Tips For Writing an Amazing University Level Reply to a Discussion Board Post

Board post is an expedient tool for online learning. It creates a platform upon which students and professors can engage conveniently. A student can give his/her perspective on a certain topic, and allow other students to analyze his/her proposition. Responses are a common and important feature of board post discussions. It is therefore critical that a student becomes cognizant of how he/she can compose a top-notch rejoinder during a debate. This article will seek to provide cues for creating fascinating replies.

Learning How to Interact with Other Students

A student should take ambition in finding out the dos and don’ts when engaging in a discussion – especially when posting a response. This helps the student in knowing what is expected of him/her, and what to expect from other students for quality debates to take place. This step involves things like a student introducing him/herself to the other students, applying civility whenever he/she makes a post or response, communicating clearly, Etc. The very first board post a student is supposed to make is that of announcing him/herself to the peers. The introduction should be concise and to the point. This makes it easy for peers to know who the reply is coming from. It is, therefore, vital for every student to announce him/herself conspicuously. During discussions, it behooves every student to respond to his/her peers in an affable fashion, to avoid confrontations. A student should also ensure that he/she when making a reply that it’s clear – for easier consumption by the other participants.

Sticking to the Topic in Question

As many experts in this area would suggest, a student should have understood the topic being discussed before making a response. This involves getting all the clarity required from peers and a professor. Further, a student should embark on doing necessary examinations of other works done by scholars on the same topic. Well-done research strengthens a student’s position when making an argument. By departing from the topic being discussed, a student makes it difficult for his/her peers to follow his argument – it withal leads to loss of marks. It’s troublesome for anyone to trace a route taken by a pilgrim if they take a diversion from a highway.

Understand the Proposition made by a Peer

Before endeavoring to give a reply to a post made by another student, the responder should take time to appreciate the argument. This could include looking at the references provided, the authors cited, and the experience of the person who made the argument. This will provide an in-depth comprehension of what the peer is suggesting. Where more intelligibility is required, a student should find out from the proposer. A response is supposed to enlarge the proposal made. It is, therefore, necessary that a student does not repeat what has already been said or contradict it by giving reasons why he/she has divergent views. This means that a student will not only disagree by saying “I disagree”, but will go ahead and provide convincing grounds for his/her disagreement. These reasons should not be personal opinions but should be well aligned with the topic, and perspectives of different scholars.

Respond with Clarity

A strong response could be rendered useless if it is ambiguous. The responder must ensure that the reply is not just a collection of words. A reply should be cohesive and simple for others to consume. This requires the person making a response to use easily legible fonts, good grammar and punctuation, and avoiding the use of jargons or initials. By using illegible fonts, the responder puts off the interest of the peers in reading his/her response. Poor grammar and incorrect punctuations engender the same result. The use of acronyms should also be avoided at all costs since an acronym could mean one thing to a certain student and another to a different student. In conclusion, a student should make efforts to understand what it takes to make an outstanding reply.

References

https://www.bladencc.edu/web/wpc/uploads/Writing-Forum-Posts-and-Replies-1.pdf

https://bc.instructure.com/courses/1145567/pages/how-to-respond-to-a-discussion-post

https://www.mssu.edu/academics/distancelearning/pdfs/Effectively%20Responding%20to%20a%20Peer.pdf

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/discussionpost/response