1. Academic Writing
Week 1 Discussion Post

2. Grammar
Academic writing does not use pronouns. The only exception is discussion post replies to a classmate, even then use “I” sparingly.
All sentences should have a subject and predicate, therefore starting a sentence with “this”, “that”, an “there” without a subject is grammatical incorrect.
Example: There is a study that identified the different personal and social norms food wise for people, focusing on lean and obese people (Lewis, et al., 2015). 
A study identified the different personal and social norms food wise for people, focusing on lean and obese people (Lewis et al., 2015).
Also, starting a sentence with “it” causes confusion as to what “it” is replacing.
Example: It is the number one cause of disability in the U.S. between the ages of 15 to 44.
Words you should avoid in Academic writing: like, that, and it.
Discussion post initial and replies should be written in Word or Word type program to check for mistakes; such as capitalization, spelling, and grammatical errors.

3. In-Text Citations
If you define a term cite your source using in- text citation examples are provided on the Purdue Owl’s website.
If you have lot of facts in your post, you need in- text citation.
If you mention a book, video, article, webpage in your discussion in-text citation is required.

4. Resources For Discussion Post
You need to use the Barton’s databases for resources in discussion post and paper.
If you are going to use Encyclopedias or Dictionaries to define a term, use Credo Reference located in the databases.
Google Searches are not recommended instead conduct an academic search in the databases.
.coms are not permitted unless you have permission from instructor.

5. Discussion Post Requirements
Initial Post
Reply to Classmates
Paragraph consisting of 5-8 sentences.
Thesis Statement beginning of paragraph.
Must have at least 2 resources.
In-text citations are mandatory.
Resources have to come from the Barton databases preferably Academic Search Premier.
Paragraph consisting of 3-5 sentences.
You can not say “I agree/disagree” without explaining why?
If you cite must provide references.
Discussion Post Requirements

6. What Not To Do? Discussion Post Will Get You A Zero.
I would agree that people born in the United States share these values. But what we have to remember is that the United States is a big melting pot and that we have people that come to the United States from all corners of the world, so their core values might be a bit different than ours. So from that aspect I would have to disagree. But as a whole, I would have to agree that "most" people in the United States share these core values.(Thompson, W.E., and Hickey, J.V.(2008). Society In Focus: An Introduction to Sociology (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon)

7. What To Do? Example of a 15pt Discussion Post
Class,
In chapter 3 of the text books the topic culture shock was discussed. Culture shock is defined as feelings of confusion and disorientation occur when a person encounters a very different culture (Thompson & Hickey, 2010, p. 67). Culture shock is a psychological issue, described by symptoms such as anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, fatigue, irritability, loneliness, forgetfulness, nostalgia, and feelings of not fitting in (Pedersen, 2004). The causes for culture shock are the outward changes and differences in the physical environment. Examples include climate, food, and transportation (Pedersen, 1995). Simply put, culture shock is a transitioning period between home and host cultures (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001).
Reference 
Joseph, A. E., & Baker, S. B. (2012). Themes Caribbean overseas students perceive influence their levels of cultural shock. College Student Journal, 46(4), Retrieved February 10, 2017.
Pedersen, P. (1995). The five stages of culture shock: Critical incidents around the world. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for multicultural learning. Washington, D. C: American Psychological Association.
Thompson, W.E., & Hickey, J.V. (2010). Society in focus: An introduction to sociology (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furman, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock (2nd ed.). East Sussex, NJ: Routhledge.