IndexAcademic JournalsWeb CommunitiesProfessional Work EnvironmentConclusionA discursive community is a conglomerate of individuals who share common knowledge and use the same rhetoric to communicate ideas within a specialized topic. The financial industry is a great example of an extremely exclusive discourse community that is very difficult to join without formal education or training. The financial and economic discourse communities share many of the same rhetorical methods, such as the use of highly specific jargon and quantitative models. This article analyzes the strategies used by these communities to effectively communicate new ideas within specialized topics. The exclusivity of this discursive community can be explained in layers: First of all, the jargon and language used by this community are very specific to clearly convey ideas to other members of this community. Secondly, this community uses visual aids such as diagrams or graphs to describe, for example, trends in the economy or the stock market. These visual representations would be very difficult for someone outside of this community to interpret without context. Finally, the type of work carried out by professionals in this community is itself unique, where participants are directly or indirectly involved in the management of household and corporate money. This requires a level of understanding of the complexities that arise when using financial language to communicate within this community. Communication that occurs through academic journals, web communities, and professional work environments shares the common goal of efficiently transferring ideas through community-specific rhetoric. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Academic Journals Financial and economic academic journals use unique rhetoric to communicate ideas to their specific discourse community. An individual must possess a distinct background in this field and knowledge of specific topics to understand many of the financial or business journal publications. Most slang exists only in this specific community and is rarely used outside of it. For example, the word “equity” is used in financial discourse communities to describe an ownership stake in a company in the form of common stock; however, the word “equity” may have a different meaning in other contexts. Individuals outside of this community may misinterpret ideas based on a lack of understanding of the rhetoric used. Diction created for use in scholarly journals is intended to be precise, which can be confusing to members outside of this community. In the article 'Corporate expansion during pro-market reforms in emerging markets: the contingent value of group affiliation and diversification', the exclusive use of the term can be seen immediately in the abstract, where the author states that 'This study examines how emerging market economy firms pursue growth in the domestic market during pro-market reforms.” The reader immediately gets a sense of the academic tone used and it becomes clear that the journal refers to finance/economics. As the reader reads the abstract, he or she understands whether he or she will be able to understand the entire content of the article. With highly specialized phrases like “the effect of market-friendly reforms likely varies depending on organizational forms and the prior logic of competition” and“prior diversification has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between market-friendly reforms and firm expansion through new investments”; This type of language gives a sense of the level of exclusivity that exists within this community. The examples of the diction used also suggest how the journal is clearly intended for use by scholars. The exclusivity that exists within the scholarly journals of this community refers to the analyzes of the findings and the visual representations used to convey those findings. In the academic journal itself, the results are presented in a regression analysis format that can only be understood by people who have knowledge of advanced statistics. Tables are used to present descriptive statistics and correlations of the outcomes studied. An interesting observation is that the journal turns into a highly quantitative study of pro-market effects on emerging economies. Terms such as "multicollinearity" and "linear models" are used to describe study findings, limiting the scope of the audience to which the journal can fully extend its ideas. Almost all of these statistical results require prior knowledge of the topic and would be very difficult for a member outside of this discursive community to interpret. Web Communities Web communities such as the Brookings Institute and the Wall Street Journal seek to provide an outlet for professionals in this field. community to learn more and discuss issues related to the economy and/or the financial sector. One similarity between academic journals and web communities in this particular field is the use of highly specific language and diction that can only be understood with prior experience or training in this area. A report published by the Brookings Institute titled “Macroeconomics and Market Power” reveals the same reporting standards that exist in academic journals. The report's opening paragraph includes buzzwords like “measured profit rates,” “price-cost margin,” and “labor's share of income.” By using these words, the author assumes that the audience already has a level of knowledge of the terminology and financial models that will be used. The use of references is also abundant in these publications, which reveals to the public that this community highly values ​​accredited, peer-reviewed research. The author provides examples to support the report's thesis by citing accredited economists. Unlike other discourse communities such as those related to the arts or creative fields, this community places a strong emphasis on evidence-based research or endorsed economic theories. Another similarity between these web communities and academic journals is the use of quantitative models to further convey a message or theory. In the same Syverson report, advanced mathematical models are used extensively to demonstrate “concentration as a measure of market power.” This idea is developed further with pages and pages of developing a mathematical theorem. The use of these quantitative models reveals that the author assumes that the audience has an advanced level of mathematical understanding to follow the arguments presented. The existence of this web community and its reputation as an independent think tank and research institute attracts professionals who work to add relevance to these communities. Therefore, what we can understand from this community is that writers and information providers use language that is consistent with their audience. In terms of writings in both web communities and academic journals, there are minimal differences in language and jargon, withboth channels writing in a language that assumes a general level of knowledge within those specialized topics. Professional Work Setting A professional work environment differs from academic journals and web communities based on the face-to-face interactions that occur between employees and customers. Often the rhetoric remains the same, however the means of delivery must change based on the level of formality that occurs during these communications. During my co-op experience working in the Fixed Income group at State Street Global Advisors, I had interactions not only with my team members, but also with other groups such as senior economists, portfolio managers, traders, and product strategists. Most of the communications I took part in were internal, including email communications and meetings. The biggest surprise I encountered during my experience was the amount of unique jargon used to communicate complex fixed income portfolio strategies and product decisions. My manager had set expectations for me from the start of the job, handing me out a list of terms and concepts to learn like “convexity” and “durability,” and asking me to summarize various complex performance analyzes to share with internal stakeholders. My knowledge of the terminology used in this field was minimal, despite having taken courses that covered the basics of finance and economics. This revealed to me that much of the jargon used in this community is learned through experience or formal training when entering this field. Another interesting aspect of the communication that occurred in the workplace was the degree of complexity that my manager and colleagues would use to explain fixed income concepts. When attending meetings with groups outside the investment process, such as Compliance or Risk Control, language much less concerned with financial jargon is used to clarify what steps to take to achieve results that meet compliance standards. In meetings with portfolio managers or economists, the topics discussed are completely different, and the use of language in these meetings is consistent with the use of language in both academic journals and web communities. Conclusion The specific rhetorical strategies used by professionals in this community exist across multiple communication channels such as academic journals, web communities, and even in a real work context. These strategies assume a basic working knowledge of the terminology used in this field and a significant level of quantitative knowledge to be able to understand and decipher the highly specialized content that emerges within these topics. The fervor of consistency across these communication channels reveals another interesting aspect of this community: 2017 estimates show that approximately 93% of Americans have a bank account1 and 54% of Americans participate in investment activities in the financial markets2. With such a large portion of the population consuming financial products to build savings or retirement money, or even to invest in the stock market, what percentage of this population can truly understand the writings, disclosures and legal documents attached to these products? Do consumers know the risks associated with applying for loans, mortgages or other debt instruments from banks? As discussed above, an individual who exists outside of this discursive community will find it extremely difficult to navigate the plethora of jargon and financial documents that come with these products. The complexity of these financial products and the.