Module 1 Discussion: Conversation about Writing Process and the Closed Research Theme

For this online discussion, you will:

• select, describe, and evaluate your personal writing process, on the basis of the slides below;
• provide an initial reaction to the course theme and the guiding theme question(s) for this section of ENGL 111;
• respond to at least two peers. 

To prepare:

• View the slideshow below, and select the image
  that you think best represents your own writing process. Use the arrows
  on the menu below the slideshow to progress to the next slide. To view a
  larger version
  of this slideshow, click the Full-Screen icon. If you need it, you can
  open a file that contains written descriptions of each image
  

 
Download open a file that contains written descriptions of each image.

  Identify the Closed Research Theme question(s)
for your class. You can find the question(s) in the Modules link. Look
for the words “Closed Research Theme.” Immediately to the right of these
words, you’ll find the Closed Research Theme
question(s) for your ENGL 111 class. Make a note of the question(s) for
this discussion.

Start a new thread in this board and respond to the
following prompts. Click the Post Reply button to submit your initial
post. Points to address in your initial post:

• Identify your selected image by briefly describing
  the image in your own words. (Do not identify the slide by slide number
  only.)
• Explain why you picked this image to symbolize your writing process.
• Point out at least one advantage or one disadvantage to your writing process that this image symbolizes.
• Identify
  the closed research theme question(s) for this section of ENGL 111
  (found in Modules or in the Syllabus). Then, explain or describe your
  first thought, answer, or response to the closed research
  theme question(s).  These are YOUR first reactions to the question(s)
  and any type of response is okay.   Just be respectful and professional
  in your wording, as appropriate for an academic audience of peers. For
  example…
• you could state your best guess at an answer based on what you already know or believe about the theme question(s).
• You could mention any personal experience you have had that relates to the theme question(s) that influences your opinion.
• You could mention what you don’t know or what you’d like to know more about before you can answer the question(s). 

Your Module 1 initial post should be at least 150 original words. 

Module 1 Responses

Respond to 2 or more posts made by your
classmates.  To respond to a peer, click the Reply button underneath
that peer’s post.  After you’ve written your response, click the Post
Reply button to submit your response.

In your response posts, you should NOT simply agree
or disagree. To show you that you have carefully listened to and
thought about your peer’s posts, you may even want to try out some of
the basic writing moves suggested in our readings
from Chapters 1 and 2 of “They Say / I Say” to identify and summarize
the ideas in each peer’s post that you are responding to.

Below are ways you might possibly respond to your peers:

• You could write about an alternative interpretation of the image your peer-selected and described.
• You could write about how something in each writer’s discussion was similar to or different from your posting.
• You could discuss something you learned from each writer’s post and explain why it is helpful to you. 
• You could respectfully agree and offer an additional example to support your peer’s point.
• You could respectfully disagree and offer a counter-example.
• If
  you don’t understand something your peer wrote or are curious about why
  they see something the way they do, you could ask a clarifying
  question.
• You could answer a question a peer asked you.

Altogether, your Module 1 posts (initial post and
at least 2 responses) should add up to at least 300 words. All posts are
due by the end of Module 1.