example of discussion assignment

Writing Center Discussion Board Posts: Discussion Board Posts

Discussion board posts.

In this section, you'll find resources on writing Discussion Board Posts.

Writing a Discussion Board Post

Types of discussion posts:.

• Introduction Introductory discussions are designed to help you and your classmates get to know each other better. You should include information about your personal and professional background, as well as your goals for the course.
• Debate Debate discussions include a statement based on the week’s module content that offers an opportunity to discuss opposing views, opinions, and research on a topic. You should choose a firm stance and include support for your viewpoint.
• Experiential Experiential discussion posts pull from your personal or known experiences. Think about how you can relate the prompt to your own life, and explain your perspective in this way.
• Current Events This type of discussion asks you to relate the prompt to current events in society or your specific field. Consider how the course content is connected to events that have been reported in the media within the past 12 months.
• Flipped Discussions When you are assigned a flipped discussion, you are expected to create a discussion board prompt for others to respond to. Pose a question of prompt that is related to the course content and encourages your classmates to dig deeper in a specific area.
• Portfolio Milestones Portfolio milestone discussion posts provide an opportunity for you to propose a topic and get feedback from your classmates and professor. You should state the topic(s) you are thinking about, as well as provide some context and information about the direction of your research.
• Reflection Reflective discussion posts ask students to reflect on what they have learned so far in the course. You should consider how the course content relates to your personal learning experience. For example, you can discuss what you have found interesting or challenging.
• Situational/Case Prompt Situational or case prompts provide a scenario that you will respond to. Based on what you have learned so far, discuss how you would respond to the prompted situation. Provide support and context for your perspective.

Keep the following tips in mind when constructing posts for Discussion Boards:

• When posting responses and engaging with your classmates, ask questions that expand and continue the conversation. Dig deeper into the topic and ideas to gain further understanding and insight into the thoughts and perspectives of others.
• You are expected to express your own thoughts and analysis regarding the topic or discussion question/prompt. If you choose to use information from outside sources, you should include both in-text citations and a references list.
• Be sure to check the discussion rubric to ensure you are meeting expectations.

If you have questions about the type of discussion post or specifics about your assignment, please consult your instructor.

Sample Discussion Board with Sources

Sample discussion board no sources.

These sample posts will help you get started with your assignment. Note that one sample is designed to be more research-focused and includes citations, while the other demonstrates a more casual style discussion post forum. Please refer to whichever is most appropriate for your assignment.

• Last Updated: Jun 19, 2023 6:07 PM
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Learning Through Discussion 

Discussions can be meaningful and engaging learning experiences: dynamic, eye-opening, and generative. However, like any class activity, they require planning and preparation. Without that, discussion challenges can arise in the form of unequal participation, unclear learning outcomes, or low engagement. This resource presents key considerations in class discussions and offers strategies for how instructors can prepare and engage in effective classroom discussions.

On this page:

• The What and Why of Class Discussion

Identifying your Course Context

• Plan for Classroom Discussion
• Warm up Classroom Discussion
• Engage in Classroom Discussion
• Wrap up Classroom Discussion

Leveraging Asynchronous Discussion Spaces

• References and Further Reading

The CTL is here to help!

Seeking additional support with discussion pedagogy? Email [email protected] to schedule a 1-1 consultation. For support with any of the Columbia tools discussed below, email [email protected] or join our virtual office hours .

Interested in inviting the CTL to facilitate a session on this topic for your school, department, or program? Visit our Workshops To Go page for more information.

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Learning Through. DIscussion. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/learning-through-discussion/

The What and Why of Class Discussion 

Class discussion can take many forms, from structured prompts and assignments to more casual or informal conversations. Regardless of class context (e.g.: a seminar, large lecture, or lab course) or the form (e.g.: in-person or asynchronous) discussion takes, it offers a number of benefits to students’ learning. As an active learning technique, class discussion requires students to be co-constructors of their learning. Research shows that students learn more when they actively participate in their learning, rather than passively listen. Furthermore, studies have also shown that “student participation, encouragement, and peer-to-peer interaction was consistently and positively related to the development of critical thinking skills” (Howard, 2015, pp. 6). Class discussion has also been linked to greater student motivation, improved communication skills, and higher grades (Howard, 2015). But just like effective lectures or assignments require planning and preparation, so too does class discussion. 

The following sections offer a framework and strategies for learning through discussion. These strategies are organized around four key phases: planning for classroom discussion, warming up for classroom discussion, engaging in classroom discussion, and wrapping up classroom discussion.

While the strategies and considerations provided throughout this resource are adaptable across course contexts, it is important to recognize instructors’ varied course formats, and how discussion might differ across them. This section identifies a few of these contexts, and reviews  how these contexts might shape instructors’ engagement with both this resource and class discussion more broadly. 

I teach a discussion-based course

Small classes and seminars use discussion-based pedagogies, though it can be challenging to get every student to contribute to discussions. It is important to create multiple opportunities for engagement and not just rely on whole group discussion. Pair and small group discussions can create trust among students and give them the confidence to speak up in the larger group. Instructors of discussion-based courses can extend in-class discussions into the asynchronous space. These inclusive moves allow students to contribute to discussions in multiple ways.

I do not teach a discussion-based course

Whether teaching a large lecture course, a lab course, or other non-discussion based course, students will still benefit from interacting with each other and learning through discussion. Small group or pair discussion can be less intimidating for students regardless of class size and help create a sense of community that impacts learning.

I teach a course that may have some Hybrid/HyFlex meetings.

In-person classes might sometimes offer hybrid or HyFlex opportunities for students to accommodate extenuating circumstances. In a hybrid/HyFlex course session, students participating in-person and remotely should have equal opportunities to contribute to discussions. To make this a reality, advanced preparation involves thinking through the logistics using discussion activities, roles and responsibilities (if working with TA(s)), classroom technologies (e.g., ceiling microphones available in the classroom; asking in-person students to bring a mobile device and headset if possible to engage with their remote peers), and determining the configurations if using discussion groups or paired work (both in a socially distanced classroom, and if asking both in-person and remote students to discuss together in breakout groups).

Planning for Classroom Discussion

Regardless of your course context, there are some general considerations for planning a class discussion; these considerations include: the goals and expectations, the modality of discussion, and the questions you might use to prompt discussion. The following section offers some questions for reflection, alongside ideas and strategies to address these considerations.

Goals & Expectations

What is the goal of the discussion? How will it support student learning? What are your expectations of student participation and contributions to the discussion? How will you communicate the goals and expectations to students?

Articulate the goals of discussion : Consider both the content you want your students to learn and the skills you want them to apply and develop. These goals will inform the learner-centered strategies and digital tools you use during discussion.

Communicate the purpose (not just the topic) of discussion: Sharing learning goals will help students understand why discussion is being used and how it will contribute to their learning. 

Specify what you expect of student contributions to the discussion and how they will be assessed: Be explicit about what students should include in their contributions to make them substantive, and model possible ways of responding. Guide students in how they can contribute substantively to their peers’ live responses or online posts. You might consider asking students to use the 3CQ model: 

• Compliment—I like that ___ because…; 
• Comment—I agree/disagree with (specific point/idea) because…; 
• Connection—I also thought that…; 
• Question—I wonder why…  

Establish discussion guidelines: Communicate expectations for class discussion.  Be sure to include desired behaviors/etiquette and how technologies and tools for discussion will be used. Students in all classes can benefit from discussion guidelines as they help to clearly identify and establish expectations for student success. For more support with getting started, see the Barnard Center for Engaged Pedagogy’s resource on Crafting Community Agreements . Additionally, while there are some shared general discussion guidelines, there are also some specific considerations for asynchronous discussions: 

Sample Discussion Guidelines:

• Refer to classmates by name.
• Allow everyone the chance to speak (“Take Space, Make Space”).
• Constructively critique ideas, not individuals.
• Listen actively without interrupting. 
• Contribute questions, ideas, or resources.

Sample Asynchronous Discussion Guidelines:

• Respond to discussion posts within # of hours or days.
• Review one’s own writing for clarity before posting, being mindful of how it may be interpreted by others.
• Prioritize building upon or challenging the strongest ideas presented in a post instead of only focusing on the weakest aspects. 
• Acknowledge something someone else said. 
• Build on their comment by connecting with course content, adding an example or observation.
• Conclude with critical thinking or socratic questions. 

Invite students to revise, contribute to, or co-create the guidelines. One way to do this is to facilitate a discussion about discussions, asking students to identify what the characteristics of an effective discussion are. This will encourage their ownership of the guidelines. Post the guidelines in CourseWorks and refer to them as needed.

In what modality/modalities will the discussion take place (in-person/live, asynchronous, or a blend of both)?

The modality of your class discussion may determine the tools and technologies that you ask students to engage with. Thus, it is important to determine early on how you would like students to engage in discussion and what tools you will use to support their engagement. Consider leveraging your asynchronous course spaces (e.g., CourseWorks), which can help students both prepare for an in-class discussion, as well expand upon and continue in-class discussions. For support with setting up asynchronous discussions, see the Leveraging Asynchronous Discussion Spaces section below.

What prompts will be used for discussion? Who will come up with those prompts (e.g.: instructor, TA, or students)?

The questions you ask and how you ask them are important for leading an effective discussion. Discussion questions do not have to be instructor-generated; asking students to generate discussion prompts is a great way to engage them in their learning. 

Draft open-ended questions that advance student learning and inspire a range of answers (avoiding closed-ended, vague, or leading questions). Vary question complexity over the course of a discussion. If there’s one right answer, ask students about their process to get to the right answer. 

The following table features sample questions that increase in cognitive complexity and is based on the six categories of the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Warming up for Classroom Discussion 

Get students comfortable talking with their peers, you, and the TA(s) (as applicable) from the start of the course. Create opportunities for students to have pair or small group conversations to get to know one another and connect as a community. Regardless of your class size or context (i.e.: seminars, large-lecture classes, labs), for discussions to become a norm in your course, you will need to build community early on in the course.

Get students talking early and often to foster community

How will you make peer-to-peer engagement an integral part of your class? How can you get students talking to each other?

To encourage student participation and peer-to-peer interaction, create early and frequent opportunities for students to share and talk with each other. These opportunities can help make students more comfortable with participating in discussion, as well as help build rapport and foster trust amongst class members. Icebreakers and small group discussion opportunities provide great ways to get students talking, especially in large-enrollment classes where students may feel less connection with their peers (see sample icebreakers below ).  For additional support with building community in your course, see the CTL’s Community Building in Online and Hybrid (HyFlex) Courses resource. (Although this resource emphasizes online and hybrid/HyFlex modalities, the strategies provided are applicable across all course modalities.)

Establish class norms around discussion and participation

How can you communicate class norms around discussion and participation on day one? 

The first class meeting is an opportunity to warm students up to class discussion and participation from the outset. Rather than letting norms of passivity establish over the first couple of weeks, you can use the first class meeting to signal to students they will be expected to participate or interact with their peers regularly. You might ask students to do a welcoming icebreaker on the first day, or you might invite questions and syllabus discussion. No matter the activity, establishing a norm around discussion and participation at the outset will help warm students up to participating and contributing to later discussions; these norms can also be further supported by your discussion guidelines . Icebreakers:  Icebreakers are a great way to establish a positive course climate and encourage student-student, as well as instructor-student, interactions. Some ideas for icebreaker activities related to discussion include:

• (Meta)Discussion about Discussions: In small groups during class, or using a CourseWorks discussion board , students introduce themselves to each other, and share their thoughts on what are the qualities of good and bad discussions.
• Course Content: Ask students to share their thoughts about a big question that the course addresses or ask students what comes to mind when they think of an important course concept. You could even ask students to scan the syllabus and share about a particular topic or reading they are most excited about.

Engaging in Classroom Discussion

With all of your preparation and planning complete, there are some important considerations you will need to make with both your students and yourself in mind. This section offers some strategies for engaging in classroom discussion.

Involve students in discussion 

How will you engage all of your students in the discussion? How will you make discussion and your expectations about student participation explicit and integral to the class?

Involving your students in class discussion will allow for more student voices and perspectives to be contributed to the conversation. You might consider leveraging the time before and after class or office hours to have informal conversations and build rapport with students. Additionally, having students rotate roles and responsibilities can keep them focused and engaged.

Student roles: Engage all students by asking them to volunteer for and rotate through roles such as facilitator, summarizer, challenger, etc. In large-enrollment courses, these roles can be assigned in small group or pair discussions. For an asynchronous discussion, roles might include: discussion starter / original poster, connector to research, connector to theory. Additional roles might include: timekeeper, notetaker, discussion starter, wrapper, and student  monitor:

• Discussion starter / original poster: Involve students in initiating the discussion. Designate 2–3 students per discussion to spark the conversation with a question, quotation, an example, or link to previous course content.
• Discussion wrapper: Engage students in facilitating the discussion. Help students grasp take-aways. Designate 2-3 students per discussion to wrap up the discussion by identifying themes, extracting key ideas, or listing questions to explore further. 
• Student monitor: Ask a student (on a rotating basis) or TA(s) if applicable, to monitor the Zoom chat (in hybrid/HyFlex courses) or the CourseWorks Discussion Boards (when leveraging asynchronous discussion spaces). The monitors can then flag important points for the class or read off the questions that are being posed. 

Student-generated questions: Prepare students for discussion and involve them in asking and answering peer questions about the topic. Invite students to post questions to a CourseWorks Discussion before class, or share their questions during the discussion. If students are expected to respond to their peer’s questions, they need to be told and guided how to do so. Highlight and use insightful student questions to prime or further the discussion.

Student-led presentations: In smaller seminar-style classes or labs, invite students to give informal presentations. You might ask them to share examples that relate to the topic or concept being discussed, or respond to a targeted prompt.

Determine your role in discussion 

How will you facilitate discussion? What will your presence be in asynchronous discussion spaces? What can students expect of your role in the discussion? 

Make your role (or that of your co-instructor(s) and/or TA(s)) in the discussion explicit so that students know what to expect of your presence, reinforcement of the discussion guidelines, and receipt of feedback. 

Actively guide the discussion to make it easy for students to do most of the talking and/or posting. This includes being present, modeling contributions, asking questions, using students’ names, giving timely feedback, affirming student contributions, and making inclusive moves such as including as many voices and perspectives and addressing issues that may arise during a conversation. 

• For in-class discussions , additional strategies include actively listening, giving students time to think before responding, repeating questions, and warm calling. (Unlike cold calling, warm calling is when students do pre-work and are told in advance that they will be asked to share their or their group’s response. This technique can minimize student anxiety, as well as produce higher quality responses.)
• For asynchronous discussions , additional strategies include having parallel discussions in small groups on CourseWorks, and inviting students to post videos, audio clips, or images such as drawings, maps, charts, etc.

Manage the discussion and intervene when necessary : Manage dynamics, recognizing that your classroom is influenced by societal norms and expectations that may be inherently inequitable. Moderate the ongoing discussion to make sure all students have the opportunity to contribute. Ask students to explain or provide evidence to support their contributions, connect their contributions to specific course concepts and readings, redirect or keep the conversation on track, and revisit discussion guidelines as needed.

For large-enrollment courses, you might ask TAs or course assistants to join small groups or monitor discussion board posting. While it’s important for students to do most of the talking and posting, TAs can support students in the discussion, and their presence can help keep the discussion on track. If you have TAs who lead discussion sections, you might consider sharing some of these discussion management strategies and considerations with them, and discuss how the discussion sections can and will expand upon discussions from the larger class.    

Give students time to think before, during, and after the discussion

Thinking time will allow students to prepare more meaningful contributions to the discussion and creates opportunities for more students, not just the ones that are the quickest to respond, to contribute to the conversation. Comfort with silence is important following a posed question. Some thinking time activities include:   

• “ Silent meeting ” (Armstrong, 2020): Devote class time to students silently engaging with course materials and commenting in a shared document. You can follow this “silent meeting” with small group discussions. In a large enrollment class, this strategy can allow students to engage more deeply and collaboratively with material and their peers. 
• Think-Pair-Share : Give students time to think before participating. In response to an open-ended question, ask students to first think on their own for a few minutes, then pair up to discuss their ideas with their partner. Finally, ask a few pairs to share their main takeaways with the whole class. 
• Discussion pause : Give students time to think and reflect on the discussion so far. Pause the discussion for a few minutes for students to independently restate the question, issue, or problem, and summarize the points made. Encourage students to write down new insights, unanswered questions, etc. 
• Extend the discussion: Encourage students to continue the class discussion by leveraging asynchronous course spaces (e.g.: CourseWorks discussion board). You may ask students to summarize the discussion, extend the discussion by contributing new ideas, or pose follow-up questions that will be discussed asynchronously or used to begin the next in-class discussion. 
• Polls to launch the discussion : Pose a poll closed-ended question and give students time to think and respond individually. See responses in real time and ask students to discuss the results. This can be a great warm up activity for a pair, small group, or whole class discussion, especially in large classes in which it may be more challenging to engage all students. 

Wrapping up Classroom Discussion 

Ensure that the discussion meets the learning objectives of the course or class session, and that students are leaving the discussion with the knowledge and skills that you want them to acquire. Give students an opportunity to reflect on and share what they have learned. This will help them make connections between other class material and previous class discussions. It is also an opportunity for you to gauge how the discussion went and consider what you might need to clarify or shift for future discussions. 

Debrief the Discussion

How will you know the discussion has met the learning objectives of the course or class session? How will you ensure students make connections between broader course concepts and the discussion?

Set aside time to debrief the discussion. This might be groups sharing out their discussion take-aways, designated students summarizing the key points made and questions raised, or asking students to reflect and share what they learned. Rather than summarizing the discussion yourself, partner with your students; see the section on Student Roles above for strategies. 

• Closing Reflection: Ask students to reflect on and process their learning by identifying key takeaways. Carve out 2-5 minutes at the end of class for students to reflect on the discussion, either in writing or orally. You might consider collecting written reflections from students at the end of class, or after class through a Google Form or CourseWorks post. Consider asking students to not only reflect on what they learned from the discussion, but to also summarize key ideas or insights and/or pose new questions.

Collect Feedback, Reflect, Iterate  

How will you determine the effectiveness of class discussion? How can you invite students into creating the learning space? 

Feedback: Student feedback is a great way to gauge the effectiveness and success of class discussion. It’s important to include opportunities for feedback regularly and frequently throughout the semester; for feedback collection prompts and strategies, see the CTL’s resource on Early and Mid-Semester Student Feedback . You might collect this through PollEverywhere, a Google Form, or CourseWorks Survey. Classes of all sizes and modalities can benefit from collecting this type of feedback from students.

Reflect: Before you engage with your students’ feedback, it’s important to take time and reflect for yourself: How do you think the discussion went? Did your students achieve the learning goals that you had hoped? If not, what might you do differently? You can then couple your own reflection with your students’ feedback to determine what is working well, as well as what might need to change for discussions to be more effective.

Iterate: Not all class discussions will go according to plan, but feedback and reflection can help you identify those key areas for improvement. Share aggregate feedback data with your students, as well as what you hope will go differently in future discussions.   

Asynchronous discussion spaces are an effective way for students to prepare for in-class discussion, as well as expand upon what they have already discussed in class. Asynchronous discussion boards also offer a great space for students to reflect upon the discussion, and provide informal feedback. 

Columbia Tools to Support Asynchronous Discussion 

There are a number of Columbia tools that can support asynchronous discussion spaces. Some options that instructors might consider include: 

• CourseWorks Discussion boards : CourseWorks discussion boards offer instructors a number of customizable options including: threaded or focused discussions , post “like” functionality , graded discussion posts , group discussions , and more. For further support with your CourseWorks discussion board, see the CTL’s CourseWorks Support Page or contact the CTL at [email protected] to set up a consultation. 
• Ed Discussion (via CourseWorks): Starting in Fall 2021, instructors will have access to Ed Discussion within their CourseWorks site. For support on getting started with Ed Discussion, see their Quick Start Guide , or contact the CTL at [email protected] . For strategies and examples on how to enhance your course’s asynchronous discussion opportunities using Ed Discussion’s advanced features, refer to Enhance your Course Discussion Boards for Learning: Three Strategies Using Ed Discussion .    

References and Further Reading 

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

Armstrong, B. (2020). To Spark Discussion in a Zoom Class, Try a ‘Silent Meeting .’ The Chronicle of Higher Education. November 18, 2020.

Barkley, E.F. (2010). Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty . Jossey-Bass.

Barkley, E.F.; Major, C.H.; and Cross, K.P. (2014). Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Barnard Center for Engaged Pedagogy. (2021). Crafting community agreements .

Brookfield, S. D., & Preskill, S. (2016). The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking . Wiley.

Cashin, W.E. (2011). Effective Classroom Discussions . IDEA Paper #49. Retrieved from www.ideaedu.org 

Center for Research on Teaching and Learning. Guidelines For Classroom Interactions. Retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/examples-discussion-guidelines

Davis, B.G. (2009). Tools for Teaching , 2 nd Edition. 

Hancock, C., & Rowland, B. (2017). Online and out of synch: Using discussion roles in online asynchronous discussions. Cogent Education, 4(1).

Howard, J.R. (2015). Discussion in the College Classroom: Getting Your Students Engaged and Participating in Person and Online . Wiley. 

Howard, J.R. (2019) How to Hold a Better Class Discussion: Advice Guide. Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20190523-ClassDiscussion

The K. Patricia Cross Academy. Making Good Use of Online Discussion Boards. Retrieved from https://kpcrossacademy.org/making-good-use-of-online-discussion-boards/  

Read more about Columbia undergraduate students’ experiences with discussion

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Common Assignments: Writing a Successful Response to Another's Post

Writing a successful response to another's post.

• Read postings by your classmates with an open mind; think critically about which posts are the most provocative to you.
• Example: Jessica, you make an interesting point about technology increasing without training increasing.
• Whether you are asserting agreement or disagreement, provide clear and credible evidence to support your response.
• Avoid using unsupported personal opinions, generalizations, or language that others might find offensive.
• When in disagreement, keep responses respectful and academic in tone.
• Ask open-ended questions, rather than questions that can be answered with yes or no. Those types of answers end the conversation, rather than pushing it forward.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 8. The Discussion
• Purpose of Guide
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The purpose of the discussion section is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in relation to what was already known about the research problem being investigated and to explain any new understanding or insights that emerged as a result of your research. The discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses you posed and the literature you reviewed, but the discussion does not simply repeat or rearrange the first parts of your paper; the discussion clearly explains how your study advanced the reader's understanding of the research problem from where you left them at the end of your review of prior research.

Annesley, Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674; Peacock, Matthew. “Communicative Moves in the Discussion Section of Research Articles.” System 30 (December 2002): 479-497.

Importance of a Good Discussion

The discussion section is often considered the most important part of your research paper because it:

• Most effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based upon a logical synthesis of the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound understanding of the research problem under investigation;
• Presents the underlying meaning of your research, notes possible implications in other areas of study, and explores possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research;
• Highlights the importance of your study and how it can contribute to understanding the research problem within the field of study;
• Presents how the findings from your study revealed and helped fill gaps in the literature that had not been previously exposed or adequately described; and,
• Engages the reader in thinking critically about issues based on an evidence-based interpretation of findings; it is not governed strictly by objective reporting of information.

Annesley Thomas M. “The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument.” Clinical Chemistry 56 (November 2010): 1671-1674; Bitchener, John and Helen Basturkmen. “Perceptions of the Difficulties of Postgraduate L2 Thesis Students Writing the Discussion Section.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 5 (January 2006): 4-18; Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  General Rules

These are the general rules you should adopt when composing your discussion of the results :

• Do not be verbose or repetitive; be concise and make your points clearly
• Avoid the use of jargon or undefined technical language
• Follow a logical stream of thought; in general, interpret and discuss the significance of your findings in the same sequence you described them in your results section [a notable exception is to begin by highlighting an unexpected result or a finding that can grab the reader's attention]
• Use the present verb tense, especially for established facts; however, refer to specific works or prior studies in the past tense
• If needed, use subheadings to help organize your discussion or to categorize your interpretations into themes

II.  The Content

The content of the discussion section of your paper most often includes :

• Explanation of results : Comment on whether or not the results were expected for each set of findings; go into greater depth to explain findings that were unexpected or especially profound. If appropriate, note any unusual or unanticipated patterns or trends that emerged from your results and explain their meaning in relation to the research problem.
• References to previous research : Either compare your results with the findings from other studies or use the studies to support a claim. This can include re-visiting key sources already cited in your literature review section, or, save them to cite later in the discussion section if they are more important to compare with your results instead of being a part of the general literature review of prior research used to provide context and background information. Note that you can make this decision to highlight specific studies after you have begun writing the discussion section.
• Deduction : A claim for how the results can be applied more generally. For example, describing lessons learned, proposing recommendations that can help improve a situation, or highlighting best practices.
• Hypothesis : A more general claim or possible conclusion arising from the results [which may be proved or disproved in subsequent research]. This can be framed as new research questions that emerged as a consequence of your analysis.

III.  Organization and Structure

Keep the following sequential points in mind as you organize and write the discussion section of your paper:

• Think of your discussion as an inverted pyramid. Organize the discussion from the general to the specific, linking your findings to the literature, then to theory, then to practice [if appropriate].
• Use the same key terms, narrative style, and verb tense [present] that you used when describing the research problem in your introduction.
• Begin by briefly re-stating the research problem you were investigating and answer all of the research questions underpinning the problem that you posed in the introduction.
• Describe the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major findings and place them in proper perspective. The sequence of this information is important; first state the answer, then the relevant results, then cite the work of others. If appropriate, refer the reader to a figure or table to help enhance the interpretation of the data [either within the text or as an appendix].
• Regardless of where it's mentioned, a good discussion section includes analysis of any unexpected findings. This part of the discussion should begin with a description of the unanticipated finding, followed by a brief interpretation as to why you believe it appeared and, if necessary, its possible significance in relation to the overall study. If more than one unexpected finding emerged during the study, describe each of them in the order they appeared as you gathered or analyzed the data. As noted, the exception to discussing findings in the same order you described them in the results section would be to begin by highlighting the implications of a particularly unexpected or significant finding that emerged from the study, followed by a discussion of the remaining findings.
• Before concluding the discussion, identify potential limitations and weaknesses if you do not plan to do so in the conclusion of the paper. Comment on their relative importance in relation to your overall interpretation of the results and, if necessary, note how they may affect the validity of your findings. Avoid using an apologetic tone; however, be honest and self-critical [e.g., in retrospect, had you included a particular question in a survey instrument, additional data could have been revealed].
• The discussion section should end with a concise summary of the principal implications of the findings regardless of their significance. Give a brief explanation about why you believe the findings and conclusions of your study are important and how they support broader knowledge or understanding of the research problem. This can be followed by any recommendations for further research. However, do not offer recommendations which could have been easily addressed within the study. This would demonstrate to the reader that you have inadequately examined and interpreted the data.

IV.  Overall Objectives

The objectives of your discussion section should include the following: I.  Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings

Briefly reiterate the research problem or problems you are investigating and the methods you used to investigate them, then move quickly to describe the major findings of the study. You should write a direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results, usually in one paragraph.

II.  Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important

No one has thought as long and hard about your study as you have. Systematically explain the underlying meaning of your findings and state why you believe they are significant. After reading the discussion section, you want the reader to think critically about the results and why they are important. You don’t want to force the reader to go through the paper multiple times to figure out what it all means. If applicable, begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most significant or unanticipated finding first, then systematically review each finding. Otherwise, follow the general order you reported the findings presented in the results section.

III.  Relate the Findings to Similar Studies

No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for your research. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps to support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your study differs from other research about the topic. Note that any significant or unanticipated finding is often because there was no prior research to indicate the finding could occur. If there is prior research to indicate this, you need to explain why it was significant or unanticipated. IV.  Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings

It is important to remember that the purpose of research in the social sciences is to discover and not to prove . When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations for the study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. This is especially important when describing the discovery of significant or unanticipated findings.

V.  Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations

It is far better for you to identify and acknowledge your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor! Note any unanswered questions or issues your study could not address and describe the generalizability of your results to other situations. If a limitation is applicable to the method chosen to gather information, then describe in detail the problems you encountered and why. VI.  Make Suggestions for Further Research

You may choose to conclude the discussion section by making suggestions for further research [as opposed to offering suggestions in the conclusion of your paper]. Although your study can offer important insights about the research problem, this is where you can address other questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or highlight hidden issues that were revealed as a result of conducting your research. You should frame your suggestions by linking the need for further research to the limitations of your study [e.g., in future studies, the survey instrument should include more questions that ask..."] or linking to critical issues revealed from the data that were not considered initially in your research.

NOTE: Besides the literature review section, the preponderance of references to sources is usually found in the discussion section . A few historical references may be helpful for perspective, but most of the references should be relatively recent and included to aid in the interpretation of your results, to support the significance of a finding, and/or to place a finding within a particular context. If a study that you cited does not support your findings, don't ignore it--clearly explain why your research findings differ from theirs.

V.  Problems to Avoid

• Do not waste time restating your results . Should you need to remind the reader of a finding to be discussed, use "bridge sentences" that relate the result to the interpretation. An example would be: “In the case of determining available housing to single women with children in rural areas of Texas, the findings suggest that access to good schools is important...," then move on to further explaining this finding and its implications.
• As noted, recommendations for further research can be included in either the discussion or conclusion of your paper, but do not repeat your recommendations in the both sections. Think about the overall narrative flow of your paper to determine where best to locate this information. However, if your findings raise a lot of new questions or issues, consider including suggestions for further research in the discussion section.
• Do not introduce new results in the discussion section. Be wary of mistaking the reiteration of a specific finding for an interpretation because it may confuse the reader. The description of findings [results section] and the interpretation of their significance [discussion section] should be distinct parts of your paper. If you choose to combine the results section and the discussion section into a single narrative, you must be clear in how you report the information discovered and your own interpretation of each finding. This approach is not recommended if you lack experience writing college-level research papers.
• Use of the first person pronoun is generally acceptable. Using first person singular pronouns can help emphasize a point or illustrate a contrasting finding. However, keep in mind that too much use of the first person can actually distract the reader from the main points [i.e., I know you're telling me this--just tell me!].

Analyzing vs. Summarizing. Department of English Writing Guide. George Mason University; Discussion. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Hess, Dean R. "How to Write an Effective Discussion." Respiratory Care 49 (October 2004); Kretchmer, Paul. Fourteen Steps to Writing to Writing an Effective Discussion Section. San Francisco Edit, 2003-2008; The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sauaia, A. et al. "The Anatomy of an Article: The Discussion Section: "How Does the Article I Read Today Change What I Will Recommend to my Patients Tomorrow?” The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 74 (June 2013): 1599-1602; Research Limitations & Future Research . Lund Research Ltd., 2012; Summary: Using it Wisely. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Schafer, Mickey S. Writing the Discussion. Writing in Psychology course syllabus. University of Florida; Yellin, Linda L. A Sociology Writer's Guide . Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2009.

Writing Tip

Don’t Over-Interpret the Results!

Interpretation is a subjective exercise. As such, you should always approach the selection and interpretation of your findings introspectively and to think critically about the possibility of judgmental biases unintentionally entering into discussions about the significance of your work. With this in mind, be careful that you do not read more into the findings than can be supported by the evidence you have gathered. Remember that the data are the data: nothing more, nothing less.

MacCoun, Robert J. "Biases in the Interpretation and Use of Research Results." Annual Review of Psychology 49 (February 1998): 259-287; Ward, Paulet al, editors. The Oxford Handbook of Expertise . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Write Two Results Sections!

One of the most common mistakes that you can make when discussing the results of your study is to present a superficial interpretation of the findings that more or less re-states the results section of your paper. Obviously, you must refer to your results when discussing them, but focus on the interpretation of those results and their significance in relation to the research problem, not the data itself.

Azar, Beth. "Discussing Your Findings."  American Psychological Association gradPSYCH Magazine (January 2006).

Yet Another Writing Tip

Avoid Unwarranted Speculation!

The discussion section should remain focused on the findings of your study. For example, if the purpose of your research was to measure the impact of foreign aid on increasing access to education among disadvantaged children in Bangladesh, it would not be appropriate to speculate about how your findings might apply to populations in other countries without drawing from existing studies to support your claim or if analysis of other countries was not a part of your original research design. If you feel compelled to speculate, do so in the form of describing possible implications or explaining possible impacts. Be certain that you clearly identify your comments as speculation or as a suggestion for where further research is needed. Sometimes your professor will encourage you to expand your discussion of the results in this way, while others don’t care what your opinion is beyond your effort to interpret the data in relation to the research problem.

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Awesome Guide on How to Write a Discussion Post - Tips and Samples

Understanding the Purpose of a Discussion Post in Your Course

The usual mornings of modern-day homo sapiens start with a greeting from social media asking you a daring question - 'What's on your mind?'. Sharing your thoughts and ideas with others is undeniable proof of your existence, and it has been so for millennials too.

Since human beings acknowledged the benefits of existing in communities, discussions have been the cornerstone of societal development. With the invention of the internet, a large portion has transferred into the digital world. Academia was fast to catch up with the wind of change, and now your coursework writing includes crafting a discussion post.

Discussion posts are a common assignment to facilitate student engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration with the course community. They often require students to engage with the course material or other students' perspectives by reflecting on course readings, responding to questions, or contributing to ongoing debates. Such discussions aim to encourage students to apply their knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and participate in meaningful conversations with their peers. 

There is no such thing as an ultimate discussion post template, as everyone has strict individual guidelines for word limit, format, and tone. The posts are often graded and contribute to a student's overall course grade. 

In this article, we will go into a detailed explanation of how to respond to a discussion post, how to write it in the first place, and additionally offer you some helpful examples. 

Creating a Successful Discussion Post 

Every academic assignment seems like a terrifying challenge when you are a beginner. Especially the one that involves group discussion. People will comment on your comprehension of the topic, your ability to convey complex ideas into simple sentences, and your post's tone, length, and grammar. 

Keep your head up. Acquire the precision and determination of a dissertation writer . This introduction discussion post article will be a tell-all. At the end of it, you will be able to write a strong discussion post.

Read the Instructions Thoroughly 

Nothing in the academic world comes without its instruction. Discussion posts are no exception to the rule. They come with a load of criteria, and each course is different. To write an effective discussion post, you need to avoid technical errors. 

Before anything else, ensure you understand what you are asked to do. Your instructors usually outline their expectations for discussion forums and discussion board posts in the syllabus. Note any specific requirements or guidelines to ensure your post meets their expectations. 

Common requirements that you might encounter include word limit, format, tone, responses to other classmates, and engagement with course material. Pay attention to references: your professor might require citing an essay APA style, or it could be MLA or Chicago.  

By following the requirements, you can ensure that your discussion posts are high-quality, engaging, and in line with the expectations of your class. 

Ask Questions Without Hesitation 

The requirements for the forum discussion posts can be general. It's important to carefully review each post's instructions and ask your teacher if you have any additional questions. 

You can clarify vague points by posing questions before you start writing. Additional inquiries will give you a better awareness of the discussion prompt. This way, you will be able to write a high-quality, engaging post that meets your instructor's expectations. More clarity and better understanding will help you avoid mistakes affecting your grade. 

Before we dive into the discussion post reply examples, understand that asking questions is a critical step in writing. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure about something. You can always email your instructor for more details about the discussion board assignments.

Actually Speak Up 

The discussion posts can be more than just another classroom assignment. They are a great opportunity to strike up meaningful conversations and advance your knowledge on specific topics. Sharing ideas and having a constructive debate is an excellent way to sneak into other people's perspectives and find opinions you never considered before. 

A discussion post is where you speak up. When conveying complex ideas, it's important to clearly state your views, provide examples to support your statement, and encourage further debate. Use comprehensive sentences to combine all points and dig deep to find connections beyond the surface. Make sure to remain respectful of others' opinions and keep an open mind to different perspectives.  

Maintain Relevance

When writing academic discussion posts, it is important to maintain relevance to the debated topic. Make sure your post does not respond to a different question or does not inquire into a completely different subject. 

Because your actual post will be read, assessed, and commented on by a group of people studying the same topic, they will notice if your points and examples are outdated. Do thorough research and provide only up-to-date, relevant evidence to back up your opinion. Avoid posting anything off-topic. 

In addition to the textual evidence, include your professional or personal experience. This will enrich your discussion post and show your understanding of the subject matter. 

Don't Put It Off 

Putting any work off is a bad idea, and any one of us who has left it till the last second can agree. Be mindful of your time, and post your discussion thread well before the due date. 

Delaying work can prevent you from taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. This may lead to increased stress and decreased confidence, which can affect your productivity and grade. 

Discussion post is meant to show your comprehension and interest in the topic. Make sure you have enough time to do the required reading and extensive research to make a strong argument. Use the remaining time to check the grammar and your writing style. 

Check and Edit Your Posting    

If you check out our discussion post template, you will notice that it's not written in a single go. Professional writers will check and edit their pieces several times before hitting the submit button, and you need to adopt the same attitude. 

Checking and editing your writing can help ensure that your perspective is clearly and effectively communicated. This can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure your message is received as intended. 

Reviewing your discussion question and writing can help you professionally present yourself. Poor grammar, spelling, and punctuation can detract from the credibility of your point and make you appear less competent. Instead of submitting something that resembles a rough draft, use text editor tools to polish your writing. 

When you take the time to check and edit your writing, you are more likely to receive positive engagement from other members of the discussion forums. A well-written post is more likely to be understood and appreciated, leading to active class participation. This means more meaningful and productive discussions. 

Give Your Peers Insightful Input 

After you finish writing a strong discussion post that shows your unique perspective and personal experiences, make sure that it leaves a wide space for dialog and follow-up questions. 

Online forums are a great place for people to discuss their ideas and explore topics from a fresh perspective. Give your peers insightful input. Engage them in meaningful conversation and create a classroom environment. Challenge them to think outside the box. Challenge your own beliefs. Write discussion posts and comments that encourage diversity of thoughts. Post your response and if you must disagree, use respectful words and attitude. 

By encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, you will impress your instructor and receive high grades and gain a deeper awareness of the subject in question. 

If Applicable, Include the Citations 

The last one of our valuable tips might be the most important. Remember, even though discussion postings are happening on the online forum within the online classroom, they are still class assignments. You must keep a certain academic standard which will be provided in your class syllabus. Correct grammar is not enough; you might be required to write Chicago, MLA, or APA format discussion post. 

By including citations, you can provide evidence to support your claims. This can help increase the credibility of your argument and make it more persuasive. This will also help you avoid plagiarism. 

When you cite the original source in your discussion post, it demonstrates that you have conducted thorough research and taken the time to fact-check the information. This creates a reliable space for further conversation. Chicago, MLA, or APA discussion post requires you to link and reference other sources, which expands the dialog outside your post.

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Writing Responses to Forum Posts

The discussion forum is meant for dialogues, where each post builds on the previous comment. Responding to a post allows you to expand the conversation and collective comprehension of a topic. Next, you will find discussion post-reply examples. 

While writing a compelling first comment is essential, it is also crucial to master the craft of responding to a strong discussion post. Take your time to read and understand the context of the argument presented in the post. Consider your perspective and how your answer can add more value to the debate. 

Write a response that is clear, well-reasoned, and relevant. Avoid lengthy posts and inflammatory language. Instead, communicate effectively and engage in a respectful classroom discussion. If you are referencing information from other sources, cite the original material. 

Take your time to review and edit your responses before posting them. Make sure there are no grammatical errors and that your response is well-structured and easy to understand. 

You can now skip to the introduction discussion post example. 

Discussion Post Example #1 

To make things easier, we offer you introduction discussion post examples. They will help you grasp the pattern better and craft a post that will impress your instructor and classmates. Use our discussion post examples to score the highest grade. 

Here is a short version of a discussion post that you might come across on an academic discussion forum: 

'In recent years, technology has profoundly impacted the field of education. Technology has transformed how we teach and learn, from online classes to educational software. Technology has made education more accessible and convenient for students all over the map. However, there are potential downsides to this revolution. Increased screen time can harm students' mental and physical health….' 

Here is an example of how you can agree with such a post: 

'I completely agree with the points you make in your post. Technology has indeed transformed the field of education, for better or worse. The accessibility of online learning platforms gave a wide range of students the opportunity for a better life and allowed them to get an education at their own pace.

I must agree that this revolution also came with its challenges. In addition to what you mentioned about screen time, educational software affects students' ability to think critically and solve problems independently. I think it is important to balance utilizing technology to enhance education and being mindful of its potential drawbacks.' 

Discussion Post Example #2 

Say your classmate made a strong point in their discussion post for your online class, but you disagree with their point and decide to explain your stance. Do you have a hard time coming up with a comprehensive answer? Don't worry! Let's master the art of how to respond to a discussion post. 

Here is a short example of a good discussion board post:

'In the past couple of years, sustainability has become a progressively important issue in the business world. Companies are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment. Companies can lower their operating costs and increase efficiency by reducing waste and emissions. They can also improve their reputation and increase customer loyalty...' 

Here is a possible response that disagrees with the post: 

'I respectfully disagree with the given statement. While sustainability is an important issue, I don't believe it should be the top priority for companies. There is not enough evidence provided in your post that could prove that reducing waste lowers operating costs. First and foremost, businesses exist to generate profit and create value for their shareholders. Due to their nature, some industries might not be able to prioritize sustainability in the same way as others.

However, I believe that businesses should take steps to minimize their environmental impact and make sustainable choices where possible….' 

How to Post on Blackboard Discussion Board

Do you have to turn in your critical analysis essay tomorrow? No worries! We've got you. Buy essay online now as we must focus on figuring out how to post on a blackboard discussion board.

It's time for some additional tips. Now we have to get technical. If you are assigned to write a discussion post for your online courses or want to respond to one, you've come to the right place. 

The discussion board forums are divided into threads structured around an individual topic. Faculties create forums, and students are responsible for creating the threads. 

Here is a general outline on how to post on blackboard discussion board:

• Go to your course Home Page
• Select the Discussions button and open Forum
• Click Create Thread
• Enter the title for your thread
• In the Entry Message text box, write your argument. Don't forget to follow our discussion post template
• Find a button that says Post, Submit, or Publish

Responding to posts is an integral part of forums. Here is how you can respond to a thread:

• Open the thread
• Find the one you are required to respond
• Click the reply button
• Enter your text. You can attach files if such is required by clicking the Attachment function
• Click Post, Submit, or Publish

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is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

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• How to Write Discussions and Conclusions

The discussion section contains the results and outcomes of a study. An effective discussion informs readers what can be learned from your experiment and provides context for the results.

What makes an effective discussion?

When you’re ready to write your discussion, you’ve already introduced the purpose of your study and provided an in-depth description of the methodology. The discussion informs readers about the larger implications of your study based on the results. Highlighting these implications while not overstating the findings can be challenging, especially when you’re submitting to a journal that selects articles based on novelty or potential impact. Regardless of what journal you are submitting to, the discussion section always serves the same purpose: concluding what your study results actually mean.

A successful discussion section puts your findings in context. It should include:

• the results of your research,
• a discussion of related research, and
• a comparison between your results and initial hypothesis.

Tip: Not all journals share the same naming conventions.

You can apply the advice in this article to the conclusion, results or discussion sections of your manuscript.

Our Early Career Researcher community tells us that the conclusion is often considered the most difficult aspect of a manuscript to write. To help, this guide provides questions to ask yourself, a basic structure to model your discussion off of and examples from published manuscripts. 

Questions to ask yourself:

• Was my hypothesis correct?
• If my hypothesis is partially correct or entirely different, what can be learned from the results? 
• How do the conclusions reshape or add onto the existing knowledge in the field? What does previous research say about the topic? 
• Why are the results important or relevant to your audience? Do they add further evidence to a scientific consensus or disprove prior studies? 
• How can future research build on these observations? What are the key experiments that must be done? 
• What is the “take-home” message you want your reader to leave with?

How to structure a discussion

Trying to fit a complete discussion into a single paragraph can add unnecessary stress to the writing process. If possible, you’ll want to give yourself two or three paragraphs to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of your study as a whole. Here’s one way to structure an effective discussion:

Writing Tips

While the above sections can help you brainstorm and structure your discussion, there are many common mistakes that writers revert to when having difficulties with their paper. Writing a discussion can be a delicate balance between summarizing your results, providing proper context for your research and avoiding introducing new information. Remember that your paper should be both confident and honest about the results! 

• Read the journal’s guidelines on the discussion and conclusion sections. If possible, learn about the guidelines before writing the discussion to ensure you’re writing to meet their expectations. 
• Begin with a clear statement of the principal findings. This will reinforce the main take-away for the reader and set up the rest of the discussion. 
• Explain why the outcomes of your study are important to the reader. Discuss the implications of your findings realistically based on previous literature, highlighting both the strengths and limitations of the research. 
• State whether the results prove or disprove your hypothesis. If your hypothesis was disproved, what might be the reasons? 
• Introduce new or expanded ways to think about the research question. Indicate what next steps can be taken to further pursue any unresolved questions. 
• If dealing with a contemporary or ongoing problem, such as climate change, discuss possible consequences if the problem is avoided. 
• Be concise. Adding unnecessary detail can distract from the main findings. 

Don’t

• Rewrite your abstract. Statements with “we investigated” or “we studied” generally do not belong in the discussion. 
• Include new arguments or evidence not previously discussed. Necessary information and evidence should be introduced in the main body of the paper. 
• Apologize. Even if your research contains significant limitations, don’t undermine your authority by including statements that doubt your methodology or execution. 
• Shy away from speaking on limitations or negative results. Including limitations and negative results will give readers a complete understanding of the presented research. Potential limitations include sources of potential bias, threats to internal or external validity, barriers to implementing an intervention and other issues inherent to the study design. 
• Overstate the importance of your findings. Making grand statements about how a study will fully resolve large questions can lead readers to doubt the success of the research. 

Snippets of Effective Discussions:

Consumer-based actions to reduce plastic pollution in rivers: A multi-criteria decision analysis approach

Identifying reliable indicators of fitness in polar bears

• How to Write a Great Title
• How to Write an Abstract
• How to Write Your Methods
• How to Report Statistics
• How to Edit Your Work

The contents of the Peer Review Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

The contents of the Writing Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

There’s a lot to consider when deciding where to submit your work. Learn how to choose a journal that will help your study reach its audience, while reflecting your values as a researcher…

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How to Write a Discussion Essay

Last Updated: June 27, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 443,491 times.

Discussion Essay Outline and Example

Planning Your Essay

• For instance, maybe the question is, "Immigration has been a heated topic on the national level for many years. With issues like the DREAM Act and President Trump's stances on policy, it's likely to remain a central issue. Using authoritative resources to back up your argument, take a stance on immigration policy, establishing whether you think it should be more or less strict and why."
• You can establish that the main topic is immigration policy from the sentence, "Take a stance on immigration policy."
• If you're having trouble understanding the question, don't be afraid to talk to the professor. They can help you better understand what they're asking for.

• If your essay will be based off a discussion had in class, ask your instructor if you can use class notes as a primary source.
• Look for respected news sources, as well as websites with ".edu" and ".gov" extensions.
• You may need to look up information on the DREAM Act or President Trump's policies to help you understand the question, for example. For this part, you don't need to take extensive notes, as you're just trying to get a feel for the subject.

• If you were given a text to base your essay on, make sure that text has enough evidence to support your chosen position.

• Use Roman numerals on your page to mark your main ideas. Write a main point by each Roman numeral. You should only cover 3 to 4 main points in a relatively short essay, such as one that's 3 to 5 pages.

• Your main sources should be books or ebooks, journal articles from academic journals, and credible websites. You can also use high quality news articles if they're applicable to your topic.

• For a book, you should include the author's name, the editor's name (if applicable), the title of the book, the publication year, the publication city, the edition, and the title of the book chapter in an anthology by multiple authors.
• For a journal, include the author's name, the journal title, the article title, the digital object identifier (DOI), the ISSN, the publication date, the volume (if applicable), the issue (if applicable), and the page numbers for the journal article.
• If you're searching in a database, you can often ask the database to save this information for you, but you should include identifiers on your notes.

• For example, if one of your main points is "Immigration increases diversity," some of your points underneath might be "Brings in new cuisines," and "Brings in new art."
• Find examples from your research, and add notes to each point to fill them in.

Writing the Introduction

• For an example or anecdote, start by telling a short story about something relevant to your topic. For instance, you might write the following for an essay on immigration, "When I was 4-years-old, my parents told me we were going on a long trip. After a bus ride, we spent nights walking, my dad carrying me most of the way. One day, we crossed a river. That day marked our first day in our new country."

• For example, you might write, "Immigration is a highly-debated issue. It is controversial because some people fear how it affects the resources of the country the people are immigrating to, while others believe the improved quality of life for immigrants is what’s most important."

• For instance, your thesis statement might be, "Immigration is good for the country because it increases diversity, infuses the country with new talent, and broadens the population's perspective, and it should be encouraged with a few basic safeguards in place."

Composing the Body of Your Essay

• For instance, if you're writing a short research paper, one paragraph might be your main point "Immigration increases diversity," where you cover all your bullet points in that paragraph.
• If you're digging deeper, you might create a section about diversity, and then use a paragraph to cover "brings in new cuisines," another to cover "brings in new art," and so on.

• Try not to set up a "straw man" argument, where you don't give the other side a fair chance. You should be able to support your position without purposefully creating a weak position on the other side.

• For instance, maybe you want to transition between a section about increasing diversity to one about bringing in new talent. You might write a sentence like, "Increasing diversity in our country doesn't just bring in new cuisines and art, it also brings in hard workers that have fresh perspectives on old problems in the workforce."

• You can paraphrase other ideas or use direct quotes, but only use a direct quote if the author said something in a unique way. Otherwise, put it in your own words.
• You may want to begin body paragraphs with a quote from a relevant source. Then, explain or provide commentary on the quote and show how it supports your position.
• You can also use statistics to back up your research. For instance, if one of your arguments is that immigration doesn't increase crime, use statistics to back that up.

Concluding Your Essay

• For instance, you might write, "A truly great country is one that celebrates differences and welcomes new ideas and perspectives. While immigration has some negative effects on a country, overall, allowing people from other countries to come in helps to spark new ideas and make the country a better and more interesting place to live. Rather than being a drain on society, immigrants are motivated to work hard and our citizens can only benefit from listening to their perspectives."

• Once you have the flow down, read it again to check for grammatical mistakes and typos. It can help to read it aloud, as it slows you down and forces you to read every word.

Expert Q&A

• Remember you can't research forever. Often, the research stage absorbs a student so fully that the upcoming submission date seems unimportant. Make sure to leave yourself at least a few days to write your essay. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/answering-assignment-questions
• ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/essay-and-assignment-planning
• ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/chapter/chapter-11-developing-a-convincing-argument/
• ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/organising-your-ideas
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/introductions/
• ↑ https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/parts-of-an-essay/essay-introductions
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html
• ↑ https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/writing-your-essay
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/establishing_arguments/organizing_your_argument.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/establishing_arguments/research_and_evidence.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/conclusion
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

To write a discussion essay, start by taking a side on the issue you're writing about, like "Immigration is good for the country." Then, outline the main points that made you decide to take that position and do research to find evidence that backs them up. Look for credible sources that can help you make your argument, and don't forget to cite them. Then, when you're writing your essay, devote 1 paragraph to each main point and include your evidence. For help writing the introduction and conclusion to your essay, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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4 Tips to Design an Engaging Discussion in Canvas

Home » 4 Tips to Design an Engaging Discussion in Canvas

Explore these tips and the example discussion prompt to learn how you can design an engaging discussion in Canvas.

An enthusiastic Canvas discussion isn’t just an assignment. It’s a chance to dive into a fascinating topic and connect with your course community. An online discussion can also be a great jumping-off point for in-class activities. Students can use the discussion to reflect on new ideas before class. Instructors can use it to gauge students’ understanding and get inspiration.

A great asynchronous discussion takes some planning. Instructors need to write an effective discussion prompt, provide clear instructions, make a plan for grading and facilitation, and build the discussion board in Canvas.

Explore the tips below to learn how you can design an engaging discussion in Canvas. Then review the example discussion prompt to see these recommendations in action.

1. Craft an effective discussion prompt.

Great discussion prompts help students engage with course concepts in new and creative ways. They might also invite a wide variety of unique responses. Here are a few discussion prompt ideas:

• Create a gallery wall. Ask students to share content related to their unique interests or projects. For example, you could ask each student to share a short description of their creative final project.
• Do a role play. Invite students to assume the perspectives of different people from a case study. Alternately, they might act as consultants from different backgrounds advising a case study protagonist. Students can share their roles’ perspectives on the case study challenge and propose next steps.
• Leverage personal experience. Ask students to connect course content to their past experience, background knowledge, or their networks. For example, you might ask students in a leadership course to interview someone they know whose leadership inspires them. They could share a summary and quotes from the interview on the discussion board.
• Bring in the outside world. Encourage students to think about how course concepts relate to current events. For example, in a supply chains course, you might ask students to find a news article related to supply chain disruptions and analyze the situation using concepts from core readings.
• Hold a debate. Ask students to take a position on a controversial issue that’s related to course content. For example, students in a strategic human resources management course might debate about location-based pay differences for remote workers. The discussion board can also help students prepare for a live debate that will take place during the next class meeting.
• Set the scene with multimedia. Use multimedia like pictures, audio, or video to enrich your discussion prompt. For example, you might add a video to your Canvas discussion prompt to showcase a leadership challenge (“That was the day when everything went wrong!”). Then you can ask students to draw on course concepts and their own past experience to analyze the situation.

Tip: Test your prompt with your teaching team before sharing it with your class. For example, you can share the prompt with your TA, ask them to write a response, and invite their feedback on the activity. Then revise your prompt as needed.

2. Provide clear instructions.

Include detailed information about the discussion requirements. Think about answering these questions:

• Is the discussion board required? In a busy world, students are much more likely to respond if it is required.
• Who should participate? Should every student contribute to the discussion? Or should one group of students take part this week and a different group next week?
• How does this discussion fit into the course? It’s important to clarify the activity’s relevance to the course and to students’ learning (Lee, Krieger, and Zolkover 2021). Describe how the topic relates to recent course content and outline any required or suggested pre-work. You might also explain how students will benefit from participating in the discussion. What skills and knowledge will this activity help them develop?
• What should students include in their posts? Provide step-by-step instructions for how to respond to the discussion and (if applicable) other students’ posts. Consider dividing these instructions into multiple sections and including clear bullet points.
• What should students include in their responses to peers’ posts? Let students know about any requirements for their responses to one another’s posts. For example, you might ask students to use a format like 3CQ . That means each response should include one compliment, one comment, one connection (for example, to their own experience), and one question. Structured frameworks like 3CQ can help students start a conversation instead of just saying “I agree” or “I like your idea” (Bonnie Budd, quoted in Lieberman 2019).
• How much should students write? Provide an approximate word count or number of paragraphs for students’ discussion posts and (if applicable) their responses to peers’ posts.

3. Make a plan for grading and facilitation.

Determine how you’ll grade and interact with students on the discussion board. Then make sure your teaching team and your students are clear on the plan.

• Make a facilitation plan. Will you or a teaching assistant respond to every post? Will you only add an occasional comment to the discussion board? Will you share a summary of the online discussion during the next live class? Whatever you do, make sure students know that they’re making valuable contributions to their learning community.
• Decide how you’ll grade discussion posts. You can share your grading guidelines in the prompt or add a rubric to your Canvas discussion . A rubric helps students understand your priorities and monitor their progress. It can also help your teaching team streamline discussion board grading in SpeedGrader .

Tip: If you include a rubric, consider sharing this resource with students: How do I view the rubric for my graded discussion?

4. Make the discussion board easy to find.

Students will only post on the discussion board if they can find it! Fortunately, if you followed MIT Sloan’s Gold Standards for your Canvas site, students will know exactly where to look. Your Canvas site will include one module for each class session. After you create your discussion board , you can add the discussion board to the module for that class session. Then students will see the discussion board right alongside their other homework in Canvas.

Example Discussion Prompt

As you plan your activity, consider this example discussion prompt. This prompt draws inspiration from the example shared in Lee, Krieger, and Zolkover’s 2021 Educause presentation “Change the Prompt, Not the Tool: Developing Effective Discussions.” It puts these tips into practice:

• It invites students to connect course concepts to their own experience or background knowledge.
• It indicates when the assignment is due and how many words students should write in their responses.
• It highlights that the assignment is required.
• It provides context by including links to relevant resources and connecting the assignment to other course content.
• It indicates how the teaching team will follow up on the assignment (by grading students’ posts and providing space to debrief the discussion during the next class session).

You can download the example discussion prompt PDF or review the prompt in this screenshot:

What’s the Research?

Universal design for learning.

These recommendations for how to design an engaging discussion in Canvas align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. UDL is a framework for designing learning experiences that meet learners’ diverse needs. The UDL framework is based on research in the learning sciences. It’s premised on the idea that learner variability is the norm, not the exception.

These are the UDL checkpoints behind these recommendations:

• Checkpoint 8.3 Foster collaboration and community : This checkpoint suggests that you create opportunities for learners to build and utilize communication and collaboration skills. Learn about the research for Checkpoint 8.3.
• Checkpoint 8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives : This checkpoint suggests that, as part of your learning experience, you build in reminders of both the goal of the experience and the value of that goal. Learn about the research for Checkpoint 8.1.
• Checkpoint 6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress : This checkpoint suggests that you provide regular formative feedback so students can track their progress. Learn about the research for Checkpoint 6.4.

Cognitive Load Theory

Cognitive load theory suggests that students have limited “processing power,” or working memory. That means it’s important to design instructional materials so students can devote maximum processing power to learning rather than extraneous tasks (like finding an activity in the learning management system). When you provide clear instructions and make your discussion board easy to find, you minimize extraneous cognitive load and help your students focus on what matters.

Lee, L., Krieger, J. M., & Zolkover, A. D. (2021, October 28). Change the prompt, not the tool: Developing effective discussions . Educause. https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2021/agenda/change-the-prompt-not-the-tool-developing-effective-discussions

Lieberman, M. (2019, March 27). New approaches to discussion boards aim for dynamic online learning experiences. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/03/27/new-approaches-discussion-boards-aim-dynamic-online-learning

Sand dollars and starfish: Making the most out of Canvas discussion boards. (2023, February 15). Instructure.  https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/InstructureCon-2019/Sand-Dollars-and-Starfish-Making-the-Most-Out-of-Canvas/m-p/384384

As a Lead Instructional Designer at MIT Sloan, I design learning experiences for diverse students on campus and around the globe. I’m passionate about education and technology’s potential to enrich learning experiences.

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Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove their point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and they already know everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Discussion essays Considering both sides of the argument

Discussion essays are a common form of academic writing. This page gives information on what a discussion essay is and how to structure this type of essay. Some vocabulary for discussion essays is also given, and there is an example discussion essay on the topic of studying overseas.

What are discussion essays?

Many essay titles require you to examine both sides of a situation and to conclude by saying which side you favour. These are known as discussion or for and against essays. In this sense, the academic meaning of the word discuss is similar to its everyday meaning, of two people talking about a topic from different sides. For a discussion essay, a balanced view is normally essential. This makes discussion essays distinct from persuasion essays , for which only one side of the argument is given. When writing a discussion essay, it is important to ensure that facts and opinions are clearly separated. Often you will examine what other people have already said on the same subject and include this information using paraphrasing and summarising skills, as well as correct citations .

The following are examples of discussion essay topics.

• Examine the arguments for and against capital punishment.
• Schools should teach children not only academic subjects but also important life skills. Discuss.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of technology in the classroom?

Although the structure of a discussion essay may vary according to length and subject, there are several components which most discussion essays have in common. In addition to general statements and thesis statement which all good essay introductions contain, the position of the writer will often be stated, along with relevant definitions . The main body will examine arguments for (in one or more paragraphs) and arguments against (also in one or more paragraphs). The conclusion will contain a summary of the main points, and will often conclude with recommendations , based on what you think are the most important ideas in the essay. The conclusion may also contain your opinion on the topic, also based on the preceding evidence.

An overview of this structure is given in the diagram below.

Discussion vocabulary

When summarising the stages in a discussion or in presenting your arguments, it can be useful to mark the order of the items or degrees of importance. The following words and phrases can be used.

• First..., First of all..., The most important...
• Second..., In the second place...
• Finally..., Lastly...

The following can be used when introducing your opinion.

• There is no doubt that...
• I believe that...
• One of the main arguments in favour of/against X is that...

It is important in English writing, including academic writing, to use synonyms rather than repeating the same word. The following are useful synonyms for 'advantage' and 'disadvantage'.

• advantage: benefit, a positive aspect/feature, pro (informal)
• disadvantage: drawback, a negative aspect/feature, con (informal)

Example essay

Below is an example discussion essay. Click on the different areas (in the shaded boxes to the right) to highlight the different structural aspects in this essay.

Title: An increasing number of students are going overseas for tertiary education. To what extent does this overseas study benefit the students?

Most people spend around fifteen years of their life in education, from primary school to university study. In the past, students only had the opportunity to study in their own country. Nowadays, however, it is increasingly easy to study overseas, especially at tertiary level. Tertiary education, also called post-secondary education, is the period of study spent at university. As the final aspect of schooling before a person begins their working life, it is arguably the most important stage of their education. While there are some undoubted benefits of this trend, such as the language environment and improved employment prospects , there is also a significant disadvantage, namely the high cost . The first and most important advantage of overseas study is the language learning environment. Students studying overseas will not only have to cope with the local language for their study, but will also have to use it outside the classroom for their everyday life. These factors should make it relatively easy for such students to advance their language abilities. Another important benefit is employability. Increasing globalisation means that there are more multinational companies setting up offices in all major countries. These companies will need employees who have a variety of skills, including the fluency in more than one language. Students who have studied abroad should find it much easier to obtain a job in this kind of company. There are, however, some disadvantages to overseas study which must be considered, the most notable of which is the expense. In addition to the cost of travel, which in itself is not inconsiderable, overseas students are required to pay tuition fees which are usually much higher than those of local students. Added to this is the cost of living, which is often much higher than in the students' own country. Although scholarships may be available for overseas students, there are usually very few of these, most of which will only cover a fraction of the cost. Overseas study therefore constitutes a considerable expense. In summary, studying abroad has some clear advantages, including the language environment and increased chances of employment , in addition to the main drawback, the heavy financial burden . I believe that this experience is worthwhile for those students whose families can readily afford the expense. Students without such strong financial support should consider carefully whether the high cost outweighs the benefits to be gained.

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Below is a checklist for discussion essays. Use it to check your own writing, or get a peer (another student) to help you.

Bailey, S. (2000). Academic Writing. Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer

Cox, K. and D. Hill (2004). EAP now! Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia

Jordan, R.R. (1999). Academic Writing Course. Cambridge: CUP

Roberts R., J. Gokanda, & A. Preshous (2004). IELTS Foundation. Oxford: Macmillian

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Author: Sheldon Smith    ‖    Last modified: 16 January 2022.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

Compare & contrast essays examine the similarities of two or more objects, and the differences.

Cause & effect essays consider the reasons (or causes) for something, then discuss the results (or effects).

Discussion essays require you to examine both sides of a situation and to conclude by saying which side you favour.

Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE essays (Situation, Problem, Solution, Evaluation).

Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.

Reporting verbs are used to link your in-text citations to the information cited.

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How to Write and Respond to Discussion Posts

Table of contents

Picture yourself diving into a lively online discussion, armed with nothing but your thoughts and the keyboard at your fingertips.

How do you ensure your voice is heard, your ideas respected, and your contributions valued?

Just like the captivating hook of a well-crafted essay, your initial discussion post and subsequent responses are your opportunity to engage, influence, and inspire. They're not just text on a screen; they're a bridge connecting you to a community of thinkers, learners, and potential collaborators.

In the digital realm, where every click leads to a new conversation, the art of writing and responding to discussion posts becomes crucial.

We'll navigate through the essentials of crafting thought-provoking posts and composing responses that resonate, ensuring your digital dialogue is as impactful as it is insightful whether you're a student responding to your classmate's post, a professional, or an enthusiastic learner.

Writing Discussion Posts

Understand the Prompt or Topic : Ensure you clearly understand the question or topic before you start writing. If it's an academic discussion, make sure you've done the necessary readings or research.

Be Clear and Concise : Clearly state your point of view or answer to the question. Be concise but thorough enough to cover the main points.

Support Your Points : Use evidence or examples to support your viewpoint. In academic settings, cite sources to back up your arguments.

Ask Questions : Encourage further discussion by ending your post with a question or a point that invites responses or reflections from others.

Proofread : Before posting, check for grammar, spelling, and clarity. A well-written post is easier to engage with and understand.

[FREE] Discussion Post Examples Completed by Our Professional Writers

Responding to discussion posts.

Read Thoroughly: Carefully read the post you are responding to. Make sure you fully understand the author's point before formulating your response.

Acknowledge the Original Post: Begin your response by acknowledging the points made in the original post. You can agree, disagree, or build upon these points.

Be Respectful and Constructive: Even if you disagree, ensure your tone is respectful. Constructive criticism or counterpoints are more effective when presented politely and thoughtfully.

Use Evidence: Just like with your original posts, support your responses with facts, examples, or quotes from relevant sources.

Encourage Further Discussion: End your response with a question or a thought-provoking statement to keep the conversation going.

Proofread: Ensure your response is free from errors and is clear in its intent and message.

In both cases, the key is to contribute meaningfully to the discussion, showing respect for others' viewpoints while clearly presenting your own. It's not just about what you say, but how you say it—communicating in a thoughtful and considerate manner fosters a positive and constructive discussion environment.

Technical Tips for Formatting and Posting

Navigating the technical landscape of online forums and discussion boards can significantly enhance the readability and effectiveness of your posts. Here, we delve into some essential formatting tips and platform-specific features to ensure your contributions are not just insightful but also visually engaging and user-friendly.

Prioritize Readability

• Use Paragraphs Wisely: Break your text into short, manageable paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on one idea, making your post easier to follow.
• Embrace White Space: Adequate spacing between lines and paragraphs prevents visual clutter, making your post more inviting to read.

Highlight Key Points

• Bold or Italicize for Emphasis: Use bold or italic formatting to highlight key terms or phrases, but do so sparingly to avoid overwhelming the reader.
• Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: When listing items or presenting a series of points, bullet points or numbered lists are your allies. They organize information neatly and draw the reader's eye to important aspects.

Enhance Engagement with Multimedia

• Incorporate Relevant Images or Videos: If the platform allows, include relevant images, charts, or videos to complement your text and provide a richer context.

Master Platform-Specific Features

• Quoting Posts: Learn how to quote or reference previous posts properly. This contextualizes your response and makes it clear which parts of the discussion you're addressing.
• Using Hyperlinks: If you reference external content, know how to embed hyperlinks correctly. Ensure links open in a new tab to keep readers from navigating away from the discussion.

Test Before Posting

• Before hitting the publish button, preview your post if the platform offers this feature. Check the formatting, ensure that links and multimedia are working correctly, and scan for any visual issues.

By honing these technical skills, your college discussion post will not only convey your ideas effectively but also present them in a way that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Remember, the way your content is formatted can significantly influence the way it's received, making these technical tips a vital part of your communication toolkit in the digital discourse.

The art of effectively participating in online discussions, whether you're crafting an initial post or responding to others, is much like weaving a tapestry of ideas. Each thread you add - your insights, questions, and responses - contributes to a larger, richer picture of collective understanding and knowledge.

Through this blog post, we've navigated the nuances of engaging thoughtfully and respectfully in these digital dialogues. From being clear and concise in your writing to formatting your posts for maximum readability and impact, every tip and strategy shared here is aimed at ensuring your voice is not just heard but valued and respected.

While the digital sphere offers a vast landscape for discussion and exchange, it can also be daunting. If you find yourself pressed for time or seeking a professional touch in crafting your college discussion posts, our ' Write My Discussion Post ' service is here to assist. With a focus on clarity, coherence, and engagement, our experts are dedicated to making your contributions stand out, ensuring that each post you make is not just a collection of words, but a meaningful contribution to the ongoing conversation.

As we conclude, remember that your participation in online discussions is more than just academic or professional engagement; it's an opportunity to connect, learn, and grow. Each post you write, each response you craft, is a step towards building a more informed, respectful, and insightful community.

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Discussion board assignment examples to elevate class discussions

The benefits of class discussions don’t need to end when students leave the classroom! With technology in the classroom becoming the norm, online discussion boards allow students to profit from rich discussions anywhere they can access them.

So, let’s explore discussion board assignment examples and discover how Kialo Edu can enhance your online discussion board assignments.

What are the advantages of discussion boards?

Discussion boards are online spaces where students can delve deeper into learning through both synchronous and asynchronous assignments. Not only does this active learning method humanize online learning by providing a space for teachers and students to interact, but it also offers opportunities for students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Moreover, educators can set discussion board assignments that promote independent learning strategies, such as self-motivation and time management, or collaborative skills including communication and empathy.

Discussion boards are also inclusive, helping introverted students to participate more confidently than in face-to-face discussions, meaning educators can assess learning more accurately.

Getting students started with discussion boards assignments

Try these examples of discussion board assignments to introduce them to your students!

Using discussion boards to build positive relationships

Get the ball rolling with an engaging low-stakes activity such as Two Truths and a Lie . Students and teachers can discover more about each other, and the information students reveal may help you better personalize their learning.

Alternatively, create a shared story on the online discussion board. Provide the first line , and ask each student in turn to continue the story. Use this to examine collective responsibility for the success of the discussion board, as the final outcome is dependent on everyone’s contributions.

How can Kialo Edu support this?

Take advantage of Kialo Edu’s argument mapping structure as part of the discussion board! Students can share views and consider multiple perspectives on a topic by adding pros and cons under top-level claims , whilst educators can offer guidance with timely feedback.

To get started, try an icebreaker discussion . Discussions on the pros and cons of fame or whether it’s ever okay to lie are sure to motivate your students to get involved!

Practicing research skills with discussion board assignments

Standard research tasks often require all students to research the same information on the same topic. No wonder students sometimes lack engagement! Instead, try one of our discussion board research strategies.

Pizza Research

In this tasty activity, give each student or group a different “slice” of the topic to research. Each “slice” can then be combined on the discussion board to make a complete “pizza,” or topic overview! 

As a bonus, allowing students to add contributions through different media sources will challenge them to use technology innovatively and can further enhance engagement.

Kialo Edu has a range of discussion topics suitable for Pizza Research. For example, in Religious Studies, students can investigate whether Christianity , Islam , and Judaism are compatible with democracy, whilst in Science, students can explore the pros and cons of space tourism .

Each “pizza,” or topic, is pre-prepared with a thesis and at least four “slices”, or starter claims, that can be allocated to different students. Educators can even clone discussions, meaning different groups can work on different versions, before the final “pizzas” are served up in class for review!

Maximizing student participation with discussion board assignments

If you find yourself being “ ghosted ” by your students on the discussion board, these assignments and strategies can help!

Role-playing activities to encourage discussion participation

To encourage participation, or avoid repetitive contributions, try having smaller groups and assigning roles to students when they work on discussion boards.

For example, students with the role of “Question Editor” must create a discussion question and thesis for their group based on a given topic. To extend the role, they can create multiple questions and justify their final choice.

Try making your discussion board “ lurkers ” into “Fact Finders” or “Source Searchers.” There will be no more hiding in the shadows, as they must research and write claims and support these with sources of evidence .

For students who dominate discussions, challenge them to evaluate the validity of claims and evidence and offer constructive feedback in the role of “Judge.”

These roles work effectively in a Kialo Edu discussion too, especially when students are working in teams .

“Question Editors” can use our discussion questions as models to create a range of theses, justifying their final choice, while “Fact Finders” can write starter claims and add pros and cons to the argument tree. “Source Searchers” can compile supporting evidence using the sources list, and “Judges” can evaluate contributions through voting and commenting .

Another take on the role-play strategy is asking students to respond in role. For example, in a discussion about whether governments are doing enough to fight climate change, students can take on the roles of government officials, climate scientists, climate activists, and members of the public, allowing them to consider multiple perspectives . From historical figures to artists and scientists , the role-playing possibilities are endless!

Clarifying and reviewing content to help learning retention

Discussion board assignments that help students clarify content promote metacognition by encouraging students to review learning to identify or question confusing or unclear lesson content.

Discussion boards can then offer both peer and instructor-led support. Other students can clarify the information, deepening both their own understanding and that of their classmates. Or, educators can review these points and either address misconceptions immediately or plan for further coverage in lessons. 

This strategy is particularly useful for students who are afraid to ask for clarification in class, as the discussion board can often feel like a safer space in which to ask questions. Sometimes, even just reading the contributions of others may give students the help they need.

The versatility of Kialo discussions means they can be used with whole classes, small groups, or individual students to record contributions in synchronous or asynchronous discussions that map out the main points of a lesson.

Students can then access the class’s completed argument maps as part of a discussion board assignment, and vote to rate their mastery on each point. Educators can immediately identify target areas and address these, or other students can offer peer support on the discussion board.

We hope these discussion board assignments lead to dynamic student discussions! Let us know your discussion board successes on our social media platforms or at [email protected] .

Love using Kialo Edu with students? We’ve got a whole host of activity ideas with Kialo Edu that can further students’ critical thinking skills through class discussion!

Want to try Kialo Edu with your class?

Sign up for free and use Kialo Edu to have thoughtful classroom discussions and train students’ argumentation and critical thinking skills.

Prompt Examples for Discussion Boards

• Assessments and Assignments

These prompt examples for discussion boards provide faculty course developers with templates and inspiration for creating strong, community-building discussions for their students in various areas of their course and at various levels of course difficulty. These examples, paired with other Community of Inquiry (CoI) strategies, help students build their knowledge and look to their peers for support.

Table of Contents

Ask me anything discussions.

Discussions of this type might appear in introductory courses found in undergraduate programs or at the start of graduate degree plans. These discussions provide an opportunity for students to seek answers to questions they may have. This is especially valuable for students approaching major assessments who may need additional support. 

Prompt Example

Ask Me Anything! Midterm Edition Our midterm exam is fast approaching. This week, I’d like to spend some time answering any last-minute questions you might have before the big test. You can post any question you have about our readings, lectures, assignments, and quizzes so far! There is no question too small or too big to be tackled here. I want you to feel confident before your exam, so if you feel unsure about a definition, a theory, or a calculation, now is the time to seek clarity. If your question is more personal in nature, please feel free to reach out to me via LMS message. I want to encourage you to review questions from your peers and engage with them if you think you know the answer! Feel free to share quotations from our readings or lectures, screenshot from videos, additional links, etc. You should also review our midterm FAQ document that collects and highlights some of the most common questions I have seen from other groups of students. Responses to this discussion board and to each other are optional but strongly encouraged. You can expect an answer from me about each of these questions within 24 hours of your original post. This discussion is not graded.

Exit Ticket Discussions

Discussions of this type might appear at the end of modules throughout undergraduate programs or in graduate degree plans. These discussions ask students to reflect on their progress throughout the week or module. This highlights their most important takeaways as well as areas where you may need to complete future course revisions.

Prompt Example For Discussion

Module 3 Exit Ticket Great work on Module 3, everyone! This week you completed the following objectives: MLO3.1 Describe how the integration of reading and writing into elementary-level science classes can foster a deeper understanding of science content for elementary students. (CLO2) MLO3.2 Provide examples of how to integrate trade books to encourage reading in a science lesson or unit. (CLO2) MLO3.3 Provide examples of writing strategies and activities that can be integrated into a science lesson or unit. (CLO3) MLO3.4 Identify best practices of Response to Instruction and the technique used to accommodate the needs of multiple learners. (CLO1) In order to exit this module and move forward into Module 4, consider the objectives above. Then, provide a response to following questions: Which objective was the easiest for you to complete? Which objective was the most difficult? Why did you excel on or struggle with these objectives? Were they equally easy or difficult for you to complete? What lesson in this module can you immediately apply to your teaching practice? Responses to your peers are optional but encouraged. Take inspiration from each other’s takeaways. Look for my responses which will highlight exceptional work this week! Original posts to this discussion are due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Responses are optional but encouraged. You can expect me to review all original posts and responses within 24 hours of your original post. While I do not respond to all posts, I will read each of them and provide clarity and feedback when needed. Grades will be posted within 48 hours of the response due date. For more information on how you will be assessed, review the discussion rubric for this assignment.

Small Group Discussions

Discussions of this type might appear in more intermediate or advanced courses in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These discussions ask students to debate, discuss, or solve problems together as a small team. Discussions can be used as a tool to help students communicate during group projects.

Prompt Example for Discussion

Assess & Manage Risk Welcome to your new position as a member of the project management and risk assessment team at Geodyne, a logistics company located in Kansas City, Missouri. This company helps provide FFA logistics services for the federal government, in addition to other contracts. Your team recently acquired a contract that requires Geodyne to move several large pieces of mission-critical government equipment to a base in Scottsdale, Arizona. These items must reach Scottsdale by Jan. 10th which is two weeks from now. In order to meet the expectations of your contract, you must have an on-time delivery. Your team is brought in to provide project management support for this critical project. For more information on the details of this project and some of the compounding factors that must be considered, download the Assess & Manage Risk Project Guide. Working in your small discussion groups, answer the following questions: What is your team strategy to manage risk? How will you identify, assess, and prioritize the risk response? How will you mitigate potential delays based on your risk list? In this discussion space, brainstorm the answers to each of these questions. Then, decide on a final team answer to each of these questions. Select one team representative to summarize your discussion and answers and submit the team responses to me by 11:59 p.m. this week in the Risk Assignment dropbox. Here is a recommended timeline for discussion: Tuesday-Thursday: Initial discussion of questions. Friday: Selection of team representative. Saturday: Draft of team responses and feedback Sunday: Submission of risk assignment by team leader Original posts by each team member are due to this discussion by 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Responses should also be posted by all team members and can take place from Tuesday-Sunday this week. You can expect me to review all original posts and responses within 24 hours of your original post. While I do not respond to all posts, I will read each of them and provide clarity and feedback when needed. Grades will be posted within 48 hours of the response due date. For more information on how you will be assessed as an individual and team member, review the discussion rubric for this assignment.

Debate Discussions

Discussions of this type might appear in more intermediate or advanced courses in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These discussions ask students to adopt a position or role in order to debate or argue solutions in a real-world context. These opportunities are great for including more workforce-relevant activities in your curriculum.

When Should the Government Intervene? This week, you will continue to represent your assigned country in discussion and debate. Using your assigned country’s government system, history, and economic setup, consider the following question: When should the government intervene in a free market? Initial responses to this discussion should answer this question in one-two paragraphs. The initial response should answer when the government should intervene, why government interference is necessary, and how your country’s government/economy/history informed this answer. I recommend including at least two references in your post with full citations. At least two peer responses are required for this discussion. In your first response, locate a country response with a similar position as your own. In your response, identify where your theories overlap and offer your opinion about why that overlap is present (governmental, historic, economic, etc.). In your second response, locate a country response with a differing position from your own. In your response, identify how your theories are different and critique their free market strategy. As a final portion of this assignment, respond to any/all responses on your original post. Defend/support your country’s stance—don’t let your government down! Original posts by each team member are due to this discussion by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Responses to peers are due by 11:59 p.m. Saturday. Final responses to your original post due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. You can expect me to review all original posts and responses within 24 hours of their due date. While I do not respond to all posts, I will read each of them and provide clarity and feedback when needed. Grades will be posted within 48 hours of the response due date. For more information on how you will be assessed, review the discussion rubric for this assignment.

Peer Review Discussions

Discussions of this type might appear in more intermediate or advanced courses in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These discussions ask students to put both their own work and expertise to the test. Discussions like this are great preparation and/or draft activities prior to the submission of major assessments.

Anatomy of a Quality Thesis This week, you’ll put your knowledge of a quality thesis to the test with this discussion forum! Already, you have read our three chapters that discuss brainstorming a thesis, narrowing theses topics, and crafting a strong thesis. You also watched our lecture on thesis writing and reviewed comparisons of strong and weak theses. To complete your initial post to this discussion board, share your current working thesis that you are planning to use in your final essay in this course. After sharing the thesis, explain a bit about your brainstorming process and how you have already narrowed your focus (answer the “what?” and “why”). Then, ask for support from your peers and from me! What feedback are you seeking? Examples of feedback questions include: Is my argument sound? What sort of pushback from readers can I expect? Is my writing clear and concise? What recommendations do you have for edits or clean up? Is my thesis too broad? Am I trying to tackle too large a topic in a final paper of only 10 pages? How can I narrow this? Feel free to borrow from the questions above or write your own! Initial posts to this discussion board are due by 11:59 pm CST on Thursday this week. Responses to each other’s posts are due by 11:59 pm CST on Sunday. Response posts should include at least the following: Answers to the question(s) posed by your peer. Clarity about your answer (answer why did you provide this feedback). This could include example revisions to the thesis. MA resources, quotations, or examples from our readings, lectures, or outside resources that you think will provide additional support. You can expect me to review all original posts and responses within 24 hours of your original post. While I do not respond to all posts, I will read each of them and provide clarity and feedback when needed. Grades will be posted within 48 hours of the response due date. For more information on how you will be assessed, review the discussion rubric for this assignment

Role Playing Discussions

Discussions of this type might appear in more advanced courses in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These discussions ask students to put themselves in the shoes and situations of others in order to understand real-world contexts and identify actionable solutions. These discussions can be completed with students in small groups or with students acting in individual roles.

Healthy People 2030 – Health Behaviors For the purposes of this assignment, you have been organized into small groups based on your prior experience in family and community nursing. The diversity of your experience is appreciated and should be celebrated in this assignment. Scenario: You are part of a local (Dallas, Texas), health coalition for underserved downtown residents. Leadership has asked you to closely review the health behaviors outlined in Healthy People 2030 (Child and Adolescent Development, Drug and Alcohol use, Emergency Preparedness, Family Planning, Health Communication, Injury Prevention, Nutrition and Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Preventative Care, Safe Food Handling, Sleep, Tobacco Use, Vaccination, and Violence Prevention). The coalition has limited funds and has asked your team to rank these behaviors by priority and then provide limitations to the change. This will provide inspiration for an eventual plan of action for the coalition. Using our prior discussions, readings, lectures, attached information on this community and population, and your professional experience, rank these health behaviors as a small group. Then, discuss the following questions for your top-ranked choice: What local support systems and/or services are available to help someone make the chosen behavior change, and how would they help? Are there local policies/laws associated with the health behavior? How could the physical layout of your community influence one's ability to change a behavior? Your ranked choice as well as the answers to these questions will be anonymously provided to other small groups in the following week. As a class, we will select the strongest response for the coalition! Original ranking posts by each team member are due to this discussion by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Provide justification for your ranking. The small group should determine their ranking by no later than 11:59 Thursday. From Thursday-Sunday, work together in your shared wiki document to prepare your ranking and answers to these questions to present to the coalition. Final wiki submissions are due Sunday by 11:59 p.m. You can expect me to review all original posts and responses within 24 hours of your original post. While I do not respond to all posts, I will read each of them and provide clarity and feedback when needed. Grades will be posted within 48 hours of the response due date. For more information on how you will be assessed as an individual and small group, review the discussion rubric for this assignment.

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• How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples

Published on 21 August 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 25 October 2022.

The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results .

It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review , and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion . It should not be a second results section .

There are different ways to write this section, but you can focus your writing around these key elements:

• Summary: A brief recap of your key results
• Interpretations: What do your results mean?
• Implications: Why do your results matter?
• Limitations: What can’t your results tell us?
• Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses

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What not to include in your discussion section, step 1: summarise your key findings, step 2: give your interpretations, step 3: discuss the implications, step 4: acknowledge the limitations, step 5: share your recommendations, discussion section example.

There are a few common mistakes to avoid when writing the discussion section of your paper.

• Don’t introduce new results: You should only discuss the data that you have already reported in your results section .
• Don’t make inflated claims: Avoid overinterpretation and speculation that isn’t directly supported by your data.
• Don’t undermine your research: The discussion of limitations should aim to strengthen your credibility, not emphasise weaknesses or failures.

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Start this section by reiterating your research problem  and concisely summarising your major findings. Don’t just repeat all the data you have already reported – aim for a clear statement of the overall result that directly answers your main  research question . This should be no more than one paragraph.

Many students struggle with the differences between a discussion section and a results section . The crux of the matter is that your results sections should present your results, and your discussion section should subjectively evaluate them. Try not to blend elements of these two sections, in order to keep your paper sharp.

• The results indicate that …
• The study demonstrates a correlation between …
• This analysis supports the theory that …
• The data suggest  that …

The meaning of your results may seem obvious to you, but it’s important to spell out their significance for your reader, showing exactly how they answer your research question.

The form of your interpretations will depend on the type of research, but some typical approaches to interpreting the data include:

• Identifying correlations , patterns, and relationships among the data
• Discussing whether the results met your expectations or supported your hypotheses
• Contextualising your findings within previous research and theory
• Explaining unexpected results and evaluating their significance
• Considering possible alternative explanations and making an argument for your position

You can organise your discussion around key themes, hypotheses, or research questions, following the same structure as your results section. Alternatively, you can also begin by highlighting the most significant or unexpected results.

• In line with the hypothesis …
• Contrary to the hypothesised association …
• The results contradict the claims of Smith (2007) that …
• The results might suggest that x . However, based on the findings of similar studies, a more plausible explanation is x .

As well as giving your own interpretations, make sure to relate your results back to the scholarly work that you surveyed in the literature review . The discussion should show how your findings fit with existing knowledge, what new insights they contribute, and what consequences they have for theory or practice.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do your results support or challenge existing theories? If they support existing theories, what new information do they contribute? If they challenge existing theories, why do you think that is?
• Are there any practical implications?

Your overall aim is to show the reader exactly what your research has contributed, and why they should care.

• These results build on existing evidence of …
• The results do not fit with the theory that …
• The experiment provides a new insight into the relationship between …
• These results should be taken into account when considering how to …
• The data contribute a clearer understanding of …
• While previous research has focused on  x , these results demonstrate that y .

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Even the best research has its limitations. Acknowledging these is important to demonstrate your credibility. Limitations aren’t about listing your errors, but about providing an accurate picture of what can and cannot be concluded from your study.

Limitations might be due to your overall research design, specific methodological choices , or unanticipated obstacles that emerged during your research process.

Here are a few common possibilities:

• If your sample size was small or limited to a specific group of people, explain how generalisability is limited.
• If you encountered problems when gathering or analysing data, explain how these influenced the results.
• If there are potential confounding variables that you were unable to control, acknowledge the effect these may have had.

After noting the limitations, you can reiterate why the results are nonetheless valid for the purpose of answering your research question.

• The generalisability of the results is limited by …
• The reliability of these data is impacted by …
• Due to the lack of data on x , the results cannot confirm …
• The methodological choices were constrained by …
• It is beyond the scope of this study to …

Based on the discussion of your results, you can make recommendations for practical implementation or further research. Sometimes, the recommendations are saved for the conclusion .

Suggestions for further research can lead directly from the limitations. Don’t just state that more studies should be done – give concrete ideas for how future work can build on areas that your own research was unable to address.

• Further research is needed to establish …
• Future studies should take into account …
• Avenues for future research include …

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Discussion Boards: Example Assignments

The discussion board is a blackboard tool allowing for asynchronous conversation and sharing..

Example Discussion Board Assignments:

“Introduce Yourself”

Often the first discussion board in a course allows students to get acquainted and also to learn how the discussion boards work. Ask students to post entries on their major, about their lives (background, family, work, hobbies), why they are interested in the course subject matter, and/or what are their goals for the future. These should be graded and require a minimum word count, as usual.

Research Present a topic or question in the field and ask the students to do online research to answer it. Make it a requirement that they do not use Wikipedia and require citation of sources. For the responses, require that each student asks one of their classmates a compelling question about what they discovered in their research. Each student must answer the questions they receive. To make this more specific, you can assign each student (or let them choose) from a list a topics to research so each student researches something unique.

Split the students into two groups and give each of them the opposite side of a controversial topic in the field. Each student must present their side of the argument, whether it is their personal opinion or not. Students should include facts, quotes, and research in their arguments, and cite sources. For the responses, each student must choose a classmate’s posting on the opposite side and debate the subject with them. Each response must be answered again. To make it more specific, you can pair the students and have the pairs debate each other only.

Personal experience

Select a topic in the field and have the students write about it based on experience, either in a classroom, work, or other activities in real life. The goal of the discussion board is to relate learning to a practical application. This is especially useful for fields that use clinicals, hands-on practice, internships, or students working on projects. Other courses could ask students to relate a topic in their field to a current event they notice in the news, citing and sharing sources. For the responses, require that each student asks one of their classmates a compelling question about their posting. Each student must answer the questions they receive.

Select a topic that lends itself to a subjective opinion and ask students to write their opinion and back it up with specific facts. Or have students rate a series of items in order of importance or preference. This exercise is useful for students to synthesize material learned in the course and reflect on what it means to them in their lives. Subjects good for this are philosophy, sociology, political science, psychology, human resources, business management, law enforcement, childcare, social work, and the like. For the responses, require that each student comments on one of their classmates’ postings. Each student must answer the questions they receive.

Share materials

Have students prepare a tangible document or media presentation to share. Students will research and create material on a pertinent topic in the field, such as a PowerPoint, video, podcast, or other type of multimedia. Or in certain courses, the material could be a business proposal, a math formula, programming code, a CAD drawing, a resume, a photograph, a piece of art, or the like. These are shared in the discussion board and each student must view, respond to, and discuss several classmates’ presentations. An added element can be having students rate their classmates’ presentations.

Group project

Break the class up into groups of 4 or 5 participants and have each group work together within their separate discussion boards. The groups can all work on the same assignment or be given unique assignments. The assignment could be to solve a problem, research a topic, create a design, and such. The final outcome may be a report or presentation. Each individual student can be required to view all the other groups’ work and give comments on each project.

Feedback and Help

As an assignment: This type of discussion board is useful for math, coding, science and other courses that require students to solve problems with equations and formulas. As students work through their homework, they use the discussion board when they are stuck and their fellow students can give them advice. This is most effective when graded.

For instructors: Offer an “Ask the Professor” discussion board that is not graded and encourage students to use the forum to ask questions general questions about Blackboard or the course navigation or requirements. Often students end up answering each other’s questions within this type of discussion forum. It would remain open for informal comment all semester. Note: remind students not to include personal information in this discussion board.

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575.744.81 - Environmental Chemistry

Description.

This course focuses on the environmental behavior and fate of anthropogenic contaminants in aquatic environments. Students learn to predict contaminant properties influencing contaminant transfers between hydrophobic phases, air, water, sediments, and biota, based on a fundamental understanding of physico-chemical properties, intermolecular interactions, and basic thermodynamic principles. Mechanisms of important transformation reactions and techniques and quantitative models for predicting the environmental fate or human exposure potential of contaminants are discussed.

Shalini Jayasundera

[email protected]

Course Structure

The course content is divided into modules. Clicking Course Modules on the left navigation menu can access course modules. A module will have several sections including the overview, content, readings, discussions, and assignments. Students are encouraged to preview all sections of the module before starting. Most modules run for a period of seven (7) days, exceptions are noted on the Course Outline page under Syllabus and Couse Information . Students should regularly check the Calendar and Announcements for assignment due dates.

Course Topics

• Rationale and make up of organic compounds
• Molecular Interactions, Thermodynamics and Organic Acids & Bases
• Vapor Pressure
• Solubility in Water
• Air-water partitioning
• Organic liquid-water partitioning
• Sorption – solid/liquid exchange
• Transformation Processes –Overview
• Air-water exchange
• Modeling Tools: Fugacity Model
• Modeling Tools: Box Models

Course Goals

To understand the basic principles of the behavior of organic compounds in the environment using their chemical structure and to apply that knowledge to quantitatively asses the dynamics of anthropogenic chemicals in natural environments using the necessary conceptual tools and information.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Schwarzenbach, R. P., Gschwend, P. M., & Imboden, D. M. (2017). Environmental Organic Chemistry (3rd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.

ISBN-13: 978-1-118-76723-8

Textbook information for this course is available online through the appropriate bookstore website: For online courses, search the BNC website .

Student Coursework Requirements

It is expected that each module will take approximately 4–7 hours per week to complete. Here is an approximate breakdown: reading the assigned sections of the texts (approximately 2–3 hours per week) as well as some outside reading, reading the content documents (approximately 1–2 hours per week), and assignments (approximately 1–2 hours per week).

This course will consist of the following basic student requirements:

Preparation and Participation – Weekly Module Discussion Topics (11% of Final Grade Calculation)

You are responsible for carefully reading all assigned material and being prepared for discussion. The majority of readings are from the assigned and researched material on the weekly topic. Additional reading may be assigned to supplement text readings.

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of day 4 for that module week. Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Part two of your grade for module discussion is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with at least two classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking). Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive.

I will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as discussions are posted. In some instances, I will summarize the overall discussions and post the summary for the module.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions.

In Module 12 each student is expected to submit a Discussion Portfolio of his or her best discussion responses throughout the course. This will consist of the following:

• Cover sheet with name.
• 3 Responses to discussion questions from Dr. Jayasundera.
• 3 responses to other students’ postings of Dr. Jayasundera’s discussion questions.

Please specify which question you are including in your discussion post portfolio.

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of Day 4 for that module week. For example, if the module week starts on a Tuesday, the discussion posting will be due by 12:00am (midnight) on Friday. Post your follow-up response to other students’ postings by midnight of Day 7 of that module week (e.g. Monday at 12:00am). Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Preparation and participation is evaluated by the following grading elements:

• Timeliness (50%)
• Critical Thinking (50%)

Preparation and participation is graded as follows:

• 100–90 = A—Timeliness [regularly participates; all required postings; early in discussion; throughout the discussion]; Critical Thinking [rich in content; full of thoughts, insight, and analysis].
• 89–80 = B—Timeliness [frequently participates; all required postings; some not in time for others to read and respond]; Critical Thinking [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place].
• 79–70 = C—Timeliness [infrequently participates; all required postings; most at the last minute without allowing for response time]; Critical Thinking [generally competent; information is thin and commonplace].
• <70 = F—Timeliness [rarely participates; some, or all required postings missing]; Critical Thinking [rudimentary and superficial; no analysis or insight is displayed].

Assignments – Weekly Case Study Assignments (24% of Final Grade Calculation)

Assignments include a mix of qualitative and quantitative module weekly assignments related to the “pet” chemical selected by the student in Module 1 for their Final Course Project (case study). The students will be developing estimates of compound properties and environmental fate using the capabilities learned in each module in support of the final Case Study Paper – use the list of compounds provided by the instructor or a student selected chemical - confirm with the Instructor (e.g. calculations, estimations, literature reviews, and model summaries).

All assignments are due according to the dates in the Calendar.

Assignments will be graded on a weekly basis and each submission should include the following:

• Cover sheet with name and assignment identifier.
• Name & page number indicator (i.e., Frank Smith, page x of y) on each page.
• All Figures and Tables captioned and labeled appropriately.
• Problem statement.
• Assumptions.
• Computations.
• Conclusions/discussion delineated.

Each Assignment is worth 2.4% of the overall grade. There are 12 Assignments throughout the course of which the top 10 graded assignments will be selected towards 24% of the course grade.

The course also includes Questions and Problems that are quantitative problem sets that are questions derived at the end of each assigned chapter in the textbook. The Questions and Problems will not be submitted and therefore will not be graded however completion of these problem sets will greatly improve the quality of the Assignments.

Note: All Assignments will be attached as work products to the final student submission of the Case Study Paper.

If, after submitting a written assignment you are not satisfied with the grade received, you are encouraged to redo the assignment and resubmit it. If the resubmission results in a better grade, that grade will be substituted for the previous grade.

Course Project - Case Study (35% of Final Grade Calculation)

Students will start working on the assigned course project from Module 2. The last week will be devoted to the course project.

The Final Course Project will consist of two items:

An individual Case Study topic will be assigned to each student during Module 2. The topic will be determined based on Module 1 Assignment. The chosen topic will be used for developing estimates of compound properties and environmental fate throughout the duration of the course and the final Case Study Paper.

Dr. Jayasundera will correspond and decide a day and time for the entire class to present in Module 14. Once a date and time has been selected you will present your Case Study Paper to your group and Dr.

Jayasundera. The presentation will be 15 minutes (8 -10 minutes for presentation of material and 5 minutes for questions and answers).

The Final Course Project is evaluated by the following grading elements:

Case Study Paper (as related to the student’s technical understanding of concepts learned in the Course, substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis; weekly work products in attachments, preparation and presentation of material, clarity of presented material as described in Course Project Description) (20%)

Student Presentation (as related to the student’s technical understanding, preparation and presentation of material, clarity of presented material, responses to questions asked during the presentation by other students and instructor as described in the Final Course Project Description) (15%)

Course Project is graded as follows:

• 100–90 = A— Student Preparation and Participation [completion of case study paper well written for a scientific audience in a journal publication; well prepared and available during presentation; student well versed in use of Zoom]; Student Understanding [rich in content related to concepts learned in the course; full of thought, insight, and analysis].
• 89–80 = B— Student Preparation and Participation [case study paper written for a scientific audience in a journal publication, prepared and available during presentation; student generally versed in use of Zoom] Student Understanding [information presented on concepts learned in the course is well defined and understood; substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place].
• 79–70 = C—Student Preparation and Participation [paper not necessarily written for a scientifically literate audience in a journal publication; generally prepared and available during presentation; individual generally versed in use of Zoom]; Student Understanding [generally competent on concepts learned in the course; information is thin and commonplace].
• <70 = F—Student Preparation and Participation [ paper not written for a scientifically literate audience in a journal publication, material included in paper is not well understood; individual has difficulty with use of Zoom]; Student Understanding [rudimentary and superficial understanding of concepts learned in the course; no analysis or insight displayed].

Exams (30% of Final Grade Calculation, combined from 10% for Midterm and 20% for Final)

The midterm exam will be available in Module 5 and the final exam will be available in Module 12. You will have one week to complete the exams and they will be due by 5PM exactly one week from their release. You may use the course text and Module Content to complete the exams.

Students must submit examinations as Word documents or as scanned PDF documents. Both must include all calculations (using Excel spreadsheets, where necessary), assumptions, and answers.

The exams are evaluated by the following grading elements:

• Each part of question is answered (20%)
• Writing quality and technical accuracy (30%) (Writing is expected to meet or exceed accepted graduate- level English and scholarship standards. That is, all assignments will be graded on grammar and style as well as content.)
• Rationale for answer is provided (20%)
• Examples are included to illustrate rationale (15%) (If a student does not have direct experience related to a particular question, then the student is to provide analogies versus examples.)
• Outside references are included (15%) Exams are graded as follows:
• 100–90 = A—All parts of question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [rich in content; full of thought, insight, and analysis].
• 89–80 = B—All parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place].
• 79–70 = C—Majority of parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [generally competent; information is thin and commonplace].
• <70 = F—Some parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [rudimentary and superficial; no analysis or insight displayed].

Grading Policy

Assignments are due according to the dates posted in your Blackboard course site. You may also check these due dates in the Course Outline or the Assignments in the corresponding modules. I will post grades one week after assignment due dates.

A grade of A indicates achievement of consistent excellence and distinction throughout the course—that is, conspicuous excellence in all aspects of assignments and discussion in every week.

A grade of B indicates work that meets all course requirements on a level appropriate for graduate academic work. These criteria apply to both undergraduates and graduate students taking the course.

EP uses a +/- grading system (see “Grading System”, Graduate Programs catalog, p. 10).

100-98 = A+

Final grades will be determined by the following weighting:

Academic Policies

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar ( https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/ ). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at [email protected] .

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, [email protected] .

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. 

For a full description of the code please visit the following website:  https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity.    If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity . In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [ [email protected] ] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.

Are electric cars better for the environment than fuel-powered cars? Here's the verdict

Whether you drive an electric car or are considering making the switch, you've probably been drawn into a discussion about whether they are really better for the climate.

Electric cars are key to the world reducing emissions, with transport accounting for almost 20 per cent and rising, so you probably haven't had that debate for the last time.

To save you from your next barbecue encounter, we have turned to the EV Council, which has crunched the numbers for you.

We're comparing an electric car and a traditional petrol one and looking at the life-cycle emissions — that is, all the emissions produced from cradle to grave.

For both types of car, these are the key stages where emissions are produced:

• manufacturing of the car,
• production of the battery, especially for electric cars
• running the cars over their life-cycle, either on petrol or electricity
• disposal and recycling of the vehicle at the end of its life, including batteries

We'll also compare electric cars in different states because each state uses different amounts of fossil fuels for electricity, which affects how "clean" the car is.

To compare cars, we've chosen an average medium SUV, the sort of car you commonly see on Australian roads.

Some examples of a medium SUV are the electric Tesla Model Y, Toyota's RAV4 and the Mazda CX-5 on the petrol side.

So, buckle up and let's go.

Let's start at when the car is made

Manufacturing covers the production of the raw materials in the car's metal body, interiors, tyres, seating, the whole bundle. At this first stage, all these cars come out with similar emissions profiles.

… adding batteries for EVs

Battery production is the stage where we start to see a split between petrol and electric cars.

Electric vehicles (EV) are powered by batteries, so their batteries are significantly larger and heavier, and use more critical minerals. Our electric SUV also needs a bigger battery than a small hatchback.

It's important to note that this is about life-cycle emissions, so we aren't evaluating other environmental or human rights impacts from battery production for EVs, and we're also not critiquing the oil industry in those areas for petrol cars. That barbecue debate is for another day.

Batteries produced in China have higher emissions than those produced in Europe, and as most Australian electric cars currently have Chinese-made batteries, that's what's used here.

Climate experts and even the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expect these figures to drop as more renewable energy is used in the coming years to make the batteries.

"So the energy needed to produce batteries is decarbonised, and therefore has lower emissions," according to University of Technology Sydney transport researcher, Robin Smit.

So at this point, before the cars hit the road, electric cars have more embedded emissions.

But that all changes when you start driving …

Taking our cars on the road

It won't shock you to find out that most of a car's lifetime emissions come from powering it to drive.

"The fuel energy cycle is normally the most important part of the life-cycle assessment [and] that includes on-road driving, the maintenance, and of course, the production of the energy," Professor Smit said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates the average Australian car drives about 12,600 kilometres a year, or 189,000 over its lifetime, so that is what's used in this modelling.

Petrol cars are dirty. That's a fact. Combustion cars are powered by burning petrol, which releases emissions into the atmosphere and is — pardon the pun — a major climate change driver. These are referred to as "tailpipe emissions".

The petrol SUV here is up against an electric SUV charged on the national grid, which has a mix of fossil fuels and renewables.

Our petrol SUV produces almost 46 tonnes of carbon over its lifetime on the road.

These figures also factor in the emissions coming from refining and transporting the fuel.

"When you look at fossil fuels, they need to be extracted, processed, and then transported to service stations, for example, to make them available. So there's a greenhouse gas emission costs associated with that," Professor Smit said.

The estimated petrol used here is 8.3 litres for 100km and comes from the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). These figures are almost always lower than real-world petrol use.

So, a lot of energy is burnt to move petrol cars, but most of it is wasted.

"They are not efficient, about 70 to 80 per cent of the energy is wasted in heat. So you only use 20 to 30 per cent of the energy into fuels for actually driving around," Professor Smit said.

What's more, Australians typically drive heavier cars than other countries, especially in Europe. Heavier cars require more fuel to move them, resulting in higher emissions.

This all means that petrol cars start producing significantly more emissions during their use, leaving electric cars in the dust.

Let's look at a different view of our two cars as we drive them for 15 years or 189,000km. Petrol cars are displayed in the blue line, and electric cars in red .

Electric cars are powered by electricity (obviously!) but how that electricity is created makes a huge difference to the overall emissions profile of EVs.

You can see emissions for the petrol car   rise while the electric car's life-cycle emissions curve is flattening. That's because the composition of our electricity grid is rapidly changing and more renewables are coming online.

To account for that, this modelling from the EV Council uses the scenario mapped out by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) which predicts the rate of new renewables coming into the grid and fossil fuel plants being decommissioned. That is, by 2030, the same electric car will be producing lower emissions because it will be charged with more renewable power.

So this is for Australia as a whole, but where you live can also have a big impact on how much cleaner an EV is.

Some Australian states already have mostly renewable energy powering their grids, while others still have lots of fossil fuels.

A car that's charged off a grid with lots of fossil fuels produces much higher emissions than a car charged somewhere with mostly renewable energy.

Let's look at our electric SUV in Western Australia, where in 2022 more than 83 per cent of electricity came from fossil fuels, mostly gas.

Now this is what our SUV's emissions look like in Tasmania (shown in the green line) , which powers almost its entire electricity network on hydro.

It's the same in South Australia, which has lots of wind and solar energy in the grid. You can see here that no matter where the EV is, it saves tonnes of emissions overall compared to a petrol SUV.

This highlights the huge opportunity to reduce transport emissions with electric cars.

The cleaner the grid, the cleaner the electric car.

What about cars charged on rooftop solar?

More than 3 million Australian homes have rooftop solar and, according to a 2021 survey, most EV owners plug into their own set-up.

A car that's charged with rooftop solar produces even lower emissions over its lifetime.

"When you use solar panels, they basically have very small-to-negligible emissions," Professor Smit noted.

Less than a tonne of carbon over all those kilometres!

Now, it's time to say goodbye to our cars and send them to the car afterlife …

Getting rid of our cars

According to Professor Smit, the greenhouse gas emissions from taking cars off the road are small compared to the overall driving life of a car.

What's more, most of the materials in a car can be recycled, so this offsets some of the emissions from the production of the car at the start of the cycle.

To complete our emission profile, let's add the emissions for the disposal of our cars.

There's a lot of potential for improvements here too.

It takes a lot of grunt to power a car, and when a battery can no longer do that and comes out of an electric car, it still holds a lot of value and charging potential.

It can be used as a backup household battery, for example. Some car companies like Tesla are already using old car batteries to power their factories.

It's estimated this second life for EV batteries could cut the carbon footprint of battery production by half.

At the finish line

Overall, every electric car will produce fewer emissions than its petrol equivalent, no matter where they are charged.

Even with an electricity grid that still uses some fossil fuels, electric cars have much lower overall carbon emissions, and that will continue to drop as the electricity gets greener.

And remember, this example uses SUVs, so lighter electric cars like hatchbacks have even lower emissions.

Hang on, what about hybrids?

Put simply, hybrids are complicated.

Plug-in hybrids can be run off either petrol or from a battery that's plugged in and charged. Therefore, the life-cycle emissions from a plug-in hybrid depend on the region where it gets charged but also on how diligent the driver is with charging. Remember, it can also run on petrol.

The European Union's Environment Agency recently found that emissions from plug-in hybrids were 3.5 times higher than reported.

It concluded that hybrids "are charged and driven in electric mode much less than how they were expected to be used".

Where we get our figures from

These figures come from the Electric Vehicle Council, which based its life-cycle emissions calculator on modelling from the European organisation Transport & Environment .

We got Professor Smit to look over the EV Council's modelling and he said while it was generous to petrol cars, it provided a good way to compare life-cycle emissions.

The inputs for petrol use are based on the WLTP . As mentioned in the story, this is likely to underestimate real-world petrol usage.

The modelling uses data for a Nickel-Mangenese-Cobalt NMC li-ion battery produced in China, as that's the most common type of battery in the Australian EV market.

It calculates 105kg CO2/KWh  for the carbon produced from battery production .

This same study found that "producing batteries with photovoltaic electricity instead of Chinese coal-based electricity decreases climate impacts of battery production by 69 per cent". Considering this estimate would reduce the emissions calculation in the point we make about battery production.

For a medium electric SUV, the energy used is 17.3 KWh/100km and a battery size of 70.2 KWh average for cars available in that category.

The emissions factors for energy sources are based on data from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change  here. 

To model the rate of renewables coming into the grid, the EV Council used the step-change scenario from the AEMO .

Statements about the composition of the electricity grids in different states come from 2022 numbers from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

The estimate of recycling emissions comes from a study by Transport & Environment .

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