07 Jan When you have had to undertake

Week 1 discussion

Discussion Prompt 1:

This week, you will be deciding on the research topic that you will be using for the Signature Assignment for this course. The signature assignment will be completed step by step each week as the course progresses. During this first week, you will decide on the topic that you will use for your paper.

Your topic should be a debatable topic concerning social, political, or cultural relevance. Some things to think about as you choose a topic:

Will I be able to leverage only outside information regarding this topic?

Will I be able to refrain from interjecting personal thoughts, opinions, and ideas?

Will I be able to find at least 8 credible sources from books, journal articles, academic websites, interviews, etc.?

Will my sources be up-to-date?

For this discussion, you will list your chosen topic for feedback from peers and your instructor. After seeing feedback, you may decide to change your mind on your chosen topic.

In your initial post, please answer the following questions:

What topic are you considering?

What research question will your topic answer?

Why did you choose this topic?

You must also post substantive responses to at least two of your classmates’ posts in this thread. In your responses, provide feedback on their chosen topics. Look at the hints for choosing a topic and offer feedback on whether your classmate’s topic seems to meet each requirement. If you see any potential pitfalls for your classmate related to the chosen topic, be sure to note these and offer suggestions for how to avoid them.

Discussion Prompt 2:

Think about times when you have had to write in a formal setting in the past; this could be previous courses or classes you have taken, documents you have had to produce for your job, or even documents you have created yourself such as resumes or cover letters. Ask yourself the following questions:

When you have had to undertake these types of written projects, what type of writing process did you use?

Did you brainstorm or freewrite? Outline? Create a rough draft? Do revisions and proofreading?

If so, how effective do you think that your process has been for you? How might you improve it going forward?

If not, what steps do you plan to implement going forward as part of your regular writing routine? Which steps in the writing process do you think will be most beneficial for you?

Discussion posts must be completed during the week assigned. Initial posts are due by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. (PT), and replies to peers should occur throughout the week to show active participation. You must post a minimum of two substantive responses to your classmates for each discussion question posted to earn full participation credit. There is an automatic 10% point deduction for late initial postings.