1. Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Nikolas Nadeau
Writing Instructor

2. Agenda Why discussion posts matter Writing a discussion post
Responding to a post written by someone else

3. What are discussion posts?
“The Discussion areas offer you a means to communicate with your colleagues and the instructors for this course…Discussion areas serve as a place for students and the instructor to interact and to discuss the topics outlined in the Syllabus” (Walden University, 2013a, “Course Assignments”)
“The exchange of ideas between colleagues engaged in scholarly inquiry is a key aspect of graduate-level learning, and is a requisite activity in this course” (Walden University, 2013a, “Course Assignments”).

4. Why discussion posts matter.
Develop discussion skills in an online environment.
Build critical writing and thinking skills.
Explore ideas and learn from your peers.
Provide practice for academic writing.

5. Writing a Discussion Post

6. The Writing Process: An Overview
Reading critically
Getting Started
Writing the Rough Draft
Sharing Your Work
Writing the Final Draft
Reflecting on Your Writing

7. The Writing Process: Creating a Discussion Post
Reading
Prewriting
Drafting
Finalizing
Posting

8. Creating a Discussion Post: Prewriting
First step: Carefully read the assignment prompt
Then: Seek clarification if any part of it seems confusing

9. Example Prompt: Undergraduate
Post by Day 3 200–300 words describing one best experience and one worst experience where you chose to communicate in an electronic/computer communication channel rather than a physical presence or written/printed channel. Be sure to include answers to the following questions:
Why did you choose to communicate electronically rather than in person?
Why was the experience positive or negative?
How do the components and processes of communication apply to the electronic/computer channel?
Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week's Learning Resources and  something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.

10. Example Prompt: Master’s (MPA)
Public administration has a variety of definitions encompassing occupational, managerial, political, and legal perspectives, among others. Essentially, public administration is the work performed by all levels of government. This work broadly includes the management of public services and the creation and implementation of public policy. Recognizing the connection between public administration and public policy is important to your understanding of the concept and context of public administration as well as what results from its policies and actions.
In this Discussion, you will create your own definition of public administration and tell how it relates to public policy.
Post by Day 4 your own definition of public administration.
Then, analyze the relationship between public administration and public policy. Justify your responses.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

11. Example Prompt: Doctoral (PhD)
Post by Day 3 the following in 2-3 paragraphs:
Your definitions of the following terms: philosophy of science, paradigm, epistemology, and ontology. Note that defining philosophy of science is different from asking you about your personal philosophy of your discipline, such as your philosophy of education, or your philosophy of management.
The distinction between and among these terms
An explanation of why these terms are important for researchers to know
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the reading(s) and/or media segment(s) and use APA format.

12. Creating a Discussion Post: Prewriting
Determine the purpose and scope of the post
What are you trying to say? What are the requirements of the assignment?
Consider the assigned topic along with ideas from your reading
Establish a thesis
Consult your notes, identify evidence for your ideas
Create an outline

13. Creating a Discussion Post
(Walden University, 2013b)
Creating a Discussion Post
In this Discussion, you will address some of the features of academic writing. To prepare :
Think about the ways in which academic writing differs from most other writing.
As you read and analyze the article you selected for Assignment 1, notice interesting examples of particular features of academic writing and whether the author of the article is making any assumptions about the reader.
Post by Day 4 a paragraph or two commenting on a few of the features of academic writing that you noticed when you did this week's assignment. For example, you might mention:
Ways in which academic writing differs from most other writing with examples.
Interesting examples from the article of particular features of academic writing.
Point out features that differ from what is expected in academic writing.
Illustrations of assumptions about the background of readers that the author of the article appears to be making
Conclude your post with something you learned this week about academic writing.

14. Creating a Discussion Post: Prewriting
Determine the purpose and scope of the post
1-2 paragraphs
Features of academic writing
Differences between academic writing and other types
Examples
Consider the assigned topic along with ideas from your reading
Academic writing requires support from sources and an academic tone to show information and ideas are reliable
Create an outline

15. Example: Prewriting Sample Outline (hierarchical)
Introduction and topic information
Definition of academic writing
Thesis: Academic writing requires support from sources and an academic tone to show information and ideas are reliable.
Using sources in academic writing
Example of using sources
Why using sources is important
Using an academic tone in academic writing
Example of using academic tone
Why academic tone is important

16. Sample Outline
(mind map from bubbl.us)
Example: Prewriting

17. Creating a Discussion Post: Drafting
Using your outline, write your first draft
Maintain a scholarly, respectful tone
Cite sources and include references
Use the MEAL plan as a guide for your paragraphs M
Main idea (topic sentence) E
Evidence from your reading A
Your own analysis of these ideas L
Lead out, connect to overall thesis

18. Example: Drafting
Academic writing, the type of writing used in academic fields, is different than other types of writing because it has specific rules regarding tone, word choice, audience, objectivity, and use of research (“Walden University,” 2013). Two of the most important and common characteristics of academic writing is that writers are required to support ideas with sources and use an academic tone to show their information and ideas are reliable. Using sources in academic writing shows that the writer’s ideas are based on research, not just the writer’s opinions. An example of this is in Hemmeter (1990), who included an extensive references list of 56 sources that he used throughout his article. As his reader, this allowed me to see how Hemmeter’s ideas were supported by the research others have done. This use of research thus helped me trust the information Hemmeter was providing. Academic tone is another important characteristic of academic writing because it helps the reader see that the author is being objective. Hemmeter (1990) used an academic tone in most of his article, but some sentences used more informal language. In one such place he used the phrases “to sum up” (42). The phrase “to sum up” is a colloquial phrase used in other types of writing like letters to family or on a blog, so it should not be used in academic writing. This week’s assignments showed me that using sources and an academic tone is important in my writing at Walden. Both using research and academic tone helps me to participate in the academic community of my field. In particular, I realized that using research ensures I do not rely on opinion in my writing. References…

19. Creating a Discussion Post: Finalizing
Read through your post again
Ensure that it responds to the assignment prompt
Adjust for typos, grammatical errors, etc.
Use software to reduce sentence-level issues
Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check
Grammarly

20. Responding to a Discussion Post

21. Responding to a Post: Prewriting
Double-check the assignment
Number of posts to respond to, length, etc.
Read your peers’ posts
Note ideas that you find interesting, challenging, or surprising
Consider how these ideas relate to your reading
Note discrepancies
Select one (or more) posts to respond to

22. Responding to a Post: Prewriting
Ask yourself questions to further determine why this post interests you.
Do you agree or disagree?
Is the argument effective?
Does it have any logical flaws?
Does it present new information?
Does it need further clarification?

23. Responding to a Discussion Post
(Walden University, 2013b)
Responding to a Discussion Post
Read a selection of your colleagues' postings. Respond by Day 6 to two of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following ways:
Compare and contrast their observations with what you found.
Ask a probing question.
Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
Offer and support an opinion.
Validate an idea with your own experience.
Make a suggestion.
Expand on your colleague's posting.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

24. Responding to a Post: Suggestions
Using your writing process: thesis, notes, outline, write a draft, finalize the draft
Keep assignment requirements in mind
Cite sources and include references
Especially important: Maintain a scholarly and collegial tone
Even if you disagree with your peer, engage that person’s ideas rather than the person
Use respectful language

25. Example: Drafting
I agree that your source seemed to be very thorough in using sources to support his ideas, Pat. In the examples you gave, however, I noticed that the author only used quotations. The Walden Writing Center (2013) advised students to use paraphrasing more than quotations in their writing. So, while we can look to your source as a model for using sources in our writing, we should paraphrase those sources instead of quote them so much.
References…
Helen, I thought you provided helpful insight when you mentioned that the article you read used a lot of colloquial language, which we should avoid in academic writing. As I also found in my article, it can be easy to overlook colloquial language because we use it so often in normal conversations. I found the Walden Writing Center’s (2013) examples of colloquial language and other types of word choice to avoid useful in thinking more about this topic.
References…

26. Reflection How will you use this information? Revise more carefully?
Adjust writing process?
Outline discussion posts?
Change tone in responses?
Reflect on assignment prompt more?
Revise more carefully?
Reflection

27. Writing a Discussion Post
Other Resources
Writing a Discussion Post
Critical Reading
Thesis Development
Using the MEAL plan
Outlining
Scholarly Writing
Webinar Archive

28. Questions
Now: Type into the Question box Later: Didn’t get to your question? Enter it in the survey after the webinar closes. Anytime:

29. References
Walden University. (2013a). Graduate writing for non-native English speakers [Syllabus]. Retrieved from Walden University. (2013b). Week 2 discussion [Course handout]. Retrieved from