How to Write a Discussion Post: Tips and Recommendations to Improve Your Grades
Discussion board posts are not something familiar merely to bloggers and journalists. Nowadays, discussion board posts have become a regular home assignment to students of different academic levels. Therefore, there is an increasing need for students to know how to write a discussion post according to standards.
Tips for Creating Perfect Discussion Board Post
Discussion forums have become an inseparable component of our communication realities. When we join online classrooms, we spend most of our time posting our stories and discussing the most important subjects and topics with instructors and peers. Definitely, an online class discussion board provides perfect opportunities for online interactions and learning, so you need to know how to write a discussion board post
When you join an online course, you also expect that your discussion posts will be memorable and impressive. You want to stand out among your peers. You want to be popular. You want to receive positive feedback from your classmates. You also want to earn the highest grades for your discussion posts. Every post is graded, based on its quality and contents. Therefore, you must know how to produce a brilliant discussion post for your online classes.
Now you need to learn how to write a discussion board post, and your discussion posts will boost your popularity among classmates. We have created this article to help you improve your academic results. Follow our recommendations, and you will see how your discussion posts impress your teacher and improve your image and reputation in the eyes of your classmates.
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Discussion Board Post Tips on the Content
When it comes to some specific requirements of the assignments you get, they will vary according to the course descriptions, the professor’s demands whatsoever. However, there are also some general requirements that you can follow even when you are not given any precise instructions. Some of the ordinary instructions may be related to writing weekly discussion boards, weekly questions or some other prompts. Within some courses, students may be required to publish a post every two weeks for example. Apart from initiating one’s discussion, a student can also be asked to write responses to classmates’ posts. Therefore, when submitting home tasks online in the form of discussion posts, it is important to know the essential board post writing tips. It is necessary not only to read and research some information but also to be active and participate in the class discussions. Apart from posting responses, students are also advised to ask their professors some additional questions.
Discussion board posts are a great way for professors to evaluate students’ knowledge in some topic or area and also check how fluently and clearly they can formulate their ideas and communicate them across. When learning how to write a discussion post, students also learn how to sound brief and succinct when discussing some topics and how to provide meaningful arguments.
All in all, it takes quite a great deal of time and effort to prepare a good discussion post. If you are interested in additional tips on writing a discussion board post, check them out below. Hopefully, these recommendations will help your post stand out of the crowd.
Useful Tips to Writing a Good Discussion Post
Tip 1. Try to organize the writing process as of any other academic assignment
Treat your discussion board post writing like any other academic paper assigned by your professor. Try to brainstorm ideas, choose those that are most credible and worthy, and think of the ways to approach your readers. You need to make your post informative, interesting as well as engaging to be able to initiate a good online conversation.
Tip 2. Be attentive when reading the discussion board post prompt
When reading the assignment, be careful and attentive and pay attention to the following aspects:
- Purpose. What is the primary purpose of the assignment that lies behind the main question?
- Other specifics. How many words are needed? When is the deadline? What sources should you consult and how many?
- Type of response. What kind of response should you give: related to your personal experience, dealing with some problem and solution, focusing on the comparison of some ideas/ objects/ people/ events, or putting forward your argument?
- Formatting and citation style. Closely adhere to the required formatting style. For example, if your professor requested APA, then you should provide an APA format discussion board post.
- Expectations. Do you have a clear vision of how your paper will be evaluated? What are the criteria of assessment? If you are confused about some facts or you lack some information, be sure to clarify all details with your professor. If needed, ask for additional materials and explanations.
Tip 3. Devote sufficient time to preparation
- Make sure you have gone through the preparation stage, collected all the necessary materials, and outlined the core ideas for discussion.
- Involve yourself in the process of extensive reading on the given topic. Approach each source in a critical and analytical way.
- Always highlight the key ideas and aspects of your readings and jot down all the essential information.
- Come up with 2-3 central ideas you would like to share in your post.
- Find some strong and credible evidence, examples, and illustrations to support your points.
- When your instructor provides you with some feedback or revision comments, be sure to read them.
Tip 4. Write a draft
One of the discussion post writing tips that address the question of how to ensure a logical and well-developed post is to write a draft.
- If you have multiple questions on the prompt to respond to, first try to formulate topic questions and then elaborate them with more detailed information.
- Rely on credible sources to take only plausible facts that will make your ideas strong and persuasive.
- Make sure that your tone of writing is appropriate to its purpose and other requirements. Also, be sure that the vocabulary you use is relevant to the needs and interests of the target audience.
- Avoid using CAPS as it sounds like yelling.
- If you take some ideas from outside sources, be sure to cite them properly.
Tip 5. Edit and revise the paper
After you have finished your blog post, ask yourself such questions:
- Is the central idea related to the main topic of discussion?
- Is your main point clear to the reader?
- Does your response have enough evidence and supporting data?
- Have you demonstrated your unique and clear vision on the topic?
- Have you utilized the appropriate tone and style of writing? What about the language?
- Have you proofread and edited the text for grammar and structure before posting it?
Tip 6. Submission part
- After you have proofread the text of your post, paste the text from the draft into the corresponding field or thread of the discussion forum.
- Skim read the text again to make sure it has no mistakes in formatting.
- Wait till your classmates start responding to it.
How to Respond to Your Classmates’ Posts?
Apart from knowing tips for writing great discussion board posts, you should also know how to respond to your peers effectively. Remember that it is important not to write anything for the sake of it but come up with a meaningful response to what your classmate has shared. You can support their arguments, provide your own standpoints, share your experience, or provide some additional information on the topic. In any case, it is not enough to leave a brief comment containing a brief phrase. Check out how to write a discussion board post peer response:
- To make your response strong and valid, share your own experience and pinpoint how it relates to the course and specifically to your peer’s original post.
- Share your opinion clearly: whether you agree or disagree with what was mentioned.
- Elaborate on your classmate’s post to demonstrate that you are well versed in the topic and understand it well.
- When you reply to your classmate’s or professor’s question, support your opinion with credible sources.
- If there is a part of the assignment that has not been addressed by your classmate, be polite when pinpointing it. Make your suggestion on how the writing could be improved.
- Do not hesitate to ask your classmate questions if you have some.
- You may also leave your insights from what you have got to know from your classmates.
- Leave feedback on whether your classmate’s post helped you understand the topic better. Also, specify if it has helped you change your opinion or so.
- Challenge some statements or thoughts left by your peers to initiate a heated discussion.
- Be logical and consistent when presenting your ideas.
Common Mistakes in Discussion Board Post Writing
Apart from knowing how to write a discussion board post tips, you should be aware of recommendations on how to avoid common pitfalls in discussion board post writing. Check out some of the frequent mistakes:
- Being too personal. When you are tempted to ask for a piece of advice or reflect on your problems, stop yourself. A discussion board post that is written as a part of academic homework is not an appropriate place for sharing your troubles. So, do not deviate from the course topic.
- Not being detailed. Many students approach the discussion board writing process in a superfluous way. When they are not specific and thorough enough, the text may lack some consistency and logical development. Therefore, if you question yourself how to write a discussion post, be sure to know how to be logical and express your ideas clearly. You need to demonstrate that you have read all the readings and materials, so this is about being thorough and detailed.
- Making posts too wordy. When your post is too long, it may contain a lot of words but little meaning. Try to fit all your ideas and thoughts into a brief post. Remember that your readers will get tired fast of long-reads. Be brief, concise, and supportive.
- When you procrastinate, you postpone the writing process more and more hence end up having little time to handle the assignment properly. So, do not wait till the very last minute before the submission. Start the writing process by finding sufficient sources and evidence, rely on expert evidence.
- Not being attentive. First and foremost, you should be attentive when reading the prompt. You have to know how to write a discussion question, so you need to read it and clearly understand the essence of the task. Besides, to not repeat ideas already expressed by other classmates, it is advisable to look through all the other posts and responses in the thread.
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