Preparing for an Academic Discussion. Before we talk about academic discussions, let's take a moment to talk
about building houses. Which house will be better? The house that sits on a strong foundation
or a house with no foundation at all? Obviously, it's the house
with the strong foundation. Building a strong foundation for
something is called Laying the Groundwork. Academic discussions
are similar to houses. You have to lay the groundwork too, but what's the groundwork in
an Academic Discussion? It's your pre-discussion preparation. If you don't prepare,
your discussion could be a disaster. Instructors commonly see the same problems
with discussions over and over again. Participants don't have much to say and
this makes for very short, and unsatisfying conversations. Preparation can prevent this problem. Let's look at some ways to prepare for
an academic discussion. Before most discussions, you'll be
assigned some reading to do before class and this reading is key to
helping you prepare to talk. When you do this reading,
you must read actively. This mean reading with an engaged mind. Here are four strategies that
will you to get the most out of your pre-discusion reading. Mark the text. Take double-entry notes. Note key vocabulary and make list. First, don't just read the text,
you need to react to it. An academic text is an argument. And when you read it, you need to think
about and react to this argument. It's like having a conversation
with the author, but in your head. One great way to do this is to mark
the margins of the text with some symbols. If you read something you agree with,
put a check mark next to it. If you don't agree with an idea, put a x. An exclamation point Is for
new, surprising or memorable ideas and important points to
discuss can be marked with an asterisk. Also, you can write a question mark for
questions or unclear ideas and a pound sign for ideas that contradict,
or challenge your expectations. If you mark your text. Then during the discussion, you can easily
find ideas that you can comment on or ask questions about. Another way to prepare is
to take double-entry notes. First, draw a line down your paper. On the left side, you'll take
notes on the author's argument. On the right side,
you'll write your personal reactions. What is the authors view point? Record it on the left. How do the author organize the text? What are the parts of argument? For each of those parts,
what support does the author give? It's important to indent your notes to
show the hierarchy or importance of ideas. And again, it's important for
you to react to this argument. On the right side, write some of your own personal
reaction to the ideas in your notes. You can use this comments when you
need ideas or point to discuss. A third way to prepare is to know
key vocabulary from the text, especially if the discussion is
not in your native language. If a word is a keyword related
to the topic, write it down and listen to the pronunciation online, so that you can confidently use
the word in the discussion. Note the part of speech of the word and
lookup the word's meaning. If you really want to remember the word, write it in your own
original example syntax. These things will help you remember
key vocabulary when you're talking and you'll feel more confident
expressing your ideas in English. Finally, a fourth option for preparing is
to make a short list of things you'd like to say or ask about the topic. First, list points that you'd like
to make during the conversation. However, be flexible and open to change. Someone might change your mind
during the conversation and these points may become irrelevant. That's what a discussion is all about. More importantly, make a list of
questions of things you'd like to ask about things you don't know or
would like to hear other people discuss. Questions show that you're
trying to learn from others and that you're open to new possibilities. If you do one or more of these
strategies to prepare, you're so much more confident going
into the discussion. You'll understand more and
you'll be much more likely to participate. You might even have fun.
