Discussion Board Post No-Nos

When you are assigned work to post in the discussion board forum, there are specific issues that you want to avoid, and there are specific traits that your instructor will be looking for in your post.

NO

Do not write your assignment as one large block of information.

YES

• Follow the 3-part-layout for all academic writing.  Organize your post so that it is meeting the 3-part-layout requirement for all academic writing.  
• There needs to be a clear lead-in to the post (introduction), followed by your argument/analysis of the visual, topic, or writing (body-paragraphs), and then a final thought to wrap the post up for the class (conclusion).

NO

Do not only submit an attachment to the discussion board forum for your assignment

YES

• Create your work in WORD first, save it so that you have a copy of your assignment, and then copy/paste the content directly into the message window of the thread you create.  
• You are allowed to submit the attachment as well, if you would like to preserve the saved document within your post, but this is simply optional.  The requirement is to paste the assignment directly into the message window. 

NO

Do not use the assigned source(s) without providing in-text citations and the necessary full-source citation(s) at the very end of the assignment post.

YES

• Be certain to include parenthetical citations within your assignment post at the end of any sentence that directly refers to aspects from the source(s). 
• Include the full-source citation section at the very bottom of the assignment post as well: References, Works Cited, or Bibliography (depending on your required documentation style).
• You need a Works Cited section as well as in-text citations for sources used within your writing.

NO

Do not assume that since you cannot see other posts in the discussion board forum prior to submitting your assignment that they are not there.

YES

• The discussion boards are set up so that you can only see the content posted by others to that forum AFTER you have submitted your own work.

NO

Do not leave a poorly written, planned, or organized post as your final version for your instructor to review and score.    You cannot EDIT or DELETE it, but you have another option.

YES

• If you submit your assignment and realize that you did not understand the assignment, did not fully complete the assignment, or did not properly structure your source usage, you want to GO BACK and redo your work. 
• Once you re-create your work properly, click REPLY to your original post, indicate to the class that your first post was not the one to review, and then submit a new version.
• go back into your initial message,
• click REPLY to your original post, and then
• paste your work into the window so that you can submit it properly.

Thanks!

Need more helpful information about Discussion Board posts?  See these handouts for assistance:

Discussion Questions:

FAQs and Understanding the Assignments

• Discussion Boards OVERVIEW
• Discussion Board Details
• Word Count (DB)
• Previewing Posts (DB)
• Edit/Delete (DB)
• 3-Part-Structure
• Voice: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (DB)
• Source Usage (DB)
• Documentation (DB)
• Initial Post—Part 1 (DB)
• Initial Post—Submission Requirements (DB)
• Analysis and Evaluation in the Discussion Boards
• Response Writing
• Participation Post--Part 2 (DB)
• Participation OVERVIEW (DB)
• Participation Post—Submission Requirements (DB) 
• Discussion Board Post No-Nos