Turn-it-in Discussion
Board
English 10B
3rd Trimester
Why are we doing this?
-To engage central themes from readings
-To craft responses to dense questions
-To practice MLA in-text citations
-To learn from one another through discussion
*These are critical thinking skills needed for the ACT,
college, and life!
* “2O Most Common Mistakes in Undergraduate Writing”
Qualities of Strong Posts and Responses
Posts:
Responses:
-Met or exceeded the minimum
length requirement
-Answered all parts of the
question
-Cited the text
-Made text-text, text-self,
and text-world connections
-Agreed or disagreed with the
original post and explained
WHY
-Posed a new question to be
addressed
-Cited the text (book or post)
-Made text-self, text-text,
and text-world connections
Text-Self
Definition: Making a connection between the text and a
personal memory, experience, or knowledge
Example: I like how you used the strict beliefs of the
Puritans. That would be a very hard to live in that time
period.
The Crucible personal experience (Puritan beliefs)
*how/why would this lifestyle be hard?
Text-Text
Definition: Making a connection between the text (The
Crucible) and another book, movie, song, etc.; making
connections within the text
Example: The Crucible reminds me of the movie The
Village. The villagers also had strict rules and a pure
way of life.
The Crucible movie
Text-World
Definition: making connections between the text and
events, news, or history
Example: It seems like something like the Salem Witch
Trials could not happen again, but it did during the
McCarthy era .
OMM Historical context
*give more details about the time period/similarities
Other strong discussion responses:
Were the girls really lying? There may have been a chance that the
girls were poisoned from food during that time period.
Strengths:
*politely disagrees
*explains WHY
*questions invite further discussion
Other strong discussion responses:
I did not think of their conflict to chase their dream. That is a good
one. It is interesting that you considered it a physical conflict. I
would not have, but I can see how it makes sense. When I think of
a physical conflict, I think more of people actually fighting.
Strengths:
*considers the writer’s point of view
*positive/respectful
Areas for improvement:
*“I can see how it makes sense”—explain how it makes sense!
*What other kind of conflict could it be?
Other strong discussion responses:
You mention Lennie's mental disability. Have you tried to guess
what it may be? I think it may be autism.
Strengths:
*references the text (original post)
*text-self/text-world connection between OMM and outside
knowledge
Areas for improvement:
*offer evidence from the text as to why it may be autism
Tips
-Write in MS Word/Google Docs first
-editing, word count, technical difficulties
-Headers and the discussion question don’t count towards the minimum
word requirement
-PROOFREAD
-Of Mice and Men, Lenny/Lennie, random capitalization (Moral,
Intellectual, Physical)
-Write as if the reader doesn’t know the topic
-In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, …
-When responding, focus on content, not grammar/style
-In-text citations/quote integration
In-Text Citations: Review
-the final punctuation (usually a period) goes AFTER the
parenthetical citation
-the parenthetical citation looks like:
“….” (Author’s last name pg number).
Definition
Quote bomb: (n).
1). a quote that has been randomly dropped into a paper
without proper contextualization and/or explanation,
therefore explosively obliterating the writer’s credibility and
grade
2.) Ms. Sherburn’s biggest pet peeve
#rookiemistake
#epicwritingfail
Solution to Quote Bombs: Quote Sandwiches
dwiches
Top layer of bread: Lead-in Statements
-Signal that a quote is coming
-Give quotes context and credibility
-often use transitional words or action verbs
-for instance, for example, in fact
-writes, argues, asserts, claims, illustrates,
demonstrates, says, points out
The Meat: Quotes
Pick quotes that are:
-short and succinct
-directly relevant to your point
*Quotes longer than four typed lines need to be in block
format
-see Purdue OWL
Bottom Layer of Bread:
Explanation/Analysis Statements
-makes the connection to the significance of the quote
EXPLICIT
-connects the quote to the writer’s own ideas/points
*necessary even if your quote seems self explanatory!
Example:
For instance, Dr. Willy Weather, a weather
specialist at Standford University explained that "Sandy
has claimed more lives than any of us expected, and
seems to be continuing to do so" (Smith 72). In fact, not
only has the storm surpassed most climatologists’
expectations, but it has also caused more deaths than
both Hurricane Irene and Katrina.
Example:
Curley is portrayed by Candy as " 'Well . . . tell
you what. Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big
guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind
of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy. You
seen little guys like that, ain't you? Always scrappy?' "
(Steinbeck 26) Because of his bigger size, Curley sees
Lennie as a threat, and therefore picks on him
ruthlessly.
Colbert: Quote Master
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/409087/february-23-2012/wheat-thinssponsortunity
Context: Wheat Thins “Sponsortunity”
Quoting Wheat Thins company memo
*Listen for quote introduction/analysis
What did Colbert do well?
Quote Sandwiches!
-Gave context and lead-ins
-Short, relevant quotes
-explained importance
*could’ve used more analysis, but he wasn’t
writing an academic paper
Don’t throw away your grade, too.
Discussion Board Grade Breakdown:
25 points
Discussion Post: (17.5 points)
Discussion Response: (7.5 pts)
Content: (10)
-Answers all parts of the question
-Is a minimum of 250 words
-Makes a text-self, text-text, or text-world
connection
Content: (5)
-Directly replies to/references the
discussion post
-is a minimum of 50 words
-makes a text-self, text-text, or text-world
connection/poses a new question
In-text citations: (5)
-Contains a minimum of two textual
references
-(minus 1 pt for every original error)
Grammar/Mechanics: (2.5)
-Adheres to conventions of Standard
English
Grammar/Mechanics (2.5)
-Adheres to conventions of Standard English
New Discussion Question
Write about power. What is power?
Who has power? Who has power and
does not use it? You do not have to
specifically answer these questions,
but you must write about power.