Ten Tips on Good Commenting
- Look for the Praiseworthy.
Even if you might have something constructive to add, or even if you wish to take issue with a post, first be sure that you identify what that post is doing that's interesting, useful, or on target with our learning outcomes.
- Be Specific."Great post!" isn't as powerful as "I appreciate the way that you called into question novels as adaptations of Shakespeare's plays by pointing out how novels are not theatrical.
- Make Connections
Relate someone's post to one of your own, to in-class discussion, to other works of literature, to your religion, etc.
- Refer to Learning Outcomes
"I appreciate your psychological approach to The Winter's Tale. It is a nice way of engaging Shakespeare's work critically. You might also consider an archetypal approach, since thematically the play draws upon the seasons"
- Suggest Further Development
See the last part of the example in the previous tip. If you show interest in someone's thinking and give them ideas for how to take it further, it makes the topic more interesting for everyone.
- Ask a Question
This is a way to continue the back and forth both with the blog post author and with other commenters. "I really liked the imagery in the first stanza of the sonnet you wrote. Did you consciously make all of those biological metaphors?"
- Research and Link
Take the time to look something up (from an informal source or a more traditional scholarly source) and provide the reference or link. "Your comments about wrestling in As You Like It make me wonder what kind of athletic production someone could do of this play. I looked it up and MSU did a production where they used school athletes as actors doing the wrestling. Check it out here (Want to know how to make links within an Intense Debate comment? See my comment response at the end of this post about linking well)
- Vary Your Length
If you feel like your posts all have to be profound and lengthy, they will be a chore and you won't do much interacting. If you only give one or two-word comments, no one is going to take your responses seriously. Finda happy mediu.
- Comment on Commenters' Blogs
Reciprocate when people have commented on your blog. Of course you can follow their comment with another one. But consider looking up that person's blog (especially if they have made a great comment for you on yours). Return the favor. It's good karma.
- Refer to the Blog Post Author's Interests
This means scanning and sampling that blog's entries and finding patterns you can comment on. It really shows you are taking someone seriously if your comments are more than just a response to the immediate post. "I can see that you have a real interest in costuming since you've brought it up with respect to three different plays. Do you think that the set is equally influential in a production, or mostly costuming?"
