college student level), one will explore academic writing in the field (professor level), and another will explore workplace writing in the field (professional level).