Discussion boards are a great place to connect with your classmates and show your instructor you understand the course's weekly themes.
Here is a great checklist for making sure your discussion’s initial post and peer responses are the best they can be!
Read the prompt and rubric for length and detail requirements.
Provide context; tell us a little background on your topic. Assume your audience needs basic definitions and history on any given topic you’re writing about and provide these before getting into any details
Ex: “At my workplace, a small law firm, we handle lots of intellectual property cases.”
Proofread your writing or read it aloud. Check grammar and punctuation, and don’t fear paragraphs. Hit that enter (or return) key!
Don’t love reading aloud, try an AI reader like this one.
When responding to peers, write in three parts and make a sandwich!
Respond, relate. Thank your peer for their post or say something about it that resonates with you. Quote them, it’s what writers do for each other. “
Ex: When you mentioned ‘a deep love for One Direction’ my heart soared. I love Harry Styles!”
Ask Questions. Did your friend give not enough detail, or did something confuse you about the writing? We’re here to be feedback partners, so we shouldn’t shy away from light critique. Using questions helps your classmate think about how to improve their writing gently, and that’s the ticket!
Ex: “Could you tell us more about..?” “Who was the ‘important person’ you mentioned in your first sentence?”
Connect. How does the post connect to the ideas in the course so far? Refer to the reading you both did, or a video you both watched, or an assignment you both wrote in this module or in the one previous. That makes the discussion academic!
Ex: “I noticed you mentioned the chart from this week’s chapter on American cheese consumption. Weren’t those figures surprising?!”
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