This semester you will have weekly reading assignments in a textbook selected for the course. For the English 112, 241, and 242 classes, this will be a literature anthology. In the English 111 classes, the assignments will focus on points of grammar and style. Students in the Eng 111 class will read about selected grammar and punctuation topics and complete practice exercises. To use the Discussion Board, follow the directions below.
READ THE QUESTION
The discussion question for each week is given in the Discussion Board.
- Click on "Discussion Board" on your Blackboard control panel.
- You will see all the Discussion Board questions for the semester displayed. Locate the question for the current week in the semester.
- Read the question and think about it when you read the assignment. You may want to print the questions so that you can look at them while you read. To print a single question, select it with your mouse, copy it with Ctrl+C, and then paste it into Wordpad with Ctrl+V, and print it out.
READ THE ASSIGNMENT
For Eng 112, 241, and 242, the titles of the essays, poems, or stories to read are given in the Blackboard Assignments area of the Blackboard web site.
Read the essays, stories, or poems and think about them so that you will
have something to say.
RESPOND TO THE QUESTION
Use Microsoft Word to write your response to the Discussion Board question.
Save your work and put it in a directory where you can find it. You might want to create a folder called "Discussion Board" and save each completed assignment to it.
Be sure to back up this file by saving it to a floppy disk.
The questions on the reading assignments are usually specific, and you should quote words or sentences that illustrate the point you are making. When you quote, make sure you use quotation marks. Include parenthetical documentation just as you do in the writing assignments you email to me.
For some questions it may be possible to give a precise response in just a sentence or two. But you can a create a better response by thinking about the questions listed below.
If you are reading a story, poem, or play from a literature anthology, consider the following questions:
- What ideas does this particular piece of literature share with others you have read? For example, how are the characters or situations alike or different?
- What figures of speech (metaphors or similes) do you find and how do they help create the meaning?
- What other literary devices such as irony, paradox, or foreshadowing does the author employ? (See the glossary of your textbook for definitions of these terms.)
- How is the writing organized? What are its parts? How many are there? What does the writer do in each part?
- Can you think of real life situations which are like those depicted in the work?
- What comment about life does the author seem to be making?
POST YOUR RESPONSES TO THE DISCUSSION BOARD
To post your response to the Discussion Board, follow these directions:
- First, you must have both your word processor and your web browser open. The web browser must be connected to Blackboard. Use the keys (Alt+Tab) to toggle back and forth between the two programs.
- In your word processor, press (Ctrl+A). This will select the content of your file.
- Use the copy function of your word processor (Ctrl+C) to copy your response to the
clipboard.
- Use (Alt+Tab) to go to the Blackboard Discussion Board.
- In the Discussion Board, locate the the question for the current week and click your mouse on the number for the week which is to the top left of the question. (I will use the autobiographical assignment for the first week as an example.)
- On the next screen you will see my name and to the left the words "Autobiographical Sketch." Click on these words.
- On the next screen you will see a message like this:
When you have written your autobiographical sketch, click on the "Reply" button and paste your sketch in the dialogue box. Then click on the "Submit" button.Click here to read the directions for copying and pasting your work.
- Follow these directions to post your journal to the Discussion Board.
GRADING YOUR JOURNALS
Your grade will be calculated by dividing the total number of journals required by the number you write which meet the criteria. For example, if 50 journals are required and you write 50 acceptable responses, 50 divided by 50 will give you a grade of 100 earning you the full percentage alloted to this assignment. Any number less then 50 acceptable responses will reduce your grade.
Note that your journal grade will constitute a set percentage of your semester grade. The exact percentage is specified on your course outline. To receive full credit, a response must be at least 400 words in length, and it must show that you have read the assignment and have a reasonable understanding of it. Finally, you must post your responses in a timely manner since the Discussion Board questions will closed as the semester progresses.