I wrote this discourse analysis assignment along with my first-year writing students during the spring semester of 2017.  It was a lot of fun to have them give me feedback and watch them watch me struggle with the assignment. In this process, I learned that it’s hard to analyze a piece of discourse, even a familiar piece of discourse like a postcard. I didn’t expect to have these insights into my relationship with my sister, particularly the finding about the community we formed with my late grandmother. This assignment was a great reminder that when I write, I always discover new ideas.

Final Draft

Third Draft

Second Draft

(The comments are from students when we did a peer review session.)

First Draft