Spark Meaningful Conversations: Learn How to Write Effective College Discussion Posts

One major education aspect that has significantly grown due to computer technology is discussion board posts. If you are a student, we are confident that you have come across this term or heard it from others. And due to the popularity and importance of discussion board posts, this guide aims to teach you how to write a good discussion board post by explaining the steps you should take in writing one and the tips you can use.

What is a Discussion Board Post?

A discussion board post is a written text that learners publish on a discussion board that touches on a topic in their course or class.  A discussion board is an education platform that allows students to make and present their discussions; the platforms include Canvas, Blackboard, Google Classroom, and others. Many students are shy in having verbal discussions, but they tend to like this strategy as discussions are in a written format. So, if you belong to this lot, you will have a lot of fun in this kind of discussion.

Apart from the students exploring the topics further, a discussion board post also helps to promote collaboration among the students. Once you have published your discussion board post, you may be required in many instances to respond to a post made by your classmate. The text you send to reply to your peers' discussion board posts is commonly known as a “follow-up post.” Others refer to it as “peer response,” or only “response.”

On top of learning how to write a discussion board post, this guide will also give you tips for writing a follow-up post. You can come to us if you need help writing any of these posts. We have professional academic writers available 24/7 who can write quality posts from scratch, help you with a specific portion of your post, or even proofread it. Place your order with us, then say “bye-bye” to the troubles of writing a discussion post.

7 Steps on How to Write a Good Discussion Board Post

1. Read the discussion prompt thoroughly
2. Review the Scoring Rubric
3. Prepare Adequately
4. Collect Supporting Facts
5. Create a draft
6. Review and revise
7. Submit on time.

Step 1: Read the discussion prompt thoroughly

Critically read all the details in the discussion prompt. You should pay attention to technical details such as:

Type of post: Does the post want you to make an argument, compare two subjects, create a solution to a problem, or write a personal reflection

Purpose: Are you replying to a question in the provided reading?

Expectations: What will be looked at to access your discussion post?

Formatting: which format should you follow?

Step 2: Review the Scoring Rubric

Practically all discussion board posts and their follow-ups have a scoring rubric. Most of the instructors will provide you with a scoring rubric. If they don’t, you can always ask for it. Once you get the rubric, you should give special attention to the requirements for scoring the maximum grade.

Step 3: Prepare Adequately

The third step is to prepare to write the post. Look at your instructor's feedback on the previous assessments, and make sure to improve on it. Then after reading the prompt and rubric, spend a reasonable amount of time noting down responses, ideas, and reactions. Weigh them and then pick 1 or 2 of the strongest ideas by analyzing the amount of evidence that supports them.  Finally, create an outline that will enable you to deliver persuasive and clear points.

Step 4: Collect Supporting Facts

Just like ordinary essays, discussion posts also need supporting evidence. Every claim that you make in your posts needs to be supported by strong evidence. When you use evidence, you make your claims more persuasive and effectively deliver points. You can incorporate different types of evidence, such as anecdotal, statistical, documentary, or the results of your own research or survey.

So, in this step, you will gather all the sources, and more specifically, you will highlight the information in the sources you will utilize to create the post. Once you have all the needed sources, you will indicate in the outline which source will be used for which section. Doing this will make it easy for you to continuously execute your train of thought while writing.

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Step 5: Create a draft

Now, you can start providing answers to the questions provided. If there are multiple questions, rather than working on each question separately, you can use topic sentences to connect the points with the central claim or argument, or thesis. Afterward, provide full references to all the cited information.

Step 6: Review and revise

After you are through with drafting the post, review it by asking yourself the following:

• Is my key idea relevant to the topic under discussion?
• Does my response show that I have critically understood other required readings?
• Have I brought forward a unique argument that my peers can challenge?
• Does my post have a scholarly tone?
• Have I proofread my response for structure, style, and grammar?

Step 7: Submit on time.

Copy and paste the revised draft on the discussion board. Check everything is in order, with no formatting mishaps. Then upload the post and wait patiently for your peers’ responses.

Examples of a Discussion Board Post and Follow-Up Post

Before we provide you with a sample of a discussion post or follow-up post, we will first mention the crucial items you are supposed to include in both posts.

Your discussion post should have

1. Answer to the question. Also called a claim
2. Supported with evidence
3. An explanation that connects the evidence to your claim

A follow-up post must have the following:

• Answer to the question/claim
• Backed with evidence
• An explanation that shows the connection between your claim and the evidence.
• Response to the previous post

Discussion Post Sample

Let’s assume your instructor (or the rubric) wants you to write a post explaining the benefits of a discussion board post. Your post might be something as follows.

Discussion board posts considerably benefit students in a myriad of ways. According to Georgia Southwestern State University (2010), one of the ways is that it bolsters the students' critical thinking capabilities. It is because students have to read the perspective of their peers, internalize the information, and provide an objective response to it. The Georgia Institute also states that discussion posts enhance students’ competency. Discussion board posts largely allow active learning, which makes it easier for students to learn and apply the learned concepts.

Follow-Up Post Sample

The follow-up post below will respond to the above discussion board post.

I like how you handled the discussion; you have given two benefits of discussion board posts on learners. I, too, support the benefits you mentioned and would like to add another benefit. Discussion posts help strengthen the class bond (YellowDig, 2021). It is that students will work together when engaging in discussions.

Additional Tips for Writing a Discussion Post

You should be mindful of the following aspects when writing a discussion post.

1. Try to come up with new, intriguing comments. Do not restate everything from the required reading. Bring new, interesting claims from other sources even if you share the same opinions with what is presented in the required reading.
2. The discussion post should be substantial but brief. Only provide information that is meaningful and relevant to the topic. Furthermore, ensure that all the sources you cite in your post are easily accessible to all your classmates.
3. Be objective. Don’t just declare that you agree or disagree with an idea or claim. Go ahead and give the reasons, and if possible, support them with strong evidence.
4. Upload the discussion post early. By posting early, you will allow ample time for your classmates to engage in a debate and assist each class member in benefiting the most from the discussions.
5. Be thorough. Make sure you provide detailed answers to all questions. Do not leave any questions unanswered.

Vital Etiquette Tips for Discussion Posts and Follow-Ups Posts

Etiquette should not only be practiced in traditional classroom settings but also in virtual classrooms. Thus, this section will highlight some of the tips you can use to bolster your etiquette in the online arena. Ensure you have the following standards when creating any class post, whether a discussion board post or a follow-up post.

1. Be serious. Everyone should avoid using jokes when posting, as good as they may be because others might perceive them badly.
2. Use appropriate language and grammar and simple writing styles and formats. It will enable everyone to understand what is being discussed quickly.
3. Be polite. Be courteous when virtually communicating with other students. Ask for help politely and remember to show thanks when you get it.
4. Disagree respectfully. Many times you will find yourself disagreeing with your peers' arguments. Be respectful when you disagree. Use an expression such as “I like your argument; however, I believe….”

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Can anyone participate in a discussion board?

Anyone in the class can participate in a discussion board. It includes all students and the instructor. So, just say what you want to. But you should know there are compulsory posts; you get points for when you make them, and you miss points if you do not create them.

2) Why should I participate in an online discussion board?

You should participate in online discussions for various reasons. One of the reasons is that some of the posts are graded. The second reason is that participating will put you in a better position to comprehend the course material. Also, you bolster your communication and critical thinking skills when you collaborate with others.

3) What do lecturers expect from me on discussion boards?

Lecturers expect you to engage in positive discussions by displaying your social skills. They also want to see you read the required material, and you can apply critical thinking to discuss the questions. Moreover, they want to see your language proficiency, like punctuation, grammar, clarity of expression, and avoidance of repetition. Another expectation is to see if you followed the rules, like formatting style.

4) How is a discussion board post graded?

Discussion boards are graded in many ways. The easiest way to know how they are graded is by looking at the rubric. The rubric will show you what is required and the score for each requirement. Scores are mainly awarded for reading the materials provided, critical thinking, clarity, organization of posts, grammar, and word count, among others. In other instances, instructors will count the number of posts to grade your work.

5) What are the reasons for losing points in a discussion board post?

The following are some reasons you may lose points in your discussion board post.

• Lack of participation or minimal participation
• Excessively copying ideas of others or from your previous posts
• Failing to answer all the questions in the prompt
• Not connecting your post to the required reading material
• Many errors in your post, such as grammatical, punctuation, and repetitions.
• Greatly surpassing or not meeting the word count.

6) How do I increase my points for a discussion board post?

Use the below tactics to increase your chances of scoring higher on a discussion post.

• Upload your posts on time
• Incorporate some ideas of peers and also say something imaginative and new
• Read the prompt thoroughly.
• Start working on the assignments as soon as possible
• Avoid errors in your posts: formatting, grammar, and punctuation, among others

If you still don’t see that you have all it takes to write a good discussion post and want to score highly on it, you can come to us for assistance. We help tens of students daily to create great posts, and all of them have never regretted coming to us. Just place your order with us for any issue you might have, then leave the rest to us.

Summary

We are here for you if you need help writing your discussion board post or follow-up post. We have gone out of our way to prepare this guide for you. The guide shows you how to write a good discussion post by giving you the steps you may follow and providing you with a discussion post sample and essential tips. If you need any help writing your discussion board posts and replies, kindly place an order with us now.