Dive into the Discussion!

Welcome to our class blog!

Over the course of the term, you will be asked to compose four posts and write eight comments (two at a time) in response to the posts of your peers. You will be assigned to a blog group on the first day of class (Group 1 or 2) and can consult our reading and assignment schedule to see when your group is responsible for posting or commenting. The goal here is to give you the opportunity to practice posing questions, articulating and supporting claims, and responding to counterarguments

Posts: Each post (one per round) should be 1-2 paragraphs long (about 200-400 words) and include the following:

  • an engaging title
  • an explicit, controversial question about one of the texts, images, or movies assigned since your last post
  • a plausible answer to your question
  • at least one piece of evidence (e.g. a quotation) to support your answer
  • a “tag” (see Blog instructions) with the appropriate assignment name so I can find it and give you credit

Comments: You will be assigned TWO peers from the other blog group and asked to comment on their posts (you will be assigned different peers each time). Each of your two comments should be 1-2 paragraphs long (about 200-400 words) and do the following:

  • EITHER: agree with the post’s claim (i.e. the way it answers its question) and then push the argument further by adding nuance and at least one more piece of supporting evidence.
  • OR: politely disagree with the post’s claim and offer an alternative answer to the post’s question. Please support your new answer with at least one piece of evidence.