Forum Post Examples

A forum post can one paragraph, or as many as four paragraphs. In any case, a primary forum post should have at minimum:

  1. One clear assertion
  2. Support for that assertion
  3. Brief analysis explaining the implications of the assertion

Example of a Three-Paragraph Forum Post (250-Word Forum post +/- 10%):


          In his work to obtain support for the surge in Iraq, President Bush displayed two key emotional intelligence competencies, namely empathy and teamwork.

          President Bush’s exercise of the emotional intelligence competency of empathy helped to ensure the surge’s success. According to Goleman, empathy entails considering others’ feelings when making decisions, and then working those feelings into the overall response (Goleman, et al., 2013, 50). For example, while attempting to solicit support from the joint chiefs for the surge, Bush heeded their concern over troop strain and increased the size of both the Army and Marine Corps while also assigning more State Department civilians to Iraq (Barnes, 2008, 23). The president did not just display empathy to appease the joint chiefs; rather, he knew that such empathy would help advance his overall cause.

In pursuit of the surge strategy, President Bush demonstrated mastery of key emotional intelligence competencies, underscoring the power of emotional intelligence to aid a strategic leader’s bid for effective leadership and mission accomplishment.


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