APU Careers & Learning Online Learning

How to Write a Discussion Post for Class

How to Write a Discussion Post - 5 Tips for an Online StudentAs an online student you have certain requirements for class, one of them being the dreaded discussion post. Typically it’s a weekly assignment to not only help record your “attendance” in the class, but to also make sure you’re learning the material. While they may seem tedious at times they are necessary, and with a good process could be more of a breeze going forward.

Looking for an easier way to put together a discussion post? I’ve found 5 great steps to improving your discussion posting rhythm.

  1. Read the material. The professor will typically tell you which pages to peruse through for the assignment. Make sure you read them thoroughly, and take notes if you need to.
  2. Research. After you’ve read from your book for class utilize other sources for your assignment. This may require some time at your school’s online library, or by looking through research journals.
  3. Create an outline. Or if mind-mapping is your think sketch one out for the post. You may have a great memory, but minute details may escape you when it’s time to put thoughts to virtual paper. Put together an outline with your various findings so you can back up the point you’re trying to make in your post.
  4. Cite your sources. You’ve done a lot of research, now put it in a neat place. You’ll need to cite them later in your post, and once you’ve finished writing you won’t want to spend time on citing. Organize your sources early so you don’t get lazy about it later.
  5. Write it out. Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! You’ve read the chapters, conducted the research, and now it’s time to put it all down. We suggest writing it out in Word, or any other notepad like program, that way you can monitor the word count and catch any misspelled words. Make sure you proofread before you add it to the classroom!

Let us know if these tips worked for you, or what your process is for creating a top notch discussion post. Happy posting!

By: J. Mason

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