Showing posts with label Discussion Posts. Show all posts
Writing Introductions for Discussion Board Posts
Problem: You have to write a discussion post, but only have a certain amount of words/characters you are able to use. You know you need an introduction, so that your reader is not confused, but you aren’t quite sure how to draft one given the limited amount of characters and space you can use to draft a discussion post. But have no fear! In this post you will learn how to draft a perfectly acceptable three-sentence introduction for this type of assignment in no time!
Solution: It is perfectly acceptable to write a 3 sentence introduction To do this, the Walden University Writing Center specialists are here to help you learn about code shifting. Code shifting is the ability to change our writing based on what we are writing.
Code Shifting
Say you have a bad day at work. Your boss was mean. Your sandwich was soggy. Your coffee was cold. Is the text you write to your best friend complaining about this the same as the text you would write to your mother? To your grandmother? To a workmate?
Doubt it. Grandma needs a little less slang, best friend can understand emojis and abbreviations, and mom prefers to speak on the phone. The point of this is that we all have different communication methods when we are communicating in different ways. Writing is no different. Sure, you need an introduction for that discussion board post you can only use 500 words in. But it doesn’t need to be a full-scale academic introduction with 7-8 sentences and a problem statement.
Last: Re-read Your Body Paragraphs
Re-read the thesis statement you drafted. See how you can add a topic sentence and even, possibly, a lead-in sentence that moves your reader from your topic sentence to your thesis statement. It is completely acceptable to have a three-sentence introduction for a discussion board post! In fact, it is advised, as it allows you to spend more time and space on the ideas that matter the most in your post, while still giving your reader the direction they need. Some people can even swing this type of introduction in two sentences. It may be something you want to play with—but I would say start with 3 sentences first, and see how that goes.
And, Voila! You now have an introduction, topic sentence and thesis statement for a discussion board post. You have saved an hour or so in your writing/drafting due to outlining first. And your reader knows exactly what your post is about and gets a lot of valuable information due to you drafting such a focused and specific discussion board introduction. Go you!
Stay tuned for a future post on how to draft a conclusion statement (instead of a full-on conclusion) for discussion board posts. I promise to save you even more time with the next set of tips! We'll update this space with a link when the post goes live in the near future.
Meghan K Barnes holds a BFA in Professional Writing & English, an MFA in Nonfiction Literature, and a MAT in Post-Secondary Adult Online Education. These degrees lead to multiple opportunities including a Fulbright Scholarship to study the nonfiction work of Sylvia Plath in England, three Pushcart Prize Nominations, and four book publications.
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Solution: It is perfectly acceptable to write a 3 sentence introduction To do this, the Walden University Writing Center specialists are here to help you learn about code shifting. Code shifting is the ability to change our writing based on what we are writing.
Code Shifting
Say you have a bad day at work. Your boss was mean. Your sandwich was soggy. Your coffee was cold. Is the text you write to your best friend complaining about this the same as the text you would write to your mother? To your grandmother? To a workmate?
Doubt it. Grandma needs a little less slang, best friend can understand emojis and abbreviations, and mom prefers to speak on the phone. The point of this is that we all have different communication methods when we are communicating in different ways. Writing is no different. Sure, you need an introduction for that discussion board post you can only use 500 words in. But it doesn’t need to be a full-scale academic introduction with 7-8 sentences and a problem statement.
This is where your code shifting comes into play. You will want to use the strong writing skills you already have to master the more concise writing that takes place on a discussion board. So How Do You Do This?
First: Outline Your Ideas
One of the biggest things we see in the Writing Center when students are working on shorter documents is that they have a lot to say! And rightfully so! However, when you write out everything and go back and edit it you end up losing a lot of time that could be spent with your family, friends, sleeping, or even on other assignments. Outlining your ideas first will make sure you understand what the most important issues are that you need to touch on, allow you to omit some of the more minor issues, and it will give you a sense of direction for this discussion board post, which means you will do less work overall. Hooray!
Second: Write Your Body Paragraphs
Say what you have to say in your first draft. This is a little bit different than how you may do some of your other writing, but allowing yourself to see the focus of the body of your post will allow you to not only have a more focused and targeted thesis statement, but it will allow you to see what is needed and what is not needed before you go into your second round of drafting: actually writing your thesis statement/introduction.
Third: Read Your Body Paragraphs TwiceFlip your paper over, cover your monitor, close your eyes (if you can write with your eyes closed) and see how you can summarize all of the wonderful things you covered in your body paragraphs in one sentence. This should give you an idea of what your thesis statement is going to be.
First: Outline Your Ideas
One of the biggest things we see in the Writing Center when students are working on shorter documents is that they have a lot to say! And rightfully so! However, when you write out everything and go back and edit it you end up losing a lot of time that could be spent with your family, friends, sleeping, or even on other assignments. Outlining your ideas first will make sure you understand what the most important issues are that you need to touch on, allow you to omit some of the more minor issues, and it will give you a sense of direction for this discussion board post, which means you will do less work overall. Hooray!
Second: Write Your Body Paragraphs
Say what you have to say in your first draft. This is a little bit different than how you may do some of your other writing, but allowing yourself to see the focus of the body of your post will allow you to not only have a more focused and targeted thesis statement, but it will allow you to see what is needed and what is not needed before you go into your second round of drafting: actually writing your thesis statement/introduction.
Third: Read Your Body Paragraphs TwiceFlip your paper over, cover your monitor, close your eyes (if you can write with your eyes closed) and see how you can summarize all of the wonderful things you covered in your body paragraphs in one sentence. This should give you an idea of what your thesis statement is going to be.
Last: Re-read Your Body Paragraphs
Re-read the thesis statement you drafted. See how you can add a topic sentence and even, possibly, a lead-in sentence that moves your reader from your topic sentence to your thesis statement. It is completely acceptable to have a three-sentence introduction for a discussion board post! In fact, it is advised, as it allows you to spend more time and space on the ideas that matter the most in your post, while still giving your reader the direction they need. Some people can even swing this type of introduction in two sentences. It may be something you want to play with—but I would say start with 3 sentences first, and see how that goes.
And, Voila! You now have an introduction, topic sentence and thesis statement for a discussion board post. You have saved an hour or so in your writing/drafting due to outlining first. And your reader knows exactly what your post is about and gets a lot of valuable information due to you drafting such a focused and specific discussion board introduction. Go you!
Stay tuned for a future post on how to draft a conclusion statement (instead of a full-on conclusion) for discussion board posts. I promise to save you even more time with the next set of tips! We'll update this space with a link when the post goes live in the near future.
Meghan K Barnes holds a BFA in Professional Writing & English, an MFA in Nonfiction Literature, and a MAT in Post-Secondary Adult Online Education. These degrees lead to multiple opportunities including a Fulbright Scholarship to study the nonfiction work of Sylvia Plath in England, three Pushcart Prize Nominations, and four book publications.
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February Webinar Schedule
It's the middle of February, and we still have some live Writing Center webinars to love this month! Won't you join us?
Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Thursday, February 20, 2019
7:00-8:00PM EST
As a Walden student, you'll write many discussion posts in your courses. Attend this webinar to learn the Writing Center's tips on how to create strong discussion posts and how to respond to your classmates' discussion posts.
Building and Organizing Academic Arguments
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
12:00-1:00PM EST
As a scholar, the purpose of your writing is to create an argument for the reader to consider. Thus, you also need to know how to convey that argument in a persuasive, convincing way. In this session, discover how to construct an academic argument as well as how to present it through your writing in with a focus on thesis statements, organization, using evidence, and paraphrasing.
If you are unable to attend any of these sessions in person, we post recordings of every live webinar event on the Walden University Writing Center website. The recordings of these sessions are posted 24 hours after they take place, and you can watch them free and on-demand.
The Walden Writing Center provides information and assistance to students with services like live chat, webinars, course visits, paper reviews, podcasts, modules, and the writing center webpages. Through these services they provide students assistance with APA, scholarly writing, and help students gain skills and confidence to enhance their scholarly work.
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Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Thursday, February 20, 2019
7:00-8:00PM EST
As a Walden student, you'll write many discussion posts in your courses. Attend this webinar to learn the Writing Center's tips on how to create strong discussion posts and how to respond to your classmates' discussion posts.
Building and Organizing Academic Arguments
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
12:00-1:00PM EST
As a scholar, the purpose of your writing is to create an argument for the reader to consider. Thus, you also need to know how to convey that argument in a persuasive, convincing way. In this session, discover how to construct an academic argument as well as how to present it through your writing in with a focus on thesis statements, organization, using evidence, and paraphrasing.
If you are unable to attend any of these sessions in person, we post recordings of every live webinar event on the Walden University Writing Center website. The recordings of these sessions are posted 24 hours after they take place, and you can watch them free and on-demand.
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June Webinar Update
APA
,
Capstone Writing
,
Citations
,
Discussion Posts
,
Dissertation
,
Organization
,
Reading & Writing
,
Scholarly Writing
,
Writing Process
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Happy June, Walden students! We hope your summer months are off to a sunny start! This month we have a range of webinars from APA to Capstone writing.
The
Walden Writing Center provides information and assistance to students
with services like live chat, webinars, course visits, paper reviews,
podcasts, modules, and the writing center webpages. Through these
services they provide students assistance with APA, scholarly writing,
and help students gain skills and confidence to enhance their scholarly
work.
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Every webinar presents
students with a live, interactive setting where you can ask questions of
writing center staff, work on practice exercises and questions, and develop a
better understanding of the topic being presented. This month, our topics include APA basics, paper development, the capstone writing transition, and critical thinking. Check out our schedule below. All times listed in EST.
You can click these links to register for the
webinar ahead of time! If you can’t attend live, don’t worry—you can check out our entire Webinar Recording Library here.
|
If you have any questions
about our webinar schedule or appointment scheduling system, e-mail us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu. We hope
to see you there!
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Thursday Thoughts: One of Our Most Popular Live Webinars is Tuesday
If you've participated in course work here at Walden University, you're probably quite familiar with this common course-assignment: The Discussion Post. These assignments are a wonderful way to practice the skills of academic writing, display your understanding of course material, and interact with your peers. But completing these posts are not always easy.
To help make your post-writing process more rewarding and efficient, join us this coming Tuesday for a live webinar hosted by the Writing Center staff of professional Writing Instructors and Editors. We'll delve into the topic of discussion posts and we'll have plenty of time for questions.
Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Live Webinar
Tuesday, July 12th
1:00-2:00 pm (est)
This event is popular with all types of Walden University students in coursework and with online learners in general. If you've participated in hundreds of discussion boards, this post can help gain some new insight into your process. Or if you've never been in Walden coursework, this webinar will teach you the basics.
If you are unable to attend this webinar live in person, feel free to peruse our library of recorded webinars here.
The Walden University Writing Center produces weekly Live Webinars on a whole host of writing-related topics. Participants in our webinars can expect expert writing instruction delivered by a professional Instructor or Editor, robust dialogue & interaction, and ample opportunities for practicing the strategies on display. Register Today!
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 |
| Register for the Webinar Now! |
Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Live Webinar
Tuesday, July 12th
1:00-2:00 pm (est)
This event is popular with all types of Walden University students in coursework and with online learners in general. If you've participated in hundreds of discussion boards, this post can help gain some new insight into your process. Or if you've never been in Walden coursework, this webinar will teach you the basics.
If you are unable to attend this webinar live in person, feel free to peruse our library of recorded webinars here.
The Walden University Writing Center produces weekly Live Webinars on a whole host of writing-related topics. Participants in our webinars can expect expert writing instruction delivered by a professional Instructor or Editor, robust dialogue & interaction, and ample opportunities for practicing the strategies on display. Register Today!
Never miss a new post; Opt-out at any time
WriteCast Episode 25: A Discussion About Discussion Posts
Greetings all you WriteCasters out there. You'll be happy to know that our latest podcast episode of WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers has been published. Along with hosting a very special guest, Beth and Brittany discuss one of the most common assignments that Walden Students, and online learners everywhere, will encounter: the discussion post. Writing instructor and contributing faculty member Hillary joins Beth and Brittany to chat about the purpose of the discussion board and how to be an effective participant.
To download the episode to your computer, press the share button on the player above, then press the download button. Visit the Writing Center's WriteCast page for our episode archive and transcripts. Happy listening!
WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers is a monthly podcast written, produced, and published by staff in the Walden University Writing Center. Join us each month for a dialogue between two experienced and trained writing instructors. Possible episode topics will always be considered from listeners--share your questions and suggestions in the comments.
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To download the episode to your computer, press the share button on the player above, then press the download button. Visit the Writing Center's WriteCast page for our episode archive and transcripts. Happy listening!
WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers is a monthly podcast written, produced, and published by staff in the Walden University Writing Center. Join us each month for a dialogue between two experienced and trained writing instructors. Possible episode topics will always be considered from listeners--share your questions and suggestions in the comments.
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From Prompt to Post: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Effective Discussion Posts
Have you ever felt unsure about how to write a discussion post? Today on the blog, we offer a 7-step strategy to help you create a discussion post with clear purpose, effective organization, strong evidence, and logical reasoning. To demonstrate how this can be done, let’s take a look at a hypothetical discussion post prompt and use it to go through each of the seven steps. This prompt will serve as the basis for all of the examples below:
For your Week 4 discussion post, please reflect on and explain your reasons for attending Walden and the ways that you see your pursuit of your degree furthering your professional goals. Reflect on why you choose to attend Walden University and what it is about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here. In addition, please explain what you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden and how you see your degree furthering your professional goals. Provide specific examples from your experiences, and cite all relevant information in APA format.
In the sections below, you’ll find tips for how to approach writing your own discussion post illustrated by examples that respond to this hypothetical prompt. Let’s get started.
Step 1: Understand the Assignment and Isolate the Guiding Questions. Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to take your assignment prompt, break it down into pieces, and then figure out what you’re really being asked. For example, using the prompt provided above, here are the guiding questions that emerge:
1. Why did you choose to attend Walden University?
2. What is it about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the environment that led you to choose to pursue your degree here?
3. What do you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden?
4. How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals?
This prompt is asking students to reflect on their reasons for choosing Walden and explain how Walden will help them personally and professionally in the future, which will require use of the first person singular such as I, me, and my. In addition, these questions suggest that this post is going to be quite personal and may not require much outside research. If you have further questions, you can read our understanding the assignment webpage or listen to our podcast episode on assignment instructions for more ideas.
Step 2: Break the Questions Down into Paragraph Sized Chunks. Once you know what questions you’re being asked, you can choose how to group them into topics that will guide your paragraphs. Questions 1 and 2 from above are quite similar, so those could be combined in one paragraph. Questions 3 and 4 are different though, so those could be separate. Using the outlined questions above, here are some options for paragraph focus:
1. Why did you choose to attend Walden University, and what is it about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here?
2. What do you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden?
3. How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals?
Sometimes, each question will result in its own paragraph (as with questions 2 and 3 here). Other times, similar questions can be grouped together and answered in one paragraph (as illustrated with question 1 here). In other instances, you might need a few paragraphs to answer a complicated question.
Step 3: Write Topic Sentences. One way to draft a topic sentence is to take one of your questions and then write a succinct response to it. This succinct response will overview the main idea of the paragraph to come. For example, topic sentences for the questions above could read like this:
1. I chose Walden University because of its commitment to social change and the flexibility of the online program for working professionals.
2. Personally, I hope to learn how to more effectively integrate research into my nursing practice with increased knowledge of Evidence Based Practice.
3. Receiving my MSN from Walden will allow me to more successfully accomplish my professional goals of becoming a nursing leader and influencing the quality of patient care.
These sample topic sentences don’t give away everything, but they hint at some overarching main ideas and function as signposts for the reader. Topic sentences also make the writer’s job easier. While these topic sentences may change after the rest of the paragraph has been written, having a topic sentence to start will assist in guiding your ideas and the focus of the paragraph.
Step 4: Build Paragraphs by Adding Evidence, Analysis, and Lead Outs. The next step is to fill in the rest of these body paragraphs using the MEAL plan for paragraphing. Using the MEAL plan, paragraphs will start with a Main Idea (M), followed by Evidence (E), with that Evidence supported by Analysis (A), and ending in a Lead out (L). For example, this first body paragraph of the outline above could read like this:
I chose Walden University because of its commitment to social change and the flexibility of the online program for working professionals [Main Idea]. When I became an RN 15 years ago, I did so because I wanted to make a difference in my community. I saw a need for compassionate and knowledgeable nurses, and I knew that I could fill that gap. After working all this time in the health care field, I still feel passionately about helping my community, but I don’t always feel like I know the best ways how to do that. Walden’s mission is to provide “a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can effect positive social change” (Walden University, 2015, para. 4) [Evidence]. I support this mission and believe that pursuing my degree here will allow me to be a more effective social change agent [Analysis]. In addition, I want to pursue my MSN while still working full time as an RN, and this decision cut out many potential programs that require attendance in the classroom [Evidence]. Walden’s online environment will allow me to pursue my degree in order to be better at my job while still working my job [Analysis]. Overall, I am pursuing my degree at Walden because of my passion for social change and desire to still work full time while being in school, which Walden not only allows but supports [Lead Out].
Since this prompt is reflective, the evidence here is personal example along with a quotation of the Walden mission. All of these elements work together to clearly show the reader the response to the question and to offer support, reasoning, and concluding thoughts. You can watch a recording of our Writing Effective Academic Paragraphs webinar for more about the MEAL Plan.
Step 5: Write an Introduction. The introduction for a discussion post functions in a similar fashion to introductions in other forms of academic writing, but since a post is a shorter document, its introduction can be shorter, too. The two main things that are needed are background information and a clear statement of purpose. For example, an introduction for this sample could read as follows:
Professionals choose to go back to college for many reasons including to learn more, to get a promotion, to earn more money, to switch careers, or to make a difference. Students that come to Walden have unique reasons because of Walden’s mission for social change and its 100% online environment [Background]. The purpose of this discussion post is to share why I chose to pursue my MSN at Walden University and to explain what I hope to achieve personally and professionally [Purpose Statement].
Although some may start the process of writing a discussion post with the introduction, waiting until this moment to write the introduction allows you to have a better understanding of (1) what background information your reader needs to know and (2) what you are doing in the post so that you can clearly state your purpose.
Step 6: Write a Conclusion. Like an introduction, the conclusion for a discussion post can also be brief. The conclusion paragraph is an opportunity to restate your main ideas from the post and discuss the significance of the post. For example, a conclusion paragraph for this sample prompt might be as follows:
While several factors came together to drive me to pursue my MSN at Walden University, the online environment and commitment to social change were the significant components that prompted me to make my decision to enroll here [Restate Main Ideas]. In the next few semesters, pursuing this degree will help me personally as I learn more about Evidence Based Practice and professionally as I strive to become a nursing leader and influence the quality of patient care in my place of work [Significance].
For more on these parts of your paper, we recommend our conclusions webpage and the recording of our Beginnings and Endings: Introduce and Conclude Your Writing webinar.
Step 7: Revise and Edit. The paper draft is now complete which means that it’s time to revise and edit. This is also a good time to add transitions and connect ideas. Here are some strategies for revising and editing:
· Make a Paper Review appointment and get some feedback from a Writing Instructor on your draft.
· Ask a friend, family member, colleague, or peer to read through your post and give you revision or editing ideas.
· Read through your post out loud to catch anything that sounds odd, and revise or edit.
· Set your discussion post draft aside and revisit it later since distance can increase clarity for revision and editing.
· Run your paper through Grammarly to get ideas for editing and proofreading.
For more ideas on how to revise, see our revision webpage, learning to revise blog post, or Improving Your Writing: Strategies for Revising, Proofing, and Using Feedback webinar recording. In addition, you can read our proofreading webpage for more tips on how to proofread and edit.
There you have it: seven steps for drafting a discussion post. If you’re looking for further discussion post writing strategies, you might also appreciate our webpage on writing a successful discussion post and our Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts webinar recording.
Best to you as you prepare to write your next discussion post. Please let us know in the comments how this strategy works for you or if you have questions or other approaches that you’d like to share for how to write and draft discussion posts.
Happy writing!
Jes Philbrook is a Writing Instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. An experienced online teacher and tutor, Jes has graded and tutored many discussion posts these last few years, so these tips come from much practice reviewing student writing. She lives in Columbia, Missouri with her husband and two cats as she continues to write her dissertation in pursuit of her PhD in English at the University of Missouri.
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