discussion board
ASSESSMENT ITEM 3
Item 3: Discussion Forum Posts and Final Reflection
Due Date: Week 12, Friday (5pm AEST)
Weighting: 25%
Length: (see below)
ASSESSMENT NOTES
Part A: Weekly Discussion Forum Posts (200 Words x 5 over the course of the Unit)
Students are expected to contribute to the weekly Discussion Board forums on at least five occasions (at least 5 discussion posts), up to and including week 11. Week 5 is set aside to let you focus on your first assessment item, so that means that there are 10 weeks where you have the opportunity to make a contribution.
The emphasis for this assessment item is engagement with the key literary texts and set readings. You need to consider what they say (the themes), how they say it (the literary devices), and why they say it (the bigger historical context). You will be expected to relate the texts to the context and the key terms where appropriate. Weekly discussion forums will be made available on Monday morning each week, and will be open for two weeks each, thus giving you plenty of time to make your post. A key component of this assessment item is that you demonstrate the ability to engage with fellow students in an ongoing discussion.
You may post more than once in a forum, though to ‘pass’ you need to contribute to 5 forums in different weeks. Ensure that you ‘engage’ with other students (for example, read other posts, reflect on other posts and how your contribution advances or runs counter to another post). Please read the Code of Conduct before posting.
Posts need to be succinct and focused. Don’t submit short essays; keep posts to 200 words. It is expected that all posts will have correct in-text referencing (use MLA or Harvard). There is no need to include a list of references unless you are drawing on a source not mentioned in the unit material. Stronger posts will fluidly integrate one or two short quotations and highlight key words from the texts/reading. In-text quotation and in-text referencing ARE included in the word count.

Part B: The Submitted ‘Reflection’ (250 Words) and your 3 Best Posts (200 words x 3):
At the conclusion of the unit students submit a reflection on their three best contributions (and their general engagement in the forums over the unit). Submit the following:
• A list/table of when and what posts were contributed (do not cut and paste all posts in full)
• A presentation of the three best contributions (cut and paste these 3 discussion posts straight from the forum; apply appropriate headings)
• An additional 250 word statement (the reflection) explaining why you selected these particular contributions. Consider how your posts demonstrate a comprehension of the set texts, show a familiarity with the course material (for example, the historical, political, cultural or social context), and exhibit an understanding and consideration of the key concepts. You should also consider how your post engaged with other students’ posts, and how your posts could have been improved.
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