COMM 3000-002

Dialogue: Civic Engagement in Action

Guidelines for On-line Postings

1. Posting and Grading:

Postings for the week are due by 11:59pm on Sunday of each week. I will grant an 8-hour grace period such that any messages received/posted by the time I check e-mail at 8am Monday morning will be eligible for full (5) points. Anyone who has not yet posted for the prior week may do so at anytime before class meets at 3:30pm on Tuesday and have their posting scored out of four (4) points. Any postings after class meets on Tuesday will count for the current week but a zero (0) will be recorded for the prior week if no posting has been made. You may appeal for a good-graces extension once during the semester. Beyond that, no exceptions will be made without dire and extenuating circumstances. Your grade will be determined based on the following criteria: content, conciseness, clarity, connections, and creativity.

2. Content.

The content of the posting should address elements of all of the readings assigned for the week you are reflecting on and related class discussions or activities. This need-not be a “laundry list” of everything covered, but should thoughtfully address multiple relevant themes. All books are on reserve at Norlin Circulation desk and I expect all reading to be completed in a timely fashion. Whether you directly address each reading or not, I should have a clear sense that your writing is informed by the concepts and issues raised by the reading. Comments on the content should be reflective and inquisitive, not only descriptive. If you find a concept or reading assignment challenging, explain why you found it challenging and explore why you find the concept difficult, or raise issues or questions it brought up for you. It is not sufficient to say “I didn’t understand xyz.”

3. Conciseness.

Part of the rationale for this assignment is that as Communication majors (or graduates who have taken communication courses) you will be expected to be able to engage in thoughtful deliberation, oftentimes over e-mail. Your postings should be to-the-point without being superficial. Identify a few key themes to address and make sure that every word works for you. In general 3 short paragraphs should be sufficient, but more or less may be warranted at times. Conciseness and clarity will matter more than strict length.

4. Clarity.

These postings are class assignments not random musings. You should think about what points you want to convey, and organize your writing so that readers can easily discern your key concepts. Spelling and grammar should be checked before you send your message and sentence fragments or incomplete thoughts should be used only when stylistically necessary or helpful to your point (and readers should be able to figure out why you use them). YOUR NAME SHOULD APPEAR CLEARLY ON YOUR POSTING.

5. Connections.

One of the primary purposes of these postings is to encourage you to routinely draw connections between class readings, discussion, activities, and other courses and/or life experiences. Your postings should use connections whenever possible to illustrate and support points you are making in your posting.

6. Creativity.

One of the most powerful applications of dialogue lies in its ability to open up new possibilities in how we see and think about our world. I hope this class will afford you at least a few opportunities to look at something in a new light. I welcome your reflections on these insights in your postings and encourage you to think about how you can use the on-line discussion space to cultivate curiosity and creativity in both your thinking and writing.