College Composition 1 Unit 5 Discussion
College Composition 1 Unit 5 Discussion
Prepare: Complete Reading and Learning Activities to prepare for success in the Discussion Board
Preview the academic essay Assignment details.
Generate a list of changes in your field of study. Select the one change you think is most relevant to write about and that you know something about.
The Discussion Board activities in Units 5 and 6 will help you in your writing process.
Post: Write and post your initial Discussion Board post
Review your prewriting activity in the Learning Activities assignment. Based upon what you wrote there, identify a possible topic that you plan to write on for your academic essay and explain briefly why you have chosen this focus. This is a preliminary idea so you may end up changing your focus based on feedback from your classmates, but starting to plan for your Assignment can help you manage your time in the next few weeks.
Then, post a preliminary thesis for that topic, applying what you learned about strong thesis statements in the Reading and Learning Activities, along with an informal outline that identifies at least two to three supporting details. Remember that the more detailed your outline is, the stronger your plan for success in the academic essay will be.
Include an open-ended question about any issue your initial post raises which your classmates can help you with.
Developing a detailed and in-depth outline on the Discussion Board will greatly help you when you begin drafting in Unit 6. Be sure to take to extra time this week to develop a strong base for your Unit 6 Assignment.
Respond: Respond to classmates’ postings
Participate by responding to at least two classmates’ initial postings. Remember that when you respond to classmates in this Discussion, focus on constructive suggestions for strengthening their topic ideas, their thesis statements, and their outlines. Be helpful and focus on ways they can improve these writing components, and avoid simply praising, agreeing, or writing about your experience with the topic. Ask your classmates relevant questions about their topic, thesis, and outline ideas so that you engage them and advance the discussion. Each response to a classmate should be at least 1 full paragraph, but because this is a peer review, you should feel free to respond more fully in this Discussion Board. Aim to go above and beyond; the more feedback given and received, the better everyone is likely to do on this Assignment.
Review a sample student Discussion Board post.
Discussion requirements
Initial post should:
- demonstrate effectively developed paragraphs
- be on topic
- be original
- contribute to the quality of the discussion
- make frequent and informed references to the unit concepts
Participation posts
- Demonstrate effectively developed paragraphs
- Show evidence of active engagement in the discussion (e.g., asking questions, answering questions posed by peers, and making further connections to course readings)
- Advance the discussion
- Demonstrate active engagement in the discussion and familiarity with the unit concepts
- Go beyond agreement or praise
Students are also encouraged to respond to instructor follow up posts and questions and to respond to the questions their classmates have posted in their responses
Find out how to write successful posts by reviewing the Discussion Rubric
