Dis10

Formulating Your Response

A response is your structured reaction to a reading. A response gives you the opportunity to respond to

the ideas put forth by the authors of the piece you read. Responses are important because they form

the most fundamental kind of communication in college.

To respond to a reading is to expand and speculate on the ideas about which you read. Accordingly,

there must be an obvious connection between the ideas in your response and the ideas originally

expressed in the selection to which you are responding. Here are some of the ways you might respond

to a reading:

• Make connections. For instance, if you have read several pieces on the same topic, try to

connect the author’s ideas with ideas from other readings. Or you may try to connect the

author’s ideas to your personal experience and/or observations.

• Extend the idea. Rather than just saying you agree or disagree – not a thinking reaction really

but just a reaction that requires a switch to be turned on or off on autopilot – look at one or

more of the interesting ideas in the piece and “extend” it, that is, take it for what it is, try it on,

and see the world through this idea, this lens. By doing this, you are having a more meaningful

conversation with the author. Try not to simply nail it with the “Oh yeah, I did this too” kind of

response.

A response can be general or specific. To respond to a reading doesn’t necessarily imply that you have to

respond to all of the important ideas put forth by its author(s). You may choose to respond to the entire

selection, or you may choose to focus your response on one specific idea or point that for some reason

caught your attention.

To respond to a reading means going beyond simply stating your opinion. It is never enough to simply

state what you think/feel about the reading. You should always substantiate your opinion. Explain why

your response is what it is and explore what caused you to respond as you did. Look into the thinking

supporting your reactions.

Responding to a Peer

In the same way that your own posts should be substantive, response posts should be meaningful and

advance the discussion of the issues, ideas, questions that were raised in the initial posts. While you can

be supportive of your peers by saying, "I agree" or "Wow, I never thought of that", these statements

alone are not sufficient.

To guide you in drafting acceptable response posts, refer to the options below:

• Validate the post by sharing your experience and stating how it relates to the course material

or to the initial post.

• Agree or disagree with the post and explain why you agree or disagree.

• Expand on your classmate's post to demonstrate that you understand the topic.

• Reply to a question posed by one of your classmates or by the instructor and support your

statements with sources from the text.

• Critically evaluate the post and make a suggestion or respectfully point out an area of the

assignment that was not addressed.

• Ask a probing question or ask your classmate for a clarification or an explanation of a point

made in the post.

• Share an insight or something you learned from reading your peer's posting or from your other

reading.

• Explain how someone's post helped you understand the material or made you rethink your

own views.

• Offer an opinion and support it with examples from the text.

• Challenge a statement in the post. If you would not let a statement go unchallenged in a

classroom discussion, do not let it go unchallenged on the discussion board.

• Tie ideas together: Discuss how comments other students made relate to your peer's post.