QUESTIONS

Let’s start with considering what a question is?

Most of us will simplify that into, “Anything that starts with an interrogative – like ‘What’. ‘Why’, ‘When’, How’, ‘Who’.”

But it is more than that. All of us ask questions all the time. When we write a story we are constantly assailed by a flood of questions. We ask ourselves, “Does that make sense? Does that follow on from the last part? Do my characters still fit the original description? Have I spelt their names correctly?” and so forth; this ignores the notions that we ask ourselves about where the story is going.

But knowing about questions is not just about writing stories or doing examinations. It is about life.

Einstein said, “There is no such thing as a stupid question; only stupid people who don’t ask questions.”

So what is a question?

A question is any eliciting of a response regardless of grammatical form.

An answer is any response that fulfils the expectation of the question.

Examples:

‘The Nissan GTR is the greatest sports car ever made.’

If this is said as it stands then it is a statement of opinion. If it is said with a rising inflection at the end that may be considered an interrogative statement; in other words, it is open for discussion.

Tricky if you are writing this in a story. How does the reader know? Because you must use a question mark at the end. Readers will not know if something is an interrogative statement unless you tell them or, better still, do not use this form!

Q:         What light source is used in a laser beam?

A:         Fried eggs.

Does this conform to the requirement of an answer as stated above? No. It does not. The responder might not be being flippant; there may be a perfectly logical reason for that specific answer. Now further questions are in order before you give that person a mighty slap!

Now we must consider if the right question has been asked:

Examples:

S: “My dog has no nose.”

Q: “How does it smell?”

S: “Bloody awful.”

or

“Does your dog bite?”

“No.”

Reaches down, pats dog, gets bitten.

“Ouch! I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite?”

“This is not my dog.”

The questions were, in both cases, valid but they invite an ambiguous response. This sort of question is much beloved by politicians who can now switch the answer to avoid telling the truth.

Why would you ask a question?

Because you want to:

1.     Clarify a point.

2.     Assist in understanding.

3.     Confirm a theory, analysis or diagnosis.

4.     Know if the other person understands.

5.     Begin a discussion, debate or argument.

6.     Convey an opinion.

These points apply equally to, ‘Why would you ask yourself a question?’

Types of Questions:

A chap called Bloom classified questions into several (6) types. This sort of classification is called a ‘taxonomy’. That last bit isn’t important but I mention it just in case you bump into it elsewhere – it will give you a chance to show off to your mates. You can tell them that you had a paradigm shift.

KNOWLEDGE

Remembering

Memorising

Recognising

Recalling identification

Recalling information

Who, what, when, where, how...?

Describe

COMPREHENSION

Interpreting

Translating from one medium to another

Describing in one's own words

Organization and selection of facts and ideas

Retell...

APPLICATION

Problem solving

Applying information to produce some result

Use of facts, rules and principles

How is (...) an example of (...)?

How is (...) related to (...)?

Why is (...) significant?

ANALYSIS

Subdividing something to show how it is put together

Finding the underlying structure of a communication

Identifying motives

Separation of a whole into component parts

What are the parts or features of...?

Classify... according to...

Outline/diagram...

How does... compare/contrast with...?

What evidence can you list for...?

SYNTHESIS

Creating a unique, original product that may be in verbal

      form or may be a physical object

Combination of ideas to form a new whole

What would you predict/infer from...?

What ideas can you add to...?

How would you create/design a new...?

What might happen if you combined...?

What solutions would you suggest for...?

EVALUATION

Making value decisions about issues

Resolving controversies or differences of opinion

Development of opinions, judgements or decisions

Do you agree that...?

What do you think about...?

What is the most important...?

Place the following in order of priority...

How would you decide about...?

What criteria would you use to assess...?

NB:         ‘Synthesis’ and ‘Evaluation’ questions may not have a ‘correct’ answer if they are based on a concept of opinion rather than fact.

This type of question is, very often, the basis of a hypothesis.

We tend to ask questions in the "knowledge" category 80% to 90% of the time. These questions are not bad, but using them all the time is. Try to utilize higher order level of questions. These questions require much more "brain power" and require a more extensive and elaborate answer.

Asking yourselves the right question – and the right type of question will help you to sort out your problems more easily.

We often say that it is very often more effective to sit down with a cup of tea and have an analytical thought or two before doing something rather than leaping in and making a bugger’s muddle of the whole thing.

One of the primary questions we need to ask ourselves, irrespective of what we are about to do, is:

Do we have the resources necessary to complete this task?

Notice ‘complete’ and not ‘start’!

What are your resources?

Mine is... TIME!