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Role of Discussion Posts

In an online learning environment, discussions are essential for class participation and to demonstrate critical engagement with course materials. They create a dynamic space for reflection, allowing you to explore concepts, consider diverse perspectives, and engage in meaningful dialogue with classmates. 

Quick Tips for Discussion Posts

Directly Address the Prompt

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Use language that makes it clear you are answering all pieces of the discussion prompt. Using language that echoes the prompt signals to your instructor and peers that your response is focused and on track. 

Example:

A prompt asks you to “offer a thorough solution to an ethical dilemma.” You might begin your response with this phrase: “One solution to this ethical dilemma is…” 

Use Assigned Resources

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A successful discussion post response is anchored by specific, relevant references to the course materials. To draw clear connections, review the prompt before you complete your assigned readings for the week. Then, while reading, you can take intentional notes that align with the prompt.

Remember to cite all sources, including your course materials, in your discussion post.

Learn About In-Text Citations

Use Rubrics and Feedback

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Before you submit your post, take time to read through each category of the grading rubric and use it as a checklist to make sure you’ve addressed each piece. Checking your post against the rubric may prevent you from losing points and lead to higher grades.

It’s also a good idea to review previous feedback from your instructor and apply any suggestions to avoid repeating any concerns from the previous week’s discussion. Remember that feedback is an opportunity to grow and develop skills!

A Guide to Rubrics

Review for Scholarly Tone

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A discussion is a space for scholarly conversation with your instructor and peers, so, your writing should be scholarly and polished. Taking the time to carefully revise and proofread is an important step!

To make this step easier, draft your work in Microsoft Word first. This allows you to revise more easily, use Grammarly for proofreading, and keep a backup copy. Once finalized, copy and paste your text into the discussion board.

As a Walden student, you get access to Microsoft Office 365 tools and Grammarly.

Learn How to Download Microsoft Office 365

Learn More About Grammarly

Steps to Writing a Successful Discussion Post

To write a strong discussion post, take the following steps:

Step 1: Read the Prompt Carefully


Many Walden prompts contain more than one question for you to respond to in your post. To make it easier to address each part, consider breaking the prompt into individual questions.

Sample Prompt

For your Week 4 discussion post, please reflect on and explain the ways that you see your pursuit of your degree furthering your professional goals. Reflect on why you chose to attend Walden University and what it is about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here. In addition, please explain what you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden and how you see your degree furthering your professional goals. Provide specific examples from your experiences and cite all relevant information in APA format.

Now, let’s break down this sample prompt. Paste your prompt into Microsoft Word and break it apart so you can see smaller elements.

For your Week 4 discussion post, please reflect on and explain the ways that you see your pursuit of your degree furthering your professional goals.

This portion of the prompt is asking you to discuss: How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals?

Reflect on why you chose to attend Walden University and what it is about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here.

This portion of the prompt is asking you to discuss: Why did you choose to attend Walden University? What is it about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the environment that led you to choose to pursue your degree here?

In addition, please explain what you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden and how you see your degree furthering your professional goals. 

This portion of the prompt is asking you to discuss: What do you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden?

Provide specific examples from your experiences and cite all relevant information in APA format.

This statement in this prompt is not asking you to address a question, but it’s an important piece to take note of as it tells you about expectations. This prompt requires specific examples from personal experience, which will require the use of first-person singular (I, me, and my) and cited information in APA format. 

Step 2: Write Topic Sentences

Now that you know what questions you need to focus on in your post, you can take them to build a structure for yourself by writing a topic sentence for each of the questions you need to address. This can be the start of an outline for your discussion post.

The topic sentence will state the main idea of the paragraph to come. For example, topic sentences for the identified prompt questions from Step 1 could read like this:

  1. How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals?

Topic Sentence: Receiving my MSN from Walden will allow me to more successfully accomplish my professional goals of becoming a nursing leader and influencing the quality of patient care.

  1. Why did you choose to attend Walden University, and what is it about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here.

Topic Sentence: I chose Walden University because of its commitment to social change and the flexibility of the online program for working professionals.

  1. What do you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden?

Topic Sentence: Personally, I hope to learn how to integrate research more effectively into my nursing practice with increased knowledge of evidence-based practice.

Topic sentences make your job easier. Although these topic sentences may change after you start writing, having a topic sentence will assist in guiding your ideas and the focus of the paragraph when you begin. They can also help you to organize notes as you read materials and brainstorm.

Step 3: Review Class Materials and the Rubric

A successful discussion post response is anchored by specific, relevant connections to the course materials. Completing earlier steps helps you to be focused as you read and view other assigned content like videos. Use your topic sentences to organize notes so you have information that aligns with each question of the prompt. When you sit down to draft your post, you’ll already have helpful notes to draw from!

It's also essential to review the rubric so you can understand how you will be graded. A rubric outlines the key requirements and expectations that your instructor will use during the evaluation process. By reviewing the rubric, you essentially get a preview of what is expected—like having an answer key!

Step 4: Create a Draft

Use your topic sentences and notes you have gathered from the assigned course materials to write a draft of your discussion post. First, craft your body paragraphs using the MEAL plan. In the MEAL plan, paragraphs will start with a Main Idea (M), followed by Evidence (E), Analysis (A), and ending with a Lead Out (L). 

Once you have your body paragraphs, add a short introduction and a short conclusion.

  • The introduction should include background information and a clear statement of purpose.
  • The conclusion should restate your main ideas.
menu_bookLearn More About the MEAL Plan

Step 5: Revise and Edit

Your discussion draft is now complete! Now it’s time to revise and edit before sharing your post in the classroom. Here are some strategies for revising and editing:

  • Ask a friend, family member, colleague, or peer to read through your post and give you feedback.
  • Read your post out loud and revise anything that doesn’t sound the way you intended.
  • Set your discussion post draft aside and revisit it later. Giving yourself some distance can give you a new perspective when you sit down to revise and edit.
  • Use Grammarly to get ideas for editing.
  • Make a Paper Review appointment and get feedback from an OASIS writing professional on your draft.

Example Discussion Post

Sample Prompt

For your Week 4 discussion post, please reflect on and explain the ways that you see your pursuit of your degree furthering your professional goals. Reflect on why you chose to attend Walden University and what it is about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here. In addition, please explain what you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden and how you see your degree furthering your professional goals. Provide specific examples from your experiences and cite all relevant information in APA format.

Breaking Down an Example

Reviewing the sections of an example discussion post can help us better examine how a writer approached the sample prompt.

Introduction
Provide background information and a statement of purpose. 

Professionals choose to go back to college for many reasons, including to learn more, to get a promotion, to earn more money, to switch careers, or to make a difference. Students who come to Walden have unique reasons because of Walden’s mission for social change and its 100% online environment. The purpose of this discussion post is to share why I chose to pursue my MSN at Walden University and to explain what I hope to achieve personally and professionally.

The introduction for a discussion post serves a similar role as introductions in other forms of academic writing, but because a discussion post is a shorter document, its introduction can be shorter, too. The two main things that are needed are background information and a clear statement of purpose. In this introduction, background information is provided in the first two sentences, while a clear purpose statement is in the final sentence.

First Body Paragraph
Answer to: How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals? 

Receiving my MSN from Walden will allow me to more successfully accomplish my professional goals of becoming a nursing leader and influencing the quality of patient care. As noted by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (n.d.), nurses with master’s degrees are better equipped to address complex healthcare challenges, lead interdisciplinary teams, and advocate for systematic changes that improve patient care. Pursuing this degree will equip me with advanced clinical knowledge, leadership training, and a deeper understanding of healthcare systems, enabling me to identify systemic issues and propose evidence-based solutions to improve both patient outcomes and organizational performance in the workplace. By leveraging the skills and knowledge I will gain through this program, I aim to pursue future leadership roles to continue to create positive change.

This first body paragraph addresses the first question in the prompt: How do you see your degree furthering your professional goals? The writer has used the MEAL Plan structure to include a Main Idea (M), Evidence (E), Analysis (A), and a Lead Out (L). All the MEAL plan elements work together to clearly show the reader the response to the question and to offer support, reasoning, and concluding thoughts.

Second Body Paragraph
Answer to: Why did you choose Walden? 

I chose Walden University because of its commitment to social change and the flexibility of the online program for working professionals. When I became an RN 15 years ago, I did so because I wanted to make a difference in my community. I saw a need for compassionate and knowledgeable nurses, and I knew that I could fill that gap. After working all this time in the health care field, I still feel passionately about helping my community, but I don’t always feel like I know the best ways how to do that. Walden’s mission is to provide “a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can effect positive social change” (Walden University, 2020, Vision, Mission, and Goals section, para. 2). I support this mission and believe that pursuing my degree here will allow me to be a more effective social change agent. In addition, I want to pursue my MSN while still working full time as an RN, and this decision cut out many potential programs that require attendance in the classroom. Walden’s online environment will allow me to pursue my degree in order to be better at my job while still working my job. Overall, I am pursuing my degree at Walden because of my passion for social change and desire to still work full time while being in school, which Walden not only allows but supports.

This body paragraph addresses the second question in the prompt: Why did you choose to attend Walden University, and what is it about the university, your program, Walden’s mission, or the learning environment that led you to pursue your degree here?

Third Body Paragraph
Answer to: What do you hope to achieve personally? 

Personally, I hope to learn how to integrate research more effectively into my nursing practice with increased knowledge of evidence-based practice. Throughout my nursing career, I have witnessed the positive impact that well-implemented research can have on patient outcomes. However, I sometimes struggle with evaluating the quality of research and translating findings into practical changes in the workplace. Through Walden's MSN program, I aim to strengthen my ability to critically review research studies, identify reliable evidence, and implement evidence-based interventions in my daily practice. This knowledge will not only improve the care I provide to my patients but will also allow me to serve as a resource for my colleagues who may face similar challenges in applying research to their practice.

This body paragraph addresses the final question in the prompt: What do you hope to achieve personally through your learning at Walden?

This final question focuses on personal goals. Therefore, the writer has focused on providing specific personal examples as evidence within this paragraph.

Conclusion
Restate the main ideas. 

While several factors came together to drive me to pursue my MSN at Walden University, the online environment and commitment to social change were the significant components that prompted me to make my decision to enroll here. In the next few semesters, pursuing this degree will help me personally as I learn more about evidence-based practice and professionally as I strive to become a nursing leader and influence the quality of patient care in my place of work.

Like an introduction, the conclusion for a discussion post can also be brief. The conclusion paragraph is an opportunity to restate the main ideas. In this example, the writer has made connections back to why they chose Walden and how their degree will support their personal and professional goals.

References
Include references in APA style.  

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (n.d.). Master’s education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/students/nursing-education-pathways/masters-education

Walden University. (2025). Vision, mission, and goals. In 2024-2025 Walden University catalog. https://academics.waldenu.edu/handbook/vision-mission-goals#s-lg-box-30140618



Key Takeaways

  • Discussions are an important part of the online learning environment, providing a space for scholarly discussion.
  • Discussions should use a scholarly tone, directly address the prompt, make connections to course materials, and align with posted rubrics.
  • Following a step-by-step process can help you break apart a discussion prompt and effectively address each required element.

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